How to change a file extension in Windows? How to change file extensions in Windows

Each file that is used in Windows 10 and other versions of the OS has an extension: .txt, .doc., .exe, .jpg and others. Often, users need to know how to change the file extension in Windows 10 to continue working.

Making visible

By default, extensions are not visible in Windows 10. Therefore, to change them, first turn on the display. There are two ways to do this.

In the View tab

In Folder Options

How to change

You can change the extension after it has been opened.

Using the context menu

The easiest way is to use the Context Menu.

Important! Use this method only when you know for sure what you are doing. If after this the file no longer opens, rename it back.

File groups

Important! The change will occur only for those files whose original extension matches the one specified in the command.

Conversion

Often the file is not launched by the program even after changing the extension. But this is not surprising since it is intended solely to associate an executable file with a program. The file itself is determined by its content.

If the file format is not supported by programs installed on your computer, convert it. Special programs are designed for this. You can find them on the Internet. They differ in functionality depending on the tasks you solve.

Video

The video clearly shows the process of opening visibility and changing the extension.

Saving with a specific extension

To make changes to the system, you may need a file with the extension .bat or hosts without .txt extension. To create them, launch Notepad and, when saving, select “All files” in the “File type” field. If necessary, specify the required extension.

Conclusion

Changing the extension is done using the Context Menu or Command Line when working with a group of files. If the device does not have programs compatible with a particular file, it can be converted to a suitable format using special programs.

Many novice users are wondering how to change the file format if there are no programs to open it.

Data sets can be divided into four main types:

• text;
• Images;
• audio;
• video.

To save traffic, large documents are packaged in special archives such as rar, zip, etc.

Each type of document requires its own methods for changing extensions.

Before performing an operation, you need to carefully evaluate all the consequences so as not to lose part of the information or the entire document.

The operating system does not initially display the extension code. To change settings, open the Folder Options window. The access path has 2 options.

• open explorer;
• Select the “Folder Options” tab at the top right;
• in the next window select “View”;
• in the list, find the item “Hide extensions for registered file types”;
• remove the check mark in front of the inscription (hover the mouse pointer and press the key);
• then click “Ok”.

In the second option, click the “Start” button on the desktop:

• Main menu, select “Control Panel”;
• Select “Folder Options” from the icons.

Further actions are similar to those described above. After changing the settings, the file name in Windows 7 should be displayed with the extension.

The extensions of archives such as zip and rar cannot be changed. Such folders should be unzipped (extracted) first. This operation is performed by special programs. The most popular are WinRAR and 7-zip. If the archiver is installed on your computer, when you try to open the file, a message will appear asking you to determine the location for the document.

Text file extensions can be changed using Explorer. To do this, select the file name and press the left mouse button. In the menu that opens, select “Rename”.

A frame will open on the line, the name is highlighted in blue, the extension is outside the selection area. The cursor should be moved beyond the last letter of the extension, press the Backspace key on the keyboard, delete letters and enter new ones.

You can change the file format in text editors Word, Open Office and similar. To do this, open the file in an editor. Then select “File” in the upper left corner of the window, find the “Save As” item in the menu that opens, click the mouse or use the key combination “Ctrl+Shift+S”.

The window settings contain several items, among which you should select “File type”. If it is difficult to select the desired extension, you can click on the triangle at the end of the line. A list of possible options will open, among which you need to select the one you want with the mouse and click the “Save” button.

Some text formats can only be converted online by going to the editor manufacturer's website. For books in fb2 and djvu formats, it is better to install the appropriate editors than to change the extension.

Graphic, audio, video files

There are several ways to change the image format. One of the simplest: open a folder with documents, select the one you need, and press the right mouse button. Select “Properties” from the menu.

On the “General” tab, in the first line with the name XXXXXXX.xxx, replace the extension code and click the “OK” button. A warning window will open: “After changing the extension, this file may no longer be accessible. Make the change?" Click "Yes".

If a document contains information that needs to be saved, you should make a copy and experiment with it. If the results are satisfactory, you can perform the conversion with other files.

Another way to change image extensions is to use the Paint graphics editor that was installed initially. The image must be opened in the editor, use the F12 keyboard button or “File”, “Save As”.

When using F12, a window will open, in the bottom line of which you should select the desired extension. When you select Menu on the right, a list of possible saving formats will open. Move the mouse pointer to the desired one and click. Next, the same window will open with settings for the location of saving and changing the name.

Instead of Paint, you can use any other editor with similar functions.

The audio format can be changed by replacing the code in Explorer, but quality may be lost. Special converter programs have been created to reformat audio and video. Most of these applications are paid; trial versions work for a short period of time or insert additional elements and sounds during conversion.

It is advisable to use converters for large volumes of formatted documents.

In order not to rack your brains about how to change the format, it is advisable to install an additional player with advanced capabilities, such as KMPlayer or GuberLink.

In addition to those described, there are other types of files containing HTML, CSS, PHP, and other types of code. How can I change the extension of these files? In a similar way, but using the appropriate editor.

Simply changing the format in Explorer can render the document unusable. The reverse process is not always possible.

Many PC users have to face the need to change the file format - for example, to play a video in mkv format on a device that only supports mp4 or 3gp. To make changes, you can use special programs, online services, and even those editors where data with such an extension is created. Most applications are completely free or shareware and are easy to use.

What is the file format?

The term file format refers to the information used by a computer to open a specific area of ​​data. Thanks to this information, the appropriate program is selected - in most cases, the operating system does this automatically. For new extensions that have not yet been opened by the system, the user must select the application manually - if problems arise with this, information about the specific format can be obtained on the Internet.

The extension is 2-4 characters after the period in the name - in Windows it is recognized, including displaying this information; file managers such as Total Commander provide this opportunity immediately. When the opening application is already installed, its icon changes - experienced users can use the icon to draw conclusions about the type of data.

Text in .docx format will open in the Word office application by default. In this case, the icon will look like a blue letter W. If MS Office is not on your computer, but OpenOffice is already installed, the document will open in this program. The default option can be changed - for example, by forcing .txt files to open not in Notepad, but in a text editor.

Programs for changing file formats of various types

A simple and fast way to both change the file format and convert it to a new type is special converter programs. With their help, the extension for the following types of data is changed:

• Images. Almost any graphic editor is suitable for this, from Paint, which works with PNG, JPG, BMP and GIF extensions, to Adobe Photoshop, which can convert information received from digital cameras.
• Audio. Sound objects can be converted by almost any music editing software.
• Video. This format can be changed in video editors such as VSDC Free Video Editor or Photo Montage.

In addition to programs that can change a specific group of files, there are a number of universal applications that can handle the transformation of several types of data at once. For example, Format Factory and SuperC work with video, images, and audio. And utilities such as Any Video Converter Free, Any Audio Converter and ImBatch, changing only the sound, videos and pictures, support the conversion of a group of files. To work with applications, you need to download them, install them, open them, select the necessary data and specify a new format. The process takes minimal time, although the exact duration depends on the number of objects being modified.

If you need to change the file format for a document with a .doc, .pdf or .org extension, use the same programs in which it can be created. For text it will be Word or OpenOffice, for spreadsheets - Excel. Electronic documents are converted by a program such as Adobe FineReader. It is worth noting that analogues of these applications are created not only for Windows, but also for Android and iOS. And if you wish, you can use online resources for the same purpose.

Online services for converting files

The advantage of sites that can change the format is that there is no need to install additional software on your computer. Sometimes this allows you to solve the problem with the user not having administrative rights and being prohibited from making changes. In other cases, this feature saves space on the system disk and does not occupy the computer's RAM.

The list of services that provide format changes includes:

• Converter convertio.co/ru/, working with audio, video, text documents, presentations and even archives. With the help of online software, you can change several files at once.
• The resource docspal.com/ru/ is a multiconverter that can not only convert data, but also work with 5 elements simultaneously.
• Service convertonlinefree.com. Despite the almost “talking” name, the site works not only with PDF and DOC formats, but also with various versions of texts, images and even e-books.

Another well-known and popular resource is online-convert.com/ru, when you go to the main page of which you can see a list of 8 conversion options. The service is able to change documents, images, videos, music, archives, e-books and even web services and hashes. To work with a resource, select the final format and click on the “Start” button next to the selected type. After this, you can select a file from your computer, from a cloud storage, or via a link, start the conversion and download the resulting data back to disk.

Changing file extensions in Windows

In most cases, simply changing the file format by renaming it, but without actually converting it, does not provide the user with any additional capabilities. A picture with a docx extension will not open in Word, a table renamed from xlsx to rar will not become an archive. However, sometimes it is really necessary to change the format. For example, to obtain an executable bat file from text with a txt extension. Such a replacement will be useful and, if necessary, make an html web page from the same txt.

Before normal renaming in Windows, you need to enable the extension display. It is usually invisible so as not to interfere with title renaming. The activation method depends on the version of Windows:

The extension is now visible to the user. To change the format of only one file, you can use the context menu and select the rename option.

You can correct file group extensions by opening cmd. To do this, hold down the Shift key, right-click on the folder with the files to rename in Explorer, select “open command window”. In cmd type the command below and press Enter:

ren *.xxx *.yyy, where xxx represents the initial format, yyy – the final format.

By changing the file format using special programs and resources, they provide the ability to open elements of the same type with certain applications and reduce their size (as in the case of converting BMP or RAW to JPEG). The easiest way to do this with images and documents is to use a regular editor. For some files, you can simply change the extension in Windows, but their number is limited - in most cases, simply changing the label will not give any result.

In this article, I will tell you how to change the file extension in the Windows operating system to correctly match the file type or format. Instructions for changing file name extensions are suitable for operating systems Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows 7.

A file extension is a set of characters (2 to 4) that define the file format or type, appended after a period to the file name. For example, in the file “Document.txt” the file name “Document” comes first, followed by a dot, and after the dot, the file extension “txt”.

What are file extensions for? File extensions help the Windows operating system determine the type or format of a file so that it can match the application to open that file type. If the match is correct, the programs immediately open the corresponding file type.

Why is it necessary to change the file extension in Windows? Some files initially have incorrect extensions. This often happens when downloading files from the Internet. The downloaded file has an unknown extension, but in fact it may be an audio file in MP3 format, or a video file in MP4 format. After changing the extension to the correct one, the file will be opened using a program designed to open this type of file (in our case, using a multimedia player).

Attention! Changing the file name extension in Windows should only be done if you are sure that it is really necessary. Please note that this is a reversible operation. If renaming is unsuccessful, you can return the file to its previous extension.

By default, file extensions are hidden in Windows. Therefore, it is necessary to make the operating system display the file extension.

How to change file extension in Windows 10

In the Windows 10 operating system, you can enable the display of hidden file extensions in two ways.

The first method to enable the display of file name extensions:

1. Open File Explorer.
2. Go to the "View" tab.
3. Check the box next to “File name extensions”.

The second method to enable the display of file name extensions:

1. Open the View tab in Explorer.
2. Click on "Options" and then on "Change folder and search options."
3. In the Folder Options window, open the View tab.
4. Uncheck the box next to “Hide extensions for known file types.”
5. Click on the "OK" button.

After this, you will see that the file extensions are now displayed.

How to change file extension in Windows 7

File extensions will be available to change in the manner described above.

How to change file extension in Windows 8 (Windows 8.1)

On Windows 8.1 and Windows 8 operating systems, open an Explorer window. Next, follow similar steps, exactly the same as in Windows 10:

1. Go to the “View” tab.
2. Activate the "File name extensions" item.

Another way: in the “View” tab of Explorer, go to “Options”, and then “Change folder and search options”. In the Folder Options window.

In the “View” tab, uncheck the “Hide extensions for known file types” checkbox. Next, click on the “OK” button.

File extensions can now be changed in the manner described above in the article.

Conclusions of the article

If necessary, you can change the file name extension in the Windows operating system to a different file extension to correctly match the file type. In Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10, you first need to display the file extension and then change it to another file extension name.

Instructions

To create a simple txt file, you will need to launch Notepad. To do this, click the “Start” menu, select the “All Programs” section from the list, then go to the “Accessories” section and click on “Notepad”. Now make changes to the blank document and save it by clicking the top File menu and selecting Save As.

We have figured out the creation of a regular text document, but we need a registry file (reg). Call the file saving window as described earlier, enter the file name. The file name is required along with extension m, then the file will be determined by the registry editor without problems. You can write File.reg - this will be correct, but on some systems this file may be saved as File.reg.txt.

There is a little secret in the program itself - this utility can save any file format. To avoid confusion with the symbols in the document, enter the following value in the “File name” field: “File.reg”. Quotes at the beginning and end of the file name provide isolation and force the program to save it in exactly the format specified. Because The Notepad program, as well as the Registry Editor, are the default programs; the encoding of the saved file will fully correspond to the files with extension m reg.

If your system does not have problems with extension m files when saving them, you can do it in a simpler way: turn on the display of file extensions and change the extension using the “Rename” command.

Open any folder, click the top menu “Tools”, select “Folder Options” from the list. In the window that opens, go to the “View” tab, uncheck the box next to “Hide extensions for known file types” and click “OK”.

The saved file in txt format must be selected and pressed the F2 button on the keyboard (you can also right-click and select “Rename”), instead of the txt extension, enter reg. Press the Enter key and the OK button.

Sources:

• what documents for expansion

Quotes may look different. They can be in the form of “herringbones” or “paws”, double or single, the opening quotes can be on top and the closing quotes on the bottom. In any text editor, putting quotes or changing their appearance is quite simple.

Instructions

To look like “ ” (“text”), switch to entering text in Cyrillic. To do this, press the key combination “Alt” and “Shift” or “Ctrl” and “Shift” or click on the flag icon on the taskbar in the lower right corner of the screen. While holding down the Shift key, press the number "2" on the main keyboard panel.

If you need to change double quotes to " " (''text''), switch to entering text in Latin characters. While holding down the “Shift” key, press the “” key, it corresponds to the key with the letter “E” in Cyrillic.

You can insert non-standard quotation marks (“text„ or “text”) into the text in another way. Place the cursor in the desired place in the text, go to the “Insert” tab and call up the dialog box from the “Symbols” section. To do this, click on the “Symbol” button and select the “Other symbols” command by left-clicking on it.

In the window that opens, select the desired font, in the “Set” field, set the value to “Punctuation” by selecting it from the drop-down menu. From the proposed list of symbols, select the quotes that you like best. Click the Insert button and close the dialog box. In order not to open the symbols dialog box each time when further working with text, copy the pasted symbols to the clipboard and simply paste them using the mouse or the key combination “Shift” and “Insert” or “Ctrl” and “V”.

To put single quotation marks, switch to the Latin alphabet, hold down the “Shift” key, press the “’” key (the letter “E” in Cyrillic) for the top quotation mark. The "," (letter "B" in Cyrillic) key is used for the bottom quotation mark.

With a Cyrillic keyboard layout, press and hold the “Ctrl” key, and then the “Ё” key twice to place a single top . For the bottom single quote, press the E key twice while holding down the Ctrl key.

If you need to replace all the quotation marks found in the text, on the “Home” tab, select the “Replace” command in the “Editing” section. A dialog box will open, in the first “Find” field, enter the type of quotes you want. In the "Replace with" field, enter the quotation marks that you would like to appear in the text. Click the Replace All button. Perform this step separately for opening and closing quotes.

The principle of operation in the Word editor below version 2007 is similar to that described, only the “Symbol” command is called from the “Insert” menu, and “Replace” is called from the “Edit” menu. In any other editor, the principle of replacing quotes is also not significantly different. To replace quotes (for example, AkelPad), select “Find” in the top menu and call the “Replace” command. If you cannot enter herringbone quotes (“text”) from the keyboard, call the “Insert symbol” command in the menu from the “Edit” section and select the desired quotes from the list or simply copy them from another document and paste them into the desired field in the window replacements.

Sources:

• how to replace quotes in Word

All information stored on your computer is presented in the form of files: text, graphic, audio or video files. Each file has its own specific registered format, or file name extension.

Why does the file need an extension?

A file name extension (or simply extension) is a sequential combination of characters used to help a user or software identify and recognize the contents of a file.

The file extension is appended to the file name and separated from it by a period, for example, bloc.txt, where .txt is a file extension that indicates that the document having it will be opened using Notepad. This is a text file. When the user tries to open a file, the program corresponding to the extension will automatically launch. In our example, this is a notepad. Some extensions themselves already indicate that the document is a program, for example .exe. Users usually only see the file name, since the extension is not of particular interest to them.

The extension can consist not only of a letter combination, but also include numbers. For example, mp3.

How to set the desired extension

If, when working with any document, you need to save it in a specific format, then you need to click on “file”, then select “save as” and select the location where the document will be stored. At the bottom of the window that opens, you will see two lines. On the first one you need to enter the name of your document, and the second one is used to select its extension. Left-click on the drop-down list and you will see various file formats. You should select the required extension and click “save”.

Next, you can find the saved document, move your mouse cursor over it and see the line “type” - after this word the extension of your file is indicated. If it matches the one you need, then you did everything right.

It is worth knowing that the computer's operating system can be configured in such a way that the extension will not be displayed. To configure its display, open any folder, select “service” in the upper left corner, then “folder properties” or “folder options”, then uncheck the “hide extensions for registered folder types” and click ok. File extensions will now be displayed for all documents.

Whether your computer is configured to show file extensions, the documents will open in the correct program.

Please note that if you need to rename the file name, do it carefully, remember, you can only change the entry up to the dot, since after it there is already an extension type, changing which may not open the document at all.

Sources:

• The most common file extensions in 2019