What is a ‘File Extension’ ?

Posted by Christina Hills | WordPress Tips | 26

One of the things a business owner needs to be able to know (and see) on your computer are your file extensions. File extensions are the little appendages .xxx that go at the end of your filenames. For example ‘myreport.doc’ could be the name of your report, with .doc being the extension. Now this may seem simple and obvious to some, but to others this will be an eye opener. See the illustration below:

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Some examples of file extensions are:

photo.jpg
icon.gif
mytheme.zip
report.doc
report.pdf
spreadsheet.xls
presentation.ppt
audio.mp3

It’s very Important to be able to see your file extensions

For example:

a Microsoft Word file has an extension of .doc as in ‘myessay.doc’.

An image file has an extension of .jpg, .png, and .web for photos and .gif for graphics as in ‘myphoto.jpg’ or ‘mylogo.gif’

A PDF file has the extension .pdf

When using the program Notepad to write up small text files, it makes files called .txt

An Excel file has the extension .xls and .csv is for excel

An Audio file has the extension .mp3

A Video file has the extension .mp4

And on and on….

When you buy a Windows Machine (PC) it comes, by default, with file extensions turned off. If your file extensions view is turned off, much of Internet Marketing and creating your website with WordPress will not make sense to you! So it’s important that when you go into one of your folders on your computer you see the little .doc, .jpg, .gif, .txt Each computer may be different in how you set that. Here is how I set mine:

On your PC desktop you go to a folder and open it. Then you go to Tools –> Folder Options Then you click on the ‘View’ Tab Then you UNCHECK ‘Hide File Extensions for Known File Types’

See image below to show you how to do this on a PC

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To view file extensions on a Mac, open Finder and go to the Finder menu at the top left. Select “Settings” and navigate to the “Advanced” tab. From there, simply check the box that says “Show all filename extensions.”

See the image below to guide you through the process on a Mac.

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So look on your computer, and see if you can see your file extensions. If you don’t then change them so you can see.

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About The Author

Christina Hills

Christina Hills helps entrepreneurs set up their websites using WordPress without having to rely on a webmaster or any tech people. Her trainings are fun and she makes it easy! Get the free PDF "The Do-It-Yourself Website Creation Checklist" Report Here

26 Comments

Angie (Losing It and Loving It) on August 10, 2010 at 8:59 am

Great tip! I just found it and unchecked it. Now this will make my life much easier I think.
- Christina Hills on August 10, 2010 at 9:06 am
  
  Angie,
  You will now see things more clearly, and have a better understanding of your files as you build your website!
  🙂
Al Silbert on August 10, 2010 at 9:42 am

Christina,
I’ve been meaning to change that for a long time. Thanks for the nudge.
- Christina Hills on August 10, 2010 at 10:45 am
  
  Al,
  
  sometimes we all just need a nudge.
  I got one more little nudge. Upload your picture to your gravatar.com account.
  
  My short video here will show you how to do that
  https://websitecreationworkshop.com/wordpress-tips/how-to-get-your-photo-to-show-up-in-your-comments/
  
  (this goes out to Joy too!)
  
  🙂
Columbia Jones on August 10, 2010 at 10:30 am

Hi Christina,

Thanks for the reminder. When I upgraded to Windows 7 I forgot to check on this. It’s fixed now.
- Christina Hills on August 10, 2010 at 10:45 am
  
  Columbia,
  
  yes it does not make sense that Windows leaves this turned off by default. Apple does not do that!
Daniel on August 10, 2010 at 11:25 am

Thanks Christina —

I loved this tip and just applied it to my own computer. I am also going to recommend members of my Real Fast Book community effect this change to their computer as well and credit you of course.

I believe it will help them because we show folks how to crank out high-quality, highly profitable books real fast using their own pc’s. But in that process it is easy to get mixed up or confused with what file you need WHEN you need it as you assemble the pieces of your book. Essentially, your tip saves time and mental horsepower because its one less thing you have to think about as you search your folders for needed files.

Thanks again Christina.

Daniel Hall
Tony Mitchell on August 10, 2010 at 11:26 am

Thank You, I never knew where the file extension control was on my PC.
Tony
- Christina Hills on August 11, 2010 at 7:14 am
  
  Tony,
  yes windows does not make finding that setting easy.
  I like this tip because I refer to the images MYSELF when I forget.
  😉
Joy Wilder on August 10, 2010 at 9:39 am

LOVE THIS! Love love love this!

This will make things so much easier to manage..

Thank you for the great tip 🙂

Joy Wilder
- Christina Hills on August 10, 2010 at 10:43 am
  
  Joy,
  
  Glad you liked it! Been meaning to send this out for a while
Phyllis Mikolaitis on August 10, 2010 at 1:13 pm

Hi Christina,
Great tip! By the way, if you store your folders on your C drive or an external backup drive, you may need some slightly different steps. For example, if you have Windows Vista and your files are on your C drive then open the drive. Then select Folder and Search Options from the Organize drop down menu on the tool bar for the drive. Select the View tab. Locate the “Hide File Extensions for Known File Types” from the displayed list. uncheck the box next to this item. Select Ok and the change will be made for all of your folders in the drive.
- Christina Hills on August 11, 2010 at 7:24 am
  
  Phyllis,
  
  thank you for that tip about external drives. This will help all the readers of this blog post
Joe on August 10, 2010 at 3:16 pm

I have been using the icons to differentiate the files, but now I have a definitive way for all of them, thanks to you.
- Christina Hills on August 11, 2010 at 7:24 am
  
  Joe,
  
  Yes the mystery and confusion is removed when you can see the actual file names. Glad you liked this tip
Dave on August 10, 2010 at 3:36 pm

WOW! What a great tip. I never knew I could do that. You learn something new everyday. Thanks
- Christina Hills on August 11, 2010 at 7:23 am
  
  Dave,
  
  My goal is to get all my readers prepped for the next Website Creation Workshop that starts next month.
Terence Kierans on August 10, 2010 at 11:26 pm

Great tip Christina, and so useful to the inexperienced user.
With your permission I would like to include this tip in the next edition of my book Terence’s Top Technical Tips.
- Christina Hills on August 11, 2010 at 7:22 am
  
  Terence,
  
  as long as you credit me and link to this post, you can include it in your book. Thanks for asking.
Jack Keeth (jackebiz) on August 11, 2010 at 12:24 am

Thank you Christina. That should make it a lot easier to open files. I just changed mine.
Thanks again
Jack
Tiffany Rowan on August 11, 2010 at 8:33 am

Christina,

I can’t wait to use this. I don’t have a desktop so what steps do I take to do this on my laptop. I have XP. I tried following the steps as directed, but its not the same.

Also, is it true I can open ANY folder and it will take effect for ALL current and future files OR will I have to do that for every folder?

You are so generous with your resources. Thanks for all you do.
- Christina Hills on August 11, 2010 at 8:41 am
  
  Tiffany,
  
  Desktop or laptop = same thing. This refers to YOUR computer vs. a page on the internet.
  
  Once you set this, it will work for ALL folders. So you only need to do it once.
  
  Looking forward to having you back as an alumni in the Fall program. The classes start in September
Jan Wlodarski on August 11, 2010 at 8:18 am

Hi Christina,

Great post! Sometimes we think that everyone knows these “little” things but they don’t and really appreciate it when they find the info!

Jan
- Christina Hills on August 11, 2010 at 8:21 am
  
  Jan,
  
  Yes this is just what my Website Creation Workshop is like. I uncover these little simple secrets that make life much easier.
lynne on August 17, 2010 at 2:05 am

Christina –
Thanks for showing us how simple this can be, and why it is important. I usually have it set as general practice, but there are those I work with that don’t get it… This will help.

Lynne
Charyn Youngson on February 12, 2011 at 7:24 pm

Hi Christina,
I have just changed from a PC to a MacBookPro. Do you have any advice for Mac users on this topic?

Charyn

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What is a ‘File Extension’ ?