File extensions are used by the operating system and application programs to determine the purpose and format of the data written to these files. In the file name, the extension is placed after the last dot and sometimes there can be several of them at once. In Windows, it is most convenient to change them in the built-in file manager - Explorer.
Instructions
Step 1
Launch Explorer by pressing the WIN + E key combination. If you prefer to use the mouse, you can do the same by double-clicking the My Computer shortcut on the desktop or by opening the menu on the Start button and selecting Explorer in the Programs section.
Step 2
Go to the folder containing the file whose name you want to edit. With the default settings, Explorer does not show file extensions, so you need to change the corresponding setting in its settings.
Step 3
Open the "Tools" section in the file manager menu, select the "Folder Options" item and go to the "View" tab in the window that opens.
Step 4
Uncheck "Hide extensions for registered file types" in the list under the "Advanced options" heading. If the file being modified is a system file, then uncheck the item "Hide protected system files" and put a full stop at the item "Show hidden files and folders".
Step 5
Click the "OK" button to commit the changes made to the settings.
Step 6
Right-click the required file and select Rename from the context menu. Explorer will turn on the file name editing mode - change its extension to the one you need, and then press Enter. The file manager will ask you to confirm the operation - click the "Yes" button. This completes the procedure for changing the extension.
Step 7
If it is not possible to edit the file name, Explorer will display an appropriate error message. There may be several reasons for this. For example, a file can be protected from any changes. In this case, you need to right-click it, select Properties from the menu, and uncheck the Read-only attribute on the General tab. Then click the "OK" button and try changing the extension again.
Step 8
Another reason for the impossibility of changing the file name may be that at the time of editing one of the programs is working with it. If it is an application program, it is sufficient to simply close it. If this is any of the components of the operating system, then you can try to change the extension by restarting the computer in safe mode. Windows uses a limited number of components in it, so there is a possibility that the program that blocks the file is not being used.
