The file type can be determined by knowing its full name. There is a part in the file name called the extension - it is placed to the right of the last dot. It is by extension that the operating system of the computer and the application programs installed in it determine the type of file. In order for the user to have this opportunity, it is necessary to change the Windows settings, since by default the display of the extension is disabled in the OS.
Instructions
Step 1
Open the OS component called Folder Options. In Windows 7, you can open the main menu by clicking the "Start" button, enter "Folder Options" in the search field and click the corresponding link in the search results. In Windows Vista, you also need to open the main menu, select the "Control Panel" item, then click the link "Design and personalization", and then the link "Folder options". In Windows XP, after opening the menu by clicking the "Start" button, go to the "Settings" section, select the "Control Panel" item, click the link " Appearance and Themes, followed by the Folder Options link.
Step 2
Click the View tab in the folder properties window. The sequence of steps here will be the same for each of the listed versions of Windows. In the list under the heading "Advanced options" find the line "Hide extensions for registered file types" and uncheck the checkbox associated with it. This will enable the display of the file extension and will be able to determine their type.
Step 3
Find the line "Hide protected system files (recommended)" in the same list. If you need to determine the type of file that is part of the operating system, then the checkbox of this line must also be removed, and in the line "Show hidden files and folders", on the contrary, put.
Step 4
Commit the changes made by clicking the "OK" button.
Step 5
If the file extension that you see after changing the settings turns out to be unfamiliar to you, then you can determine what type of file it belongs to on specialized Internet resources. For example, go to the main page of the open-file.ru site, in the search field in the upper right corner, enter the extension you know and press the Enter key. The service scripts will find information related to this file type in their database and display a table with a link to its description.
