Most users have the notion that,that is an extension. It was invented so that the operating system could immediately recognize what kind of format it was before and open the file using a mapped program or offer the user to choose the application himself if several applets are installed in the same way. But let's see how to change the file extension and what it can be used for. There are several simple methods that can be used in Windows-based systems.
The main myth about extensions and non-standard situations
Before considering the main topic, it is worthsay a few words about the myths that exist among some unprepared users. The most important misconception is that when a program does not open the desired file, which, in theory, might be open in it, changing the extension can solve the problem. For example, the installed media player can play video files of AVI format, but completely refuses to play the MKV format. Uninformed users try to change the extension from MKV to AVI, naively believing that after that the file will open. Nothing like this! If the program does not initially support such a format, no matter how you try, without an appropriate conversion, as will be said a little later, nothing will happen.
However, it also happens that the extension is changedit is necessary without fail. On the Internet, some distributions may contain EXE executable files, for which the extension has been specifically changed to another (for example, EX_).
Usually such a situation is characteristic for various kindsgenerators for creating registration keys or license files, when they are not available for the installed software, and antiviruses can define such applets as unwanted software and block them. This can be interpreted as the most common hacking. However, just in this situation, changing the extension after disabling the protection allows you to run the file without problems.
How to change file extensions in Windows 7?
Now directly about the steps thatare envisaged for carrying out such actions. How do I change the file extension? To begin with, since in Windows by default, extensions for registered file types are hidden, they need to be displayed.
For this, in the standard "Explorer" you needgo to the view menu, go to the parameters change, and in the view window in the list of settings clear the check box from the hiding point of such extensions. After that, in the file manager, you can use the rename (F2) function for the selected file and install another extension. True, it's by no means a fact that the file can be opened. In addition, as an original object, previously associated with a certain program, it will not open either.
How to change file extensions in Windows 10?
In Windows, the tenth modification justThe described method can also be used. However, if you look at how to change file extensions in this system, you can immediately advise using a simpler method of displaying them.
For this purpose, a specialitem in the expanded tool bar for the menu of the view where you want to check the box, after which you can use the usual renaming to change the extension.
Using Notepad
Now a few words about how to changefile extension using the most common "Notepad". You can open it from the Start menu, through the "Run" console with the notepad command, through the search system in Windows 10 or by directly calling the executable in the System32 directory. Immediately notice that you can change the extension of any opened object and save it only if the "Notepad" itself is launched on behalf of the administrator.
It is often enough that such actions canIt is required to save the text, which is a list of commands or settings, for example, in the formats BAT or REG, since initially the means of the system even with the use of different menus and the proposed tools to create such files is impossible.
Batch rename through the command line
Now let's look at batch renaming. You can change the extensions of several files through the command console. But you do not need to call it in the standard way.
In the "Explorer" it is necessary in the selected folder,hold down the Shift key, click the right mouse button on the empty area (not on the file) and select the open command window from the menu that appears (sometimes a link to the PowerShell console may be present instead of the command line).
After that, the console command is usedren. For example, to change the extensions of all DOC files to TXT, it will look like this: ren * doc * txt. As already understood, after its execution all the extensions will be changed automatically.
Converters
Finally, a few words about how to changefile extension by converting it to another similar format. For audio and video, you can use multimedia converters, to convert office documents, say, to PDF-format and vice versa, you can use utilities designed specifically for working with such files. Plus, the use of such programs is that after conversion, the main content of the files does not change, and you can open them in applications that the original formats did not support. This applies not only to the examples given. Now there have been developed so many converters that it is possible to transform even completely incompatible formats.
