CertiGuide to A+ (Operating Systems)  9  Chapter 0010:  File Attributes       9  III  Saving Files

Saving a File with a Different Name or Format 1 Lost in the Maze?

The Windows file naming convention is that a file name is made up of the main descriptive part of the name, then a dot followed by 3 letters after the filename. This dot + 3 letters (like “.ext”) is referred to as the file name extension. The extension is used by Windows to determine the type of data in a file, and which programs can be used to open the file. For example, when saving a word processing document, you might see boxes like those of Figure 109. Note that “.doc” appears twice, once in the name, and once to confirm that the type of data in the file is the usual “.doc”.

The most common file extensions are:

• .EXE executable
  
  
• .BAT batch
  
  
• .SYS system
  
  
• .DLL dynamic link library
  
  
• .INI initialization
  
  
• .COM Command

Some of the more common document files are;

• .TXT text
  
  
• .DOC

Some of the more common graphics file extensions are;

• .BMP ( Bitmap)
  
  
• .JPG (JPEG)
  
  
• .GIF (graphic image format)
  
  
• .PNG (Portable network graphic)

Remember that when we discussed how to “Show all files”, we also mentioned another option on that menu page, Hide file extensions for known file types? As with hidden files, hidden file name extensions can be confusing when you’re trying to troubleshoot, so the authors recommend that you make sure this option is turned off, by clearing the check-box as described earlier.

Saving a File with a Different Name or Format 1 Lost in the Maze?