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How to view file extensions in Windows XP

 

Recently I wanted to view the extension for a file in Windows XP. I thought it's going to be easy and it was but only after someone explained me. Now that I know, I was thinking to share this information with you since I am sure that I am not the last person that will have to deal with this issue. So, if you are not able to see the extension for a file in Windows XP I am going to guide you in a couple of seconds. Please keep in mind that those instructions are useful and they will help you only if you're using Windows 2000/XP ( all versions ). First, you will need to access your "My Computer" icon on your desktop. You can see in the following picture how "My Computer" looks :

 

Screenshot with "My Computer" icon from my desktop

 

Now, make sure to access the drive to where your files exists. For example if you want to view the file extensions for a software, make sure to navigate in that folder, in this example, my files are located on D: drive. So, I am going to access the drive and then the folder to where my files are located.

 

You can view the D: drive on my computer and also the folder with the file that I want to view the extension type

 

Now, supposing that I want to see the extension type for those programs. All you need to do is to go to "Tools" and then select "Folder Options", exactly like in the following picture :

 

Navigate to "Tools" and then to "Folder Options"

 

A new window will open. You will need to use your mouse and scroll down until you will see "Hide extensions for known file types". Make sure to uncheck this option and also make sure to click on "Apply" button, exactly like in the following picture :

 

Make sure to uncheck "Hide extensions for known file types" option

 

And, here it is, you can now see the file extension type for all programs. It will show them like in this picture, it will add the extension type at the end of each program name, like software.exe

 

You can now view the file extensions

 

Well it's pretty simple, isn't it ? Now, if you're wondering how to hide the file extensions ( in Windows 2000/XP the file extensions are by default hidden ) back, you will need to go back to "Tools" - "File Options" and there you will need to make sure that "Hide extensions for known file types" is checked and Windows will hide them back. However I would strongly recommend you to configure your Windows to show you the file extensions for all files. Why ? A good reason would be - security. If someone is trying to send you a file and that file has an .jpg.exe extension you would definetely know that it could be a virus, trojan or any other malware. Sure, you can avoid such things by using a good antivirus but it's better to be more familiar to file extensions in the long run.