what does "hide extentions for known file types" mean?

Question

i mean: my computer => tools => folder options => view => i have to click on "hide extentions for known file types" to be able to change a folder's name

but how does that work i dont understand, can u explain pls

Answer 1

I'm 99% sure you don't have to change that option to rename a folder.



To explain what that option does:



Say you have a blank windows installation. There's no Adobe Reader installed, so Windows doesn't "know" what a PDF file is, i.e. if you double-clicked it, Windows would ask how to open it.

If you look at that PDF file in Windows Explorer, it'll show up as "whatever.pdf".



Now you install Adobe Reader, and the installation tells Windows "hey there, I'm the program to open PDF files with".

So now Windows "knows" the file type PDF, and upon double-clicking, it will open the file with Adobe Reader. Thus, if the option is checked, the file will now appear as "whatever", although its name is still "whatever.pdf"



If you uncheck the option, Windows will display every file extension, regardless of whether it knows which program to open the file with.

Answer 2

For instance, if a file is named 'whatever.doc', but your machine recognizes the '.doc' as meaning that it's a Microsoft Word document, then that part will be hidden and the file will just show as 'whatever'.



Casual users may want to turn extension hiding on, but geeks who do lots of data manipulation and programming and stuff will almost certainly want it turned off.

Answer 3

That is meant for files that your computer already knows what programs will be used to open the files with.



For example, if you don't have any Office software installed yet, if you have a document or excel file like doc1.doc or spreadsheet.xls, it will show that .doc and .xls extension because you don't have the program to open it. If you have an MS Office program or an alternative, you won't see that .doc or .xls extension anymore unless you unselect that 'Hide extensions for know file types' option.

Answer 4

Hide extension is nothing.But it can hide the file which is set the hide attribute.



if you tik mark(select check box) of hidden in properties of files than file will be hidden

Answer 5

Means that if you check it, instead of viewing this:

> MyDocument.txt

> PictureOfMe.bmp

> Word1.docx

> gta-vc.exe

You'll see this:

> MyDocument

> PictureOfMe

> Word1

> gta-vc



the .txt .bmp .docx .exe are extensions of a file

Personally: I like it turned off (aka make visible extensions).

Answer 6

filename

filename,doc



That's the difference. It could be anything at the end. .exe, .docx, etc etc