How to change the file type and in which cases do I need to do this?

In some cases, after the fileit turns on the user's computer, it starts to wonder how to change the file type? Sometimes this action helps to open files that before did not want to "open" even to their "native" applications. Also, many advanced users learn the file types and their extensions in order to optimize the performance of individual applications and the computer as a whole. Let's look at how to change the file type correctly, and in which cases it's generally worth it.

First, let's answer the question, what is it likeis the file extension? The extension (or type, format) of the file is the code letters following in the name of each file after the point, to the right of the name itself. For example, in the file with the name of the file setup.exe the "exe" extension indicates that this file belongs to executables, and the image.jpg file due to the "jpg" extension belongs to the graphic files. In some cases, you should not even think about how to change the file type, for example, image.jpg, which refers to a graphic type, can never turn into an executable file.

But sometimes changing the file extension cansignificantly affect its operation. For example, when downloading video files from the Internet, many of them are automatically saved in the flv format, which by quality can be significantly inferior to other video formats - mp4 and mpeg.

In many cases, the question is how to change the file type,can not stand at all - to do this, simply rename the file by changing the particle name after the point. To do this, simply find the required file, select it by clicking on it with the left mouse button, and then press the F2 key (or select the Rename function from the menu after clicking the right mouse button). After that, you need to change the old file extension to a new one and the file will automatically change its type. Such a solution will be useful in the case described above with video files having the flv extension, or when after downloading from the Internet the file has the htm or html extension, but in reality it is a video file or an archive (rar or zip).

Sometimes the file name does not specify itexpansion. How to change the file type in this case? To do this, you must specify in the settings of the operating system the display of file types or use one of the file managers.

To specify in the operating system settingsWindows display extensions, you need to go to the Start menu and select the "Control Panel" item. If the system displays the "Style by category" files, you must first go to "Design and themes". The next step in both cases is to select the "Folder properties" section, and in the "View" tab uncheck the item called "Hide extensions for registered file types". After that, the name of each file will be displayed and its type.

In order not to change the design settings andyou can use the file manager, for example, the popular "Total Commander" program, before changing the file type. In this program, the file type is always displayed in the second column, and it can be changed very simply - just press the combination of the two keys "Shift + F6".

However, it should be remembered that a simple changenot all file types can be changed. For example, the type of pdf file after the manipulations described above will simply cease to be opened by its standard application and other programs can not open it. To change the types of some files, you can use special programs, which are called converters. These programs are specifically designed to change some types of files, enabling the user to view and edit them using other applications.