A file extension is an optional alphanumeric identifier which comes after the last found period in a file name. A file extension itself does not define what type of data is in a file, but it does give a hint as to what is supposed to be in the file.
Questions tagged [file-extension]
315 questions
192
votes
7 answers
How can I determine file type without an extension on Windows?
I sometimes get files from my clients that have the wrong file extension. For example, the name is image.jpg but the file is actually a TIFF image. In many cases I can clarify it by opening the file in a text editor, looking at the first few bytes,…
Martin
- 4,012
138
votes
10 answers
How do you remove a default program association for file types in Windows 7?
I somehow have set the default file type association for a file type in Windows 7. It doesn't appear to be possible to delete it from the "Change the file type associated with a file extension" options screen. Is it possible to remove it?
Christothes
- 4,267
129
votes
7 answers
File extension for Markdown files?
Is there an official file extension for standalone Markdown files?
Beat Rupp
- 1,421
63
votes
4 answers
Find files filtered by multiple extensions
What is the correct syntax for:
find . -type f -name \*.\(shtml\|css\)
This works, but is inelegant:
find . -type f -name \*.shtml > f.txt && find . -type f -name \*.css >> f.txt
How to do the same, but in fewer keystrokes?
Dave Jarvis
- 3,427
53
votes
4 answers
Programatically associate file extensions with application on Windows
I've just recently reinstalled Windows and in setting up my environment I've noticed that all my associations for the various programming languages I edit in Notepad++ have gone (naturally).
I am thinking for the future, wouldn't it be grand to have…
deed02392
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52
votes
15 answers
Does it make sense converting a file to a higher audio bitrate?
When a certain file (mp4, flv, etc) has a 95 kbps audio bitrate - does it make sense outputing to a higher bitrate when converting to mp3 or other format (be it lossy or not)?
Would this result in higher audio quality or just in a bigger…
user162573
51
votes
4 answers
How do I find out the file type without an extension?
After recovering my HDD, I ended up with a lot of files with no extension. Many of them are .bin files.
Is there any way to find out what file format they actually are?
Many of them have no information if I edit them with Notepad++ or Hex Editors.
echolab
- 735
40
votes
6 answers
How to extract a complete list of extension types within a directory?
Within a directory, and recursively within it's sub-directories, meaning every directory within a directory is processed, how do I compile a complete list of unique extensions within the directory?
OS is Windows XP with all the current updates, but…
blunders
- 887
38
votes
1 answer
osx - stop xcode from opening ruby files
I have set my favorite text editor as the default application to open ruby files (.rb extension) multiple times by following Open With -> then Other... then I click the checkbox Always Open With.
However, every time I restart my computer, it gets…
AJcodez
- 529
33
votes
1 answer
What file extensions should be used on GPG generated output?
In Linux file name extensions are irrelevant, but on a Windows system, many GPG users use GUI applications rather than the command line. They may want to be able to double click on an encrypted file, key, or signature and open it with their GPG…
IQAndreas
- 4,337
30
votes
5 answers
On Windows, what filename extensions denote an executable?
On Windows, *.exe, *.bat, *.cmd, and *.com all represent programs or shell scripts that can be run, simply by double-clicking them. Are there any other filename extensions that indicate a file is executable?
EDIT: When I jump into a new project (or…
Ken
- 355
25
votes
3 answers
How to extract the filename without the extension from a full path?
I'm trying to write my first bash script, and at one point a filename is passed to the script as $1. I need to extract the file name without the extension.
Currently, I'm assuming that all extensions are three characters, so I remove the last 4…
user304822
- 363
25
votes
7 answers
Show/hide extension of a file through OS X command line
I'm looking for a way, via terminal, to change whether or not a specific file's extension is shown in the Finder, something along the lines of:
$ hideextension ~/music/somesong.mp3
Without having to open Get Info and change the checkbox, as it's…
18
votes
1 answer
Search for files with a specific file extension in Windows 7
In Windows Explorer, I would like to search for all files in a specific folder and its subfolders with the file extension .doc. To do that, I tried to enter .doc in the search bar on the top right of the window. That gave me as a result all the…
17
votes
5 answers
How do I make and run my own file extension?
I was checking out the files in a old game called Warcraft III and saw that they had files with their own extension, for example, file name.w3x.
How do you make your own file extension and run it?
mendez
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