How to change excel file extension. What to do if you need a file in a different format

By making these changes to the settings, you can edit the extension you are interested in file. To do this, right-click it, select “Rename” and change the extension to the type you want. The explorer will ask you to confirm this operation - click “Yes”.

If at this moment, for some reason, you cannot change the name file, then the corresponding message will be shown by the explorer. This can happen for several reasons. One of them is that the file is protected from editing. To remove one, you need to change the corresponding one: right-click the file again and in the menu that appears, select the lowest item - “Properties”. The properties window will open file, where on the “General” tab, uncheck the “Read Only” attribute. Press the “OK” button to commit the change and try again to change the type file.

Another reason for the inability to edit the title file it may be that it is at this moment that any of the applied or system programs with this file. In case application program It's enough just to close it. And if the file is one of the components of the operating system, then you can change its extension by restarting Windows in protected mode and repeating the renaming procedure file there. In protected mode operating system uses a limited number of components, so there is a high chance that the file you need to change the extension will not be there.

Every Windows user may be faced with the need to change the type of a particular file. We invite you to familiarize yourself with the basic methods of performing this simple task.

Interesting! The extension or file type usually refers to the part of its name that is contained after the period. For example, the file “Everything about everything.Docx” has the extension “.docx” or the extension Microsoft files Word.

Please note that initially all file extensions are hidden from users. In order to change the file type, we first need to make all extensions visible to us. This can be done through the “Folder Options” window, and you can access it in the following ways:

Method 1. Use the basic explorer of your operating system

Step 1. Open “My Computer” or “Computer”.

Step 2. Depending on the language of your OS, in the upper left corner, click “Arrange” or “Organize” and select “Folder and search options” or “Folder and search options”.

Method 2: Search in the START menu

Step 1. Press the “Win” key/the corresponding icon in the lower left side of the screen.

Step 2. IN search bar We begin to enter “Folder and search options” or “Folder and search options”, click on the result.

Method 3. Through the “Control Panel”Windows

Step 1. Press the “Win” key or the corresponding icon in the lower left part of the screen.

Step 2. In the menu that opens, select “Control Panel” or “Control Panel”.

Step 3. On the right top corner change the view type to “Large Icons” or “Large Icons”.

Step 4. Among all the icons that appear, look for one called “Folder Options” or “Folder Options” and click it.

As a result of using any of the methods described above, the desired window will open in front of you, in which you should uncheck the “Hide permissions for...” or “Hide extensions for known file types” box.

Uncheck the box “Hide permissions for...” or “Hide extensions for known file types”

After this, you will see the extensions of all files on your system. In order to change one file type to another, you need to select it and:

1. Right-click on it, then click on the “Rename” or “Rename” option, and then change the text following the dot.
2. Press the F2 key and also change the text after the period.

Important! The extension is the text after the period in the file name. To change the file type, you must LEAVE the period and change the text after it. See the picture below.

Method 4. Use the Windows 7 command line

First, you will need to open a command prompt:

Step 1. Press the Win+R keys at the same time.

Step 2. A window will open in front of you, in the empty field of which you must enter “CMD” and press “Enter” or “Ok”.

Now you need to use the "Rename" command. To do this you need:

• type “rename” and press space;
• print the full path to the file and the file name itself along with its current extension;
• put a space, put an asterisk and immediately after it write a new extension.

Simple example full team along with the accompanying screenshot:

“Rename C:\Users\temnikov.s\Desktop\Personal\121.rtf *.docx.”

As a result of using this command, we will change the format of the file called "121" from plain text to Microsoft Word 2010.

Interesting! Please note that by changing the file type you will not change/damage its contents in any way. All you do is indicate to your WINDOWS that this or that file has a format that should be opened through a certain program.

We use third-party programs

The file extension can also be changed using the additional software. We suggest using one of the most popular programs"Total Commander":

Step 1. We open the program and get to the file we need.

Step 2. Press the F2 key, then change the file name after the dot and press the Enter key. We remind you that it is the text after the dot that contains information about the file extension. Now in the “Type” column you will be able to see the file with its new extension.

IN in this example we changed the extension of the “Error Codes” file from “.doc” to “.txt”

Video - How to change the file type on Windows 7

A file extension is a 2-3 character abbreviation of letters and numbers added to the file name. Used mainly to identify the file: so that the OS knows which program to open this type file.

For example, one of the most popular music formats is “mp3”. By default, in Windows OS such files are opened Windows program Media Player. If the extension (“mp3”) of such a file is changed to “jpg” (picture format), then this music file will try to open a completely different program in the OS and will most likely give you an error stating that the file is corrupted. Therefore, the file extension is a very important thing.

In Windows 7, 8, file extensions are usually not displayed. Instead, the user is prompted to identify file types by icons. In principle, you can use icons, only when you need to change the file extension - you must first enable its display. Let's look at this question further...

How to enable extension display

Windows 7

1) Go to Explorer, on the top panel click on “arrange/folder options...”. See screenshot below.

Rice. 1 Folder options in Windows 7

Rice. 2 menu view

3) At the very bottom we are interested in two points:

“Hide extensions for registered file types” - uncheck this item. After this, you will start to see all file extensions in Windows 7.

Rice. 3 Show file extensions.

Actually, the setup in Windows 7 is complete.

Windows 8

1) Go to Explorer and go to any of the folders. As you can see in the example below, there is a text file, but the extension is not displayed.

Rice. 4 Displaying a file in Windows 8

2) Go to the “view” menu, the panel is on top.

Rice. 6 Check the box to enable display of the extension

4) Now the extension display is enabled, it is “txt”.

Rice. 6 Editing the extension...

How to change a file extension

1) In Explorer

Changing the extension is very easy. Just right-click on the file and select the rename command from the pop-up context menu. Then, after the dot at the end of the file name, replace 2-3 characters with any others (see Fig. 6 just above in the article).

2) In commanders

In my opinion, for these purposes it is much more convenient to use some file manager(many people call them commanders). I like using Total Commander.

One of best programs in its own way. The main direction is to replace Explorer for working with files. Allows you to perform a wide range of different tasks: searching for files, editing, group renaming, working with archives, etc. I recommend having a similar program on your PC.

So, in Total you immediately see both the file and its extension (i.e., you don’t need to include anything in advance). By the way, it’s quite easy to immediately enable the display of all hidden files(See Figure 7 below: red arrow).

Rice. 7 Editing the file name in Total Commander.

By the way, unlike conductor Total Doesn't slow down when watching large quantity files in the folder. For example, open a folder in Explorer containing 1000 pictures: even on a modern and powerful PC you will notice slowdowns.

Just remember that an incorrectly specified extension may affect the opening of the file: the program may simply refuse to launch it!

And one more thing: do not change extensions unnecessarily.

Good luck!

Each file that is used in Windows 10 and other versions of the OS has an extension: .txt, .doc., .exe, .jpg and others. Often, users need to know how to change the file extension in Windows 10 to continue working.

Making visible

By default, extensions are not visible in Windows 10. Therefore, to change them, first turn on the display. There are two ways to do this.

In the View tab

In Folder Options

How to change

You can change the extension after it has been opened.

Using the context menu

The easiest way is to use the Context Menu.

Important! Use this method only when you know for sure what you are doing. If after this the file no longer opens, rename it back.

File groups

Important! The change will occur only for those files whose original extension matches the one specified in the command.

Conversion

Often the file is not launched by the program even after changing the extension. But this is not surprising, since it is intended solely to compare executable file program. The file itself is determined by its content.

If the file format is not supported by programs installed on your computer, convert it. Designed for this special programs. You can find them on the Internet. They differ in functionality depending on the tasks you solve.

Video

The video clearly shows the process of opening visibility and changing the extension.

Saving with a specific extension

To make changes to the system, you may need a file with the extension .bat or hosts without .txt extension. To create them, launch Notepad and, when saving, select “All files” in the “File type” field. If necessary, please indicate required extension.

Conclusion

Changing the extension is done using Context menu or Command line when working with a group of files. If your device does not have programs comparable to specific file, it can be converted into a suitable format using special programs.

Many novice users are wondering how to change the file format if there are no programs to open it.

Data sets can be divided into four main types:

• text;
• images;
• audio;
• video.

To save traffic documents large size packed in special archives like rar, zip, etc.

Each type of document requires its own methods for changing extensions.

Before performing an operation, you need to carefully evaluate all the consequences so as not to lose part of the information or the entire document.

The operating system does not initially display the extension code. To change settings, open the Folder Options window. The access path has 2 options.

• open explorer;
• Select the “Folder Options” tab at the top right;
• in the next window select “View”;
• in the list, find the item “Hide extensions for registered file types”;
• remove the check mark in front of the inscription (hover the mouse pointer and press the key);
• then click “Ok”.

In the second option, click the “Start” button on the desktop:

• Main menu, select “Control Panel”;
• Select “Folder Options” from the icons.

Further actions are similar to those described above. After changing the settings, the file name in Windows 7 should be displayed with the extension.

The extensions of archives such as zip and rar cannot be changed. Such folders should be unzipped (extracted) first. This operation is performed by special programs. The most popular are WinRAR and 7-zip. If the archiver is installed on your computer, when you try to open the file, a message will appear asking you to determine the location for the document.

Extensions text files can be changed using Explorer. To do this, select the file name and press the left mouse button. In the menu that opens, select “Rename”.

A frame will open on the line, the name is highlighted in blue, the extension is outside the selection area. The cursor should be moved beyond the last letter of the extension, press the Backspace key on the keyboard, delete letters and enter new ones.

You can change the file format in text Word editors, Open Office and similar. To do this, open the file in an editor. Then select “File” in the upper left corner of the window, find the “Save As” item in the menu that opens, click the mouse or use the key combination “Ctrl+Shift+S”.

The window settings contain several items, among which you should select “File type”. If it is difficult to select the desired extension, you can click on the triangle at the end of the line. A list will open possible options, among which you need to mark the desired one with the mouse and click the “Save” button.

Some text formats can only be converted online by going to the editor manufacturer's website. For books in fb2 and djvu is better install the appropriate editors rather than change the extension.

Graphic, audio, video files

There are several ways to change the image format. One of the simplest: open a folder with documents, select the one you need, and press the right mouse button. Select “Properties” from the menu.

On the “General” tab, in the first line with the name XXXXXXX.xxx, replace the extension code and click the “OK” button. A warning window will open: “After changing the extension, this file may no longer be accessible. Make the change?" Click "Yes".

If a document contains information that needs to be saved, you should make a copy and experiment with it. If the results are satisfactory, you can perform the conversion with other files.

Another way to change image extensions is to use graphic editor Paint installed initially. The image must be opened in the editor, use the F12 keyboard button or “File”, “Save As”.

When using F12, a window will open, in the bottom line of which you should select the desired extension. When you select Menu on the right, a list of possible saving formats will open. Move the mouse pointer to the desired one and click. Next, a window will open with settings for the location where you save and change the name.

Instead of Paint, you can use any other editor with similar functions.

The audio format can be changed by replacing the code in Explorer, but quality may be lost. Special converter programs have been created to reformat audio and video. Most of these applications are paid, trial versions work for a short period of time or insert additional elements and sounds during conversion.

It is advisable to use converters for large volumes of formatted documents.

In order not to rack your brains about how to change the format, it is advisable to install an additional player with advanced capabilities, such as KMPlayer or GuberLink.

In addition to those described, there are other types of files containing HTML, CSS, PHP, and other types of code. How can I change the extension of these files? In a similar way, but using the appropriate editor.

Simply changing the format in Explorer can render the document unusable. The reverse process is not always possible.