File formats (types)

Everyone who has ever used a personal computer knows that all files have a certain format. You can read it by clicking on the file name. It has this form: the first part is the name given by the user, which is closed by a dot; The second is the file formats themselves. Those we are used to dealing with are most often the most common. For movies, this is .avi, for music - .mp3 and .wav, and for photos - .jpg. However, there are many other file extensions. We'll talk about them in this article. In addition, we will review the main programs by which these files can be opened properly.

Open file formats for viewing

The first remark that a user might have is that he may not see the file format on his computer. That is, it will be available for editing (editing) and reading only the main file name, not the data after the format separation point. If this is the situation, do not worry, there is nothing wrong with that.

In the Windows operating system, you can hide file formats. This is done for a more convenient use of the computer for those people who do not change the format, and they need the PC only to work with data, maybe even for home use. Enable or disable the hide format function is quite simple. You need to go to the "Service" - the item that is at the top of the window of any folder, then select the "Folder Options" drop-down menu. It, accordingly, opens a dialog box where you can edit the features of displaying folders and files. There you need to click "View" and put (or uncheck) a checkmark next to "Hide extensions for registered file types". If the extensions are hidden, the format will not be displayed.

File format. The main program

In addition to considering how to make the computer display and hide formats, it is also necessary to give a little explanation about the so-called target program with which the file can be opened. It can also be called the program of main purpose.

The thing is this: the same file formats can be opened by different applications. Let's say, .jpg opens as programs for viewing images, and graphic editors to change it. They can also be opened and imported into presentation software, for example. However, through which application we will open our picture in .jpg, depends on our goal - what we want to do with it. Therefore, in the following explanations we will take this into account.

Text files with formatting

Let's start with a description of the files that contain text with formatting. Of course, the most common of these is the format of the Word file (.doc, .docx). They can easily transfer text with additional settings (for example, headers, page layout, and so on). Such files can be conveniently edited in all versions of Microsoft Office Word (except for .docx files in the 2003 program and earlier). Most users use this text editor, which can transmit the text format.

In addition, you can name another format - .rtf, which can also be opened and Word, and another, more simple editor - WordPad.

And, of course, you can not forget that there is a file in the .pdf format. It is able to transmit not only textual information (stored, for example, through Office Word), but also contain graphic elements. You can paste them through image editors, such as Adobe Photoshop.

Files with text without format

If we talk about how you can find text files, you can not, of course, call the most popular extension. Although it is not capable of transmitting text formatting: headers, pictures, tables, etc., the symbols and text signs themselves best convey the format of the .txt file.

Create and read it best with the help of a basic editor, which is on all personal computers (not only on the Windows operating system). It's Notepad.

For whatever purpose you create this or that text, it's easy and convenient to do it with the help of this program. It can be either "at hand" notes on the desktop, or system files intended for hosting or for collecting data using scripts and programs.

Graphic software

Of course, the most important role when working with a computer for each of us is graphics. And it does not matter what you do: just show your friends photos from the rest or create a design for the site - in each of these, and in many other cases you will meet the formats of graphic files.

As a rule, these are well-known .jpg and .jpeg (most common), .bmp (created using the standard Paint drawing program), .png (icons that can support a transparent background when transferring pictures), .gif (animated images consisting of several Frames) and .psd (a standard Photoshop file that preserves the working area of the image). Of course, there are many more graphic files, but not all of them face them. Let's start by analyzing the main areas where we work with graphics.

View graphics

Of course, all formats of graphic files can be opened for viewing. Some (such as .gif, .jpg and .png) can be viewed using basic programs for viewing pictures installed on any Windows; Others can only be opened with special programs intended for editing (for example, .psd or CorelDraw file). In this case, the image can not only be viewed, but also modified as you please.

Advantages of programs for viewing are that they allow you to easily get acquainted with the content (sometimes even on a large scale). In addition, there are applications that can perform small manipulations on photos (like creating additional lighting, eliminating the effect of "red eyes" and others). Of course, they can be called editors, but formally they relate to such a provision, which only makes it possible to inspect images.

Editing Images

As for a deeper change in photos and pictures, there is no need to do without editors. Of course, there are a lot of narrowly focused programs that allow you to easily and quickly perform a particular operation (for example, resizing photos or applying filters). However, the most universal and flexible in any case is Photoshop. With this program, you do not need to think about how to open a file format of graphic content - it supports the widest range of extensions. And, what is remarkable, the vast majority of them can be amenable to change. The possibilities that PS gives to its users are simply unrealistic to enumerate.

Music files

From the photos we move on to music and records - another category of popular content among PC users. Of course, here we should mention the format of the .mp3 file. This is the most popular extension, which can guarantee high-quality sound of your music. It is compatible with almost any device capable of playing media files.

Then you can mark the formats .wave (which at one time was actively used on mobile phones that do not support .mp3), .aac, .aiff, .flac, .ogg. Differences between this or that format consist in the fact that some of them use compression of audio data, in connection with which the sound quality is lost. Others do not resort to this distortion, but the files are more cumbersome.

You can open an audio file using any player. The most popular of them support a huge number of formats.

Movies & Videos

Those who often watch serials or any films, perfectly know that such files are predominantly provided in the .avi format. This is the best option from the category "File saving formats" in terms of visual-audio data transfer, because it is able to show high quality on the maximum number of devices. However, in addition to it, of course, you can watch video in the worst quality, but with the help of earlier versions of mobile phones (.3gp), as well as .mp4 (for older generation of players), .mpeg and others.

Again, as in the case of audio recordings, they can be opened by any video player on Windows or MacOS.

Web page format

You know that many site addresses end with .html. It's strange, is not it? It would seem, how can the page on the Internet end in the same way as the file extension?

Everything is very simple! In fact, when we go to a particular resource, we refer to this file. And of course, if you see the .html file format on your computer, be sure: you have a web page in front of you. How to open it?

It all depends on the purpose of running such a file. For example, if you just need to view its contents and how the code is displayed - you can safely use the browser (Google Chrome, Opera, Mozilla - your choice).

In the same case, if you want to change the page, you need to run it using text editors, starting with the most simple, "Notepad", and ending with a complex solution for creating web pages - Adobe Dreamweaver.

System Files and Execution Files

So, after we finish looking at such types of files as music, pictures, movies and web pages, let's move on to another equally important category of data that we all very often encounter are system files.

As a rule, we know that they play an important role in the work of our system. And we try not to touch them, so as not to face problems at the level of the operating system. Such files often come in the .dll format, and we are used to ignoring them.

Another category is executable files that have the extension .exe. We know that if we run such a file, we open the program or application to which it relates. Often, downloading from the Internet an unknown file such as file.exe, we can also see the warning of the antivirus application signaling the threat of such files.

And it's true, .exe can run a wide range of scripts on your computer, so you should be careful with them.

What happens if the format is changed?

We will also touch upon such a topic as selecting a program with which you can open a file of one or another format.

The fact is that many data extensions are so flexible that they can be opened through different applications. An example is .jpg. In the usual photo viewer, you will see the picture itself, whereas in Photoshop you will have an entire working field open, allowing you to change anything in this image.

This is a clear example of the fact that the complex of available actions in each individual case depends on the software with which we work. If you open the index.html file in the browser, you will see the page of the site, whereas in the notebook it will be a lot of lines with the code. And so on.

True, of course, you can change the programs for opening different types of files within reasonable limits. Let's just say: you can open an audio file with a notebook, but what you see will not tell you anything: it will be a mass of encoded information displayed as "hieroglyphics".

Hide file extensions

So, we spent a short excursion on the file formats with which common users usually deal. Of course, there are many more. And it is clear that you did not work personally with each of them. Simply, perhaps, you did not think about the purpose of some formats, and now they have become a little clearer to you.

Now, if you are uncomfortable constantly seeing the type of this or that file for certain reasons (for example, to not accidentally change the format in the title), you can turn off this feature. You can do this in the "Properties" of any folder by ticking "Do not display file extensions". For most users of a home computer, experts advise you to do just that, in order not to get confused about what format the file has when renaming it.