How do I change the file type and in what cases?

In some cases, after the file is 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 the file extension? The extension (or type, format) of a 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, the file image.jpg, which refers to the graphic type, can never turn into an executable file.

But sometimes changing the file extension can significantly affect its performance. 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 of how to change the type of file can not be at all-for this it is enough to simply rename the file by changing the particle name after the point. To do this, simply find the desired 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 its extension. How do I 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 settings of the Windows operating system the display of extensions, you need to go to the "Start" menu and select the "Control Panel" item. If the system displays the file "Style by category", 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 and display files, before changing the file type, you can use the file manager, for example, the popular program "Total Commander". 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, remember that simply changing the extension can not change all file types. 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 certain types of files, enabling the user to view and edit them using other applications.