File ID program?

[Ant]

Hello!

In Linux, I use "file" command to identify files for their format types.
Does one exist in Windows XP and other Windows versions?

Thank you in advance.
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[Anando [MVP]]

Ummm...if you want to determine the file format in Windows XP, why dont you just right-click on the
file and select properties. That will tell you the file format and a lot more about the specific
file. Is there something else that you are looking for ?

--
Anando
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[Tim Slattery]

Hello!

In Linux, I use "file" command to identify files for their format types.
Does one exist in Windows XP and other Windows versions?

No.

The first few bytes in most Unix/Linux files have some kind of
signature that the "file" utility reads and interprets. Very few PC
files have such a thing. (Executable files, including *.exe and *.dll
do.) So a "file" utility would have very little to work with.

In this world, the file type is supposed to be given by the extension.
In Windows, the OS looks the extension up in the registry to determine
which program should be used to open a file. Some file types are well
known: *.txt, *.doc, *.xls, *.jpg, *.png, etc. Others are pretty
meaningless: *.dat is used by a number of programs for *totally*
different files. What they generally have in common is that they are
opened by the programs as needed, you never open them directly.
(Somebody will now come up with an exception.)

There is a list of many file extensions here:
http://mistupid.com/computers/filetypes.htm. I'm sure there are web
sites with more complete lists available.

 

[Ant]

Ummm...if you want to determine the file format in Windows XP, why dont you just right-click on the
file and select properties. That will tell you the file format and a lot more about the specific
file. Is there something else that you are looking for ?

Sorry, I forgot to say with a command line.
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"When I am at my lowest, that is when I see things the clearest. It's
hard to care about ants when you're soaring with eagles." --unknown
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