File rename

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Guest

When attempting to rename a file, i got the following message:
"If you change a file name extension, the file may became unusable"
If i click yes to change the name, the file is not lost but when wanting to
open it a dialog box open requesting that i choose a program with which to
open...which is no problem however, a bit of a long process which never
happened until recently.
Is there a way to correct? Thanks in advance
 
Dan said:
When attempting to rename a file, i got the following message:
"If you change a file name extension, the file may became unusable"
If i click yes to change the name, the file is not lost but when
wanting to open it a dialog box open requesting that i choose a
program with which to open...which is no problem however, a bit of a
long process which never happened until recently.
Is there a way to correct? Thanks in advance
Click to expand...


There is nothing to correct. It's working properly

Windows keeps track of which program is used to open each file extension
(called an "association"). If you cange a a file's extension from .doc to
..txt, Windows will already have an association between .txt and Notepad
(unless you've changed it) and will subsequently open that file in Notepad.

However if you change a file's extension to one that that Windows doesn't
have in its list of associations (for example, .xyz), when you try to open
it, Windows doesn't know what program to open it with, and prompts you to
tell it.

The reason it never happened until recently is that you never before tried
to change to an extension Windows didn't know.
 
thank you , but i do not change the file extension...but merely change the
name for example with a photo from say DSCF001 to Say John, or with a scan
file from scan0001 to bill without changing anything else....
 
Dan said:
When attempting to rename a file, i got the following
message: "If you change a file name extension, the file may
became unusable"
If i click yes to change the name, the file is not lost but
when wanting to open it a dialog box open requesting that i
choose a program with which to open...which is no problem
however, a bit of a long process which never happened until
recently.
Is there a way to correct? Thanks in advance
Click to expand...

Go to Control Panel and double click Folder Options.
In Folder Options, click on the View tab.
In the Advanced Settings box, is "Hide extensions for known
file types" unchecked.
If so, when you rename a file you're going to have to include
the file extension in the new name.
For example, for a file named scan0001.jpg you have to enter
bill.jpg when you rename it.
The alternative is to put a check mark in the box next to "Hide
extensions for known file types". That's not something I'd
recommend.

Good luck

Nepatsfan
 
Dan said:
When attempting to rename a file, i got the following message:
"If you change a file name extension, the file may became
unusable" If i click yes to change the name, the file is not lost
but when wanting to open it a dialog box open requesting that i
choose a program with which to open...which is no problem
however, a bit of a long process which never happened until
recently.
Is there a way to correct? Thanks in advance
Click to expand...

There is nothing to correct. It's working properly

Windows keeps track of which program is used to open each file
extension (called an "association"). If you cange a a file's
extension from .doc to ..txt, Windows will already have an
association between .txt and Notepad (unless you've changed it)
and will subsequently open that file in Notepad.

However if you change a file's extension to one that that Windows
doesn't have in its list of associations (for example, .xyz), when
you try to open it, Windows doesn't know what program to open it
with, and prompts you to tell it.

The reason it never happened until recently is that you never
before tried to change to an extension Windows didn't know.
Click to expand...
thank you , but i do not change the file extension...but merely
change the name for example with a photo from say DSCF001 to Say
John, or with a scan file from scan0001 to bill without changing
anything else....
Click to expand...
Go to Control Panel and double click Folder Options.
In Folder Options, click on the View tab.
In the Advanced Settings box, is "Hide extensions for known
file types" unchecked.
If so, when you rename a file you're going to have to include
the file extension in the new name.
For example, for a file named scan0001.jpg you have to enter
bill.jpg when you rename it.
The alternative is to put a check mark in the box next to "Hide
extensions for known file types". That's not something I'd
recommend.
Click to expand...

I agree with Nepatsfan.

Sounds like you inadvertently turned off the feature that hides extensions
of known types and now when you rename - you are actualkly renaming the
extension as well (or not putting one.) For the normal user (default) - the
extensions are hidden. Is that good? That's a matter of opinion - I think.
You have more control if you can see the entire name all the time - but if
you have no interest in that, hidden might work for you forever.
 
Dan said:
thank you , but i do not change the file extension...but merely
change the name for example with a photo from say DSCF001 to Say
John, or with a scan file from scan0001 to bill without changing
anything else....
Click to expand...


Actually you *have* changed the extension; you just don't realize it.

You haven't changed the Windows XP default of hiding the file extension. I
think it's a terrible default, but that's what Microsoft chose to do.

So your photo isn't named DSCF001, it's named DSCF001.jpg or something like
that. You just aren't seeing the hidden .jpg. When you changed the name from
DSCF001.jpg to bill (without any extension on the bill) you changed the
extension to a blank one without realizing it.

To turn off the hiding of extensions, go to My Computer and click Tools |
Folder Options. On the View tab, uncheck the box "Hide extensions for known
file types" and click OK.

This is something I think *everybody* should do. The choice of hiding those
extensions shouldn't even be offered.
 
Hi Nepatsfan, I tried to check the box next to the option you mentioned and
it works so the problem is solved...but why do you recommend NOT to check
this box?
 
It's a security issue. Let's say you receive an email from a
friend whose system has been infected with a virus. Attached to
that email is a file named HotBabe.jpg. You open the attachment
expecting to see a picture. Unfortunately, your computer is now
infected. Having file extensions hidden prevented you from
seeing that the actual name of that file is HotBabe.jpg.exe.

Here are a couple of web sites with more info,

Security issues for Windows and IE, Enable the Hidden Files
Option
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/security.htm

Hidden File Extensions
http://www.cert.org/tech_tips/home_networks.html#III-B-10

Nepatsfan
 
reviewing the site you mentioned certainly indicates that your recommendation
has a lot of merit. While i do not really know if i would be able to
distinguish whether a file is infected or not by looking at the file
name....i have followed your recommendation and unchkecked the box ...safe
is better than sorry and adding the file name to the rename is not really a
big deal...thanks for your expertise.
 
You're welcome.

Nepatsfan

Dan said:
reviewing the site you mentioned certainly indicates that
your recommendation has a lot of merit. While i do not
really know if i would be able to distinguish whether a file
is infected or not by looking at the file name....i have
followed your recommendation and unchkecked the box ...safe
is better than sorry and adding the file name to the rename
is not really a big deal...thanks for your expertise.
Click to expand...
 
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