Fred said:
how do I open files in "My Documents" that I saved.
These documents were emailed to me and I want to make
sure they are correct before i forward them.
Usually double-clicks will run the program that XP thinks the document's
file extension "belongs" to. (The file extension is the stuff behind the
filename's last dot -- .png, .exe, .doc, .pl and so on. If you don't see
file extensions in Explorer, I strongly advise you to use Explorer's
"folder options" (Extras menu) to un-hide them. File extensions are
invaluable in determining an unknown file's filetype. (Note that if a
"malicious" file is called "I_am_a_pretty_picture.jpeg.exe" you might only
see the .jpeg extension, thinking this is an image when it really is a
potentially harmful executable.)
If the file extension isn't registered, XP won't know what program to open
the file with. You might then have to search around for some suitable
program (right click the document, choose "open with...").
Most filetypes can be used with more than just one program..doc files, for
example, are (usually) MS Word documents; however, Wordpad will read them
as well (to some extent, it's pretty stripped-down compared to Word
itself).
And then there are free alternatives to Word, like OpenOffice
(
http://www.openoffice.org) or AbiWord (
http://www.abisource.com/). These
will also handle Microsoft's format to a certain degree.
However, double-clicking will also run executable files (programs, that
is), so don't just go around double-clicking anything anybody sent you. If
it's a person you don't know or if the e-mail looks like it merely pretends
to be by somebody you know but has a really weird subject line or no
identifiable content, it might very well be a virus or trojan or some such
thing mailing itself to you.
~Ally
