5.1 The Windows 9x File Structure and File Management System
5.1.6 Recognizing file types in Windows
This section discusses how to recognize the most widely used types of files in a directory/folder. Some examples are word processing files, spreadsheet files, database files, presentation files, rich text (RTF) files, and image files. The main parameter used is the file extension, mentioned earlier in this chapter.

The following file extensions describe the file format or the type of application that was used to create the file (* indicates the given file name such as client_accounts_12-05-01):

  • *.doc – Microsoft Word or WordPad
  • *.xls – Microsoft Excel
  • *.dbf or *.dat – database files
  • *.txt – ASCII text with no formatting (bold, underline, and so on.)
  • *.exe and *.com – executable programs
  • *.sys – DOS or Windows driver files
  • *.dll – Windows dynamic link libraries
  • *.htm or *.html – Internet Hypertext Markup Language (web page)
  • *.ini – Windows or other configuration files
  • *.rtf – Rich Text Format (a safer form of word documents that has no macros but retains page formatting)
  • *.wks, *.wk1 – Lotus 123 spreadsheet files

There are many more extensions that describe other types of file formats:

  • *.bmp, *.jpg, *.mpg, *.gif, *.tif, *.pcx – Image files
  • *.ppt – Power Point
  • *.wav, *.mp3 – Sound
  • *.log, *.bat – batch files or Log files
Lab Activity  (PDF, 24 KB)
  In this lab, students will be able to change the file view based on their needs or preferences.