(In My Humble Opinion In Real Life Things Are Really Fouled Up)
If you're over 30 you may remember the days when people actually spoke and wrote English. Now, with widespread instant messaging and text messaging, people are learning a new language - acronyms.
Now acronyms aren't new and many of us over the age of 30 were using some of them way back when...
For instance, when I was first learning how to program back in the dark ages before laptops, personal computers and the internet I learned about FIFO, GIGO and EOF. I also learned that file extensions (those are the letters after the period on file names) are also acronyms for the files' type. And while some may have cared about the definition of the acronym used for the file extension, I was only interested in using the file extension to identify which files types I could create and modify and what programming language they were written in.
Now today I'm not going to give you a lesson about the programming languages used on big computers or explain the difference between compilers and interpreters. As online marketers interfacing with the web on a laptop or PC you could care less. Right?
Instead, today I'm going to talk about some of the common file extensions we see and deal with regularly. You see, last week I received an email from a reader who is a beginning online marketer and is still learning about the file types we see, use, upload and download. And since they are having a hard time keeping these file types straight and remembering what software is used to open and edit them I've created the following table. The table doesn't include every type of file possible or list every program you can use to open and edit it. It only lists the common types we see the most and the most common software used. (Where possible I've tried to include the name of free software that can be used.) If I didn't include a file type you think should be on the list please leave a comment telling us the file extension you think should be added and the information about it if you know.
Common File Type Extensions:
| Extension | Type | Use |
| .bmp | Bitmap Image File | Open with an image viewer.Can add text and convert to .gif or .jpg with Irfanview Change size and shape with Irfanview and .html Editors.MS Paint can be used to edit these image files
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| .cgi | Common Gateway Interface Script | Requires a web server to run and edit with a Text Editor
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| .css | Cascading Style Sheet | Contains the formatting the contents of a web page.
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| .doc | MicroSoft Word Document | Microsoft Word or OpenOffice (Writer)
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| .exe | Windows Executable File | These files run when you open them on PCs with Windows. Can not be edited easily and requires special software.
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| .gif | Image | Open with an image viewer. Can add text with Irfanview and change size and shape with Irfanview and .html Editors.MS Paint can be used to edit these image files
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| .html or .htm | Web Page | WYSISWYG* editor like FrontPage, Dreamweaver or Nvu
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| .jpg | Image | Open with an image viewer. Can add text with Irfanview and change size and shape with Irfanview and .html Editors.MS Paint can be used to edit these image files
|
| .js | JavaScript File | A text file with JavaScript code. Edit with a Text Editor.
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| .midi | MIDI File | Open with Apple QuickTime Player or Microsoft Windows Media Player
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| Portable Document Format File | Read with Adobe Reader Create and modify with Adobe Acrobat or create with OpenOffice (Writer)
| |
| .php | Hypertext Preprocessor File | View in a web browser and edit with a Text Editor
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| .psd | PhotoShop File | Edit with PhotoShop or GIMP
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| .swf | Macromedia Flash Movie | Can not edit. Open with Adobe Flash Player or with web browser with the Flash plug-in installed
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| .txt | Text File | Text Editor like NotePad or NoteTab
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| .wav | WAVE Audio File | Edit with Microsoft Windows Media Player. Can open with any music player.
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| .wmv | Windows Media Video File | Must usually convert to different file type and use special video software to edit. Open with web browser with the Windows Media Player plugin.
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| .zip | Zipped File | A file that has been compressed to save space and must be unzipped to edit. All file types may be zipped. |
* WYSISWYG - Acronym for What You See Is What You Get
Now the nice thing about using a PC to open and/or edit files is it's point and click operation. If you double click on the icon or file name of the file you want to open your PC will look at the file extension and open the file for viewing with the correct software or ask you what program to use. For instance, if you double click an image file the picture will appear using your image viewing software and if you double click a .txt file the file will be opened with your default text editor. If however you double click a file and your PC doesn't know what software to use for viewing the file like for a .js type file then it will either ask you to select the software to open the file or give you an error.
And if you don't want to just view the file but you want to edit it your PC will help you with that too. Just single click the file icon or name and then do a right-click. You then get a menu of things you can do with the file. The menu is different for different file types. Depending on the software on you PC and the file's extension some menus will allow you to preview, open, open with, edit or edit with.
Now your PC may not know what software to use the first time you try to open or edit a certain type of file and give you an error. However you can fix that easily. Simply highlight the file name, right click and select Open With. Then select the appropriate software from the list of software on your machine like NotePad for .cgi, .js and .php files or Adobe Reader for .pdf files. After you've made your selection from the list and before you click the OK button check the box that says to always use the selected software to open this kind of file. After you've done this your PC will always remember to open .pdf files with Adobe Reader and .php with your text editor so you won't have to.
AISB IRL TARFU but you have to be. You don't have to learn all the definitions for the file extensions you use. You only need to know how to open and edit them. And hopefully now you do.
To Your Success,
Susan
If you found this tip useful please let me know by leaving a comment.
Tags: file types, file extensions, common file types, common file extensions
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