Learn how to change a file’s extension in Windows Vista.
All files end with an extension like .txt for a plain text document or .jpg for a picture. The extension tells Windows Vista what type of file it is and what program to open it with. This guide shows you how to change a file’s extension in Windows Vista.
Change a File Extension
Show File Extensions
First you need to set Windows Vista to show file extensions.
- Click Computer in the Start menu.
- Press the Alt key on the right side of your keyboard.
- A hidden menu will appear in the Computer window. Click Tools and then click Folder Options.
- Click the View tab.
- Uncheck Hide extensions for known file types.
- Click OK to save your changes.
Learn how to show file extensions in Windows 7 too.
Change a File Extension
Now that we can see a file’s extension we can change it.
- Click on the file that you want to change the extension.
- Wait a second or two.
- Click the file again.
- The name of the file will become highlighted. Simply erase the extension and give it a new one.
Still need help? Ask your computer question now.
Thanks alot.
Thank you! Thank you! I spent a better part of a day working on opening a CS file. Yours was the only advice that actually did work! If it wasn’t for you, I would have had to redo my entire 16 hours of work on that file. Thanks!
Glad I could help.
epal
Thankyou! That was driving me crazy! : )
No, I tried but I received this message:
If you change a file name extension, the file may become unusable.
Any idea to deal with this problem?
don’t erase the file format like .mp3 or .wma you change the file name
You can just simply go to control panel> classic view> folder options> view tab then check the “Hide extensions for known file types”
so can you change a .wma to an .mp3 or would that not work out?
Nope. You would have to convert the file to one format to another.
That is OK Paul. It’s just a warning that lets you know if you change the file’s extension it might not work. You could always change it back without causing any problems.
I guess that Paul Ong was actually asking how to get rid ofthe message “If you change a file name extension, the file may become unusable.” For example, I want to rename .ra to .rar (because that way it would be correct for this archive file). This message keeps popping up. Really annoying. Any ideas of having extensions shown but not getting a warning when you are changing known extensions?
oh, yah, btw, you can just click on file and not wait for 2 seconds, just click F2 in order to get from step 1 to step 4 of changing file extension.
Finnaly! You help me! Now I finnaly can change a txt file to html one… FINNALY! Thanks, you really helped me!!!
THANK YOU!!!
Thank *&%#$%% god! I’m a mac user and that was driving me nuts. I hate windows!!!!! But I love you. :)
well fag user, im from the future (using W7) and im just letting you know that everyone hates you too… :)
wow thanks man!!! thank you soooooooooo muchhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!! i was sooooooooo frustrated why renaming wouldn’t work… you saved me big time! thank you!!!
Ok, did this and it’s still not freaking working. I am about to throw this vista piece of crap. As soon as I click on the file name, the extension disappears. And I have double checked the settings to make sure the hide extension option is unchecked. Please save a new laptop and help me.
I changed the file extension from
TXT to DOC and by mistakenly said YES to the prompt. How to retrieve the document become unusabale.
Thanks,
Easy, just change it back to file name.txt, or open it and File> save as> select .txt extensions.
Hahahahahahahahahah ;-)
Thankssss a bunch man…
thankyou very much!! I really need this help so badly.
THANK YOU GUYSSSSSSS XDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD imma so happy
Finally! Geez I wasted 25 minutes finding this quick solution… no one else seem to understand the issue- changing an extension one time, quickly. Thanks very much for the help.
Thanks a lot. It worked fine.
Mabacu.
wow thanks alot!! it took me a couple of mins to figure out how to change it then i relised u need to put the song name.mp3 lol
cheers adam
i stilll dont get it>?
Thx alot
what is a file extention?
omg thx to adam747
thanks for the info. It helped a lot. Iv’e been trying to figure out how to upload a vidoe for a while and this works great.
hey. i need help. ok i went to the folder options and changed all that i had to but there was no hidden file that poped up. so what do i click on?
It didn’t work when I tried changing a .htm to an.mp3 file. What do I do?
thanks ;)
It didn’t work, I have a laptop and I tried to use the right one wich didn’t work at all. And on the left one I got a hidden menu bu there I could’nt find anything that said tools :(
For your laptop.You can try to open the “my computer” on your desktop or any other folders. After that press and hold left alt then press F this will open the menu bar above with the “file” menu selected then just follow the instructions above. Hope this help.
For some reason I cant save the file or drag it to my itunes. it keeps saying it cannot be played on my ipod…
any advice?
thanks a bunch!
i still don’t get how to do this thing
So I’m dealing with an mp3 and I rename it blahblah.mp3 but my music players won’t play it.
real player says it contains data that may be corrupt and wmp says that the codec can not be read. Any suggestions?
A lot of people tend to have this problem. I did shortly after trying this.
But I somehow got WMP to play a changed mp3 file by after changing the file I wanted to an mp3 I went back to the View tab in Folder Options, checked and unchecked the ‘hide extensions for known file types’ then applied it. It should work for anyone.
hey there. i followed the instructions thoroughly, but my WMp still wont play the changed file. then i read this feed and tried to do it but it still not playing…any other suggestions? thanks!!!
Wow, man!Thanx! I was almost quiting of trying. That was, althought simple, really helpful! God bless you.
10/10
Thanks for the tip. You have helped me a lot…
how can you use this site with a mac? and i have a macbook so it has no right click……
ctrl+click = right click :D
Thanks a lot! I’ve tried my Elvis’s & Connie Francis’s songs in html files to change to mp3 format
in vain for nearly 3 months.Now that I’ve got them with your invalueable help. Thanks again.
thanks
Hi, this information is so useful to me! thank you(:
this is really helpful. thanks
you are a real nerd! thank you very much. changed a file with extention “wow” to pdf and pooof. it works on winXP.
OMG!! Thanks!! who ever wrote this!!
Omg your so awesome!!
All u hav 2 do is uncheck that hide thing n then change the format!
Thanks!!
When I’m on computer, and press the right side alt on my keyboard, no hidden window pops up. nothing happens but the word file being highlighted. Any help?
The menu is not hidden on your computer. Click tools > folder options and so on…
Nothing happens when I press ALT :(
Pretty cool. Thanks for the tip :D
hi, i’m trying to download a song but wen i click the download icon, nothing happens, once i tried it but iT only played on my wmp but didn’t save, then i right clicked on the icon and tried to “save target as” this dialogue box came up said something was downloading but then closed after 3 secs i don’t know where what went. i was then advised to do a “how to” for vista and was brought to this site, i followed as far as the first part but couldn’t continue because i don’t know where the music is. all i want to do is download the song to a folder on my desktop. i use to be able to with my last laptop but for some reason i can’t do so. FYI i use to have a sony laptop and now i work with an acer………………HELP!!
man, i’m having same problem…..anyone can help????
I CANT GET IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IT ISN”T HELPINGGGG!!!!!!!!
Awesome… thank you… simple but important..
THX so much!!! :-)))
6 years ago, i have a problem with some mp3 files, they whare blank files, but mp3 and guy who sold me comp change extension whit DOS, but not all songs and i ask him how did he do it, he ain’t tell me and so i have to erase some good songs.
And now i learn with your help. :-)))
Once again, THANK YOU VERY VERY MUCH!!!!!!!!
I’m trying to change the name of iexplore.exe in vista as antivirus pro has taken over my computer. Vista says the change is denied. how do I bypass that.
You are better off scanning your PC with antivirus software like Microsoft Security Essentials and let it remove the virus for you.
Thnx a lot I really grateful to u.
If you are using classic menu, just go into Control Panels, make sure it’s set to “Classic” and you will see folder options in there.
ugh…spoke too soon.
I just right click on the file i want to change the extension of. Then go to “Open With” and then “Choose Default Program”.
finaly someone that was able to give a good answer. I always forget about that ALT key. loll. ty very much!!
Thanks a lot dear finally i get a straight forward true answer.
Perfect fix for the last step of creating your own free ringtones from songs you own. (Or stole) U basically just have to open iTunes, listen to the song, pick the 30 seconds you want to use as a ringtone (will not work for more than 30 seconds) right click the song hit get info go to options, change the song length from the beginning time of the 30 seconds to the end time of the 30 seconds, apply it, right click the song, create a 30 second AAC version, copy that to your desktop, use this MAGICAL guide to change the extension from .m4a to .m4r, delete the 30 second song from your library, and re-import the 30 second song with the .m4r extension on your desktop, and it gives you the ringtone free in your library
everytime i wanna download something
a new page open nd i cant download it
wt should i do ?? =D
THANKS!!!!!
Thank you so much for this
Nice…
I’m using it all time.
Hi, If you are looking for some file extensions, take a peek at file-extensions.org. It is huge file extensions database. Have a nice day:-)
Very fine……and also helpful
I’m using it always……..
Thank you……..
Thankyou so much!! i just don’t get why its now hidden in vista!!
remember guys changing a file type doesn’t change the file so a zip can become a jpeg for transfer on email then you can just change it back :D
tks a lot
It was so easy and awesome thank you very much! ^-^
i’ll tell my friends!
Just wondering, so by changing the file extension name could the government still track it then that shows you downloaded it illegally?
Yes. They would know that you downloaded it from your ISPs records. Changing the file name or extension won’t matter at all.
thanks a lot been trying to change file extensions for my ringtones for iphone ;)
can you just make it easier without having to do this and that??
U guys are geniuses. thanx a million
THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!
didnt work.. AGHHH Dx stupid url file T-T youre supposed to be an exe file Dx
Can we rename multiple files instead of rename one by one?
If you have any file extensions that you don’t know, have a look here http://dotwhat.net/
wow that does work i passed almost a whole day trying To change files but than this finally worked thank you thank you!!
I have .wma music files that id like to transfer to my mp3, but when I change the file extension from .wma to .mp3 it doesnt let me play it anywhere. how can I get those wma files to my mp3?
Thank youuuuuu
This helped a great deal. But now I have run into a Chrome Html file problem. It won’t allow me to change the extension…well I can rename it with an mp3 extension but it still says that it is an HTML file and will not play. what should i do now?
how can i change .mpw files to .mpp files..plz help me
i have a swf game file and i want a jar file can i change it by renaming it?
No. You’ll have to convert it to the new format if that’s possible.
1.For open Folder Options, click the Start button, click Control Panel, Appearance and Personalization, and then click Folder Options.
2.Click the View tab and then click Advanced Settings, do one of the following:
To hide file extensions, select the Hide file extensions for known file types, and then click OK.
To display file extensions, clear the Hide file extensions for known file types and then click OK.
Bué fixe!
Recently every time I try to download a song with right click and Save As.. the name of the file is Preview.mp3, and it’s like 616kb in size…. Wont play and changing the name wont do much since it’s only 616kb.. Anyone know what I am doing wrong??
Thank you for any help..
Dianna
Excellent, this has been bugging me for a while, very clear!
Cheers
Jo
Thank you to you and google! :)
Any way I can stop windows from asking me every time whether I want to change it?
Thank you so much the instruction guide, made our lives so much easier for beginners in Windows 7. Thank you!
i press atl key of right side but does not work
Make sure you click in the Explorer window to bring it “in focus” before you press right alt.
Whenever I do this method, it does not work for me. I uncheck the folder and everything but the “Apply to Folders” at the top is greyed in. And when I click apply or OK at the bottom, it doesn’t change anything. The file extension is still hidden. This is very frustrating because I need to know the file extension. Please help!!!
Thank you. I’ve spent far too long trying to find this basic ability. It’s something that is so simple but is not easily accessible. It’s stuff like this that pisses me off about making stuff “fool-proof”.
Thanks a lot! Now I know how to customize files in Stepmania to make it work… thanks again!
You save me a lot of time by telling me and easy way to convert a mp3 to a zip.
Thank you so much
thanks brov
Thank you very much.
I was going in circles…
heyy umm so like i did the top thingy for changing the HTML file into something else but it still wont open in my media player..?? please help…thanks heaps!!! xx
thanks man.i thik that virouse on my computer.it so simple.thank u again
I edited a system file with Notepad and now Notepad will only save it as a .txt doc. How can I change this file back to a system file with no extension?
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thank you very much that ws a useful stuff