Windows 7 Show File Extensions

Windows 7 hides file extensions by default in order to try and keep things simple. Here’s how to enable show file extensions so you can change them. Computer files have two parts to their names: a descriptive name and a file extension. For example Report.doc is a file created by Microsoft Word. You know this because of the .doc extension. Similarly Music.mp3 is a music file which can be opened by any application which can handle mp3 files. Because these are common (or known) types of file, Windows doesn’t display the .doc or .mp3 as it’s unnecessary.

Show File Extensions in Windows 7

There are two ways how you can go about accessing this setting. One way is through the Control Panel and other way is through Windows Explorer itself. In both ways, you will be toggling the option to see file extensions.

Open Control Panel > Appearance and Personalization. Now, click on Folder Options or File Explorer Option, as it is now called > View tab. In this tab, under Advance Settings, you will see the option Hide extensions for known file types. Uncheck this option and click on Apply and OK.

Now, you can see file extensions for all files anywhere on your Windows system.

These are very simple steps to follow and you do not need any third party software to view file extensions. Windows provides us everything which can be easily achieved and the point lies in knowing and implementing them. This is the first way to see file extensions in Windows 7.