Change file extensions in windows 10

Change File Extension One-by-One and in Bulk

All the files on your computer need proper applications to open. Sometimes, the installed application on your computer can only open specific files. For example, the app can only open PNG images, but your images are JPGs. Or your computer only works for PPT files, but your file is a PPTX. That’s when you need to change the file extension to the corresponding one. In this article, we will tell you what is file extension, and how to change the file extension in Windows 10.

Main Content:

What is File Extension
How to Change File Extension in Windows 10
How to Change File Extension in Bulk
Bonus Tip: How to Check File System in Windows 10

What Is File Extension

The file extension is also called a filename extension, it is a suffix at the end of your computer files. A complete file name includes the file name and file extension, and the file extension and file name are separated by a dot. The operating system uses file extensions to identify which applications are associated with which file types, in other words, which application will open when you double-click the file.

There are, like hundreds of existing file extensions. Below we have listed some common file extensions.

• DOC/DOCX: Represents for Microsoft Word documents. DOC is the original extension used for Word files. After Word 2007 has released, Microsoft changed the file extension to DOCX. That’s because Word documents are now based on the XML format, so Microsoft added an «X» at the end of DOC.
• XLS/XLSX: Represents Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. The reason why XLSX has an additional «X» is the same as that of a Word document.
• PNG: It stands for Portable Network Graphics, is a lossless image file format.
• HTM/HTML: Represents HyperText Markup Language. It is the format for creating web pages online.
• PDF: It stands for Portable Document Format. It is a file type originated by Adobe and used to maintain formatting in distributed documents.
• EXE: An executable format used for programs you can run.

Now, you can apply the following steps to change the file extension by yourself.

Step 1. Open Windows File Explorer.

Step 2. Click the «View» tab. Tick the «File name extensions» option.

Step 3. Now you can see the file extension of all your files. Find the file that you would like to change the file extension, right-click the file, choose rename, and enter the new file extension.

How to Change File Extension in Bulk

The first method enables users to change file extensions one by one, what if you want to change several file extensions at one time? We are also curious about this question. Is there any method that can finish this task all at once?

Unfortunately, NO. 

One method claims that you can select all the files first, and right-click then choose «Rename» to bulk change the file extension. We’ve tried this method. Sadly, you can’t use this method to bulk change file extensions. Even though you have select all the files, Windows will send you a confirmation message every time you changed one file extension.

So even though pages are saying that you can change the file extension in bulk, the methods they offer are actually invalid.

Bonus Tip: How to Check File System in Windows 10

After knowing how to change the file extension, we want to introduce a handy tool that can help you check and fix system errors as well as manage partitions.

Checking for disk errors will help prevent unknown hard disk troubles and troubleshoot disk read errors, storage-related errors, and even system boot problems. And if you got a new hard drive, you also need to manage your hard disk.

One such tool is EaseUS Partition Master Free version. With this tool, users could check and fix the file system with simple clicks. And it also supports users to resize, move, merge, and Copy disks or partitions.

If you are interested in this tool, download it from the button below for free, and follow the guide to see how to check and fix the file system.

Step 1. Open EaseUS Partition Master on your computer. Then, locate the disk, right-click the partition you want to check, and choose «Advanced» > «Check File System».

Step 2. In the Check File System window, keep the «Try to fix errors if found» option selected and click «Start».

Step 3. The software will begin checking your partition file system on your disk. When it completes, click «Finish».

The Bottom Line

That’s all about how to change the file extension in Windows 10. Hope you can fix your problem after reading this article. Don’t hesitate to try the FREE EaseUS Partition Master.

Nearly every file in Windows 10 has a file extension. At times, however, there may be a file that you need in a different format. For example, your picture is a .JPG file but you need it as a .PNG. To resolve this, you can rename files in Windows Explorer and have them change automatically.

What is a file extension?

A file extension is a three-letter code at the end of the file name which tells your computer how to interpret it and how it was created. Some you may be familiar with include .exe, .jpg, .docx, and .txt. 

When is it safe to change a file extension?

Though you can rename many files to switch their file extension, most will “break” when you do so. This is typically because the file type is specific to a certain code-format.

However, if you turn the file extension of an image (.jpg) into a text file (.txt), you’ll just get random numbers and letters when you open it. Similarly, if you were to turn a .txt file into a .exe, nothing would happen if you tried to run it.

As a result, it’s best to only change a file extension only if you have a good reason for doing so. For example, you accidentally saved it in the wrong format or the file is not working in its current form. However, you can safely experiment by creating a copy of your file and changing its file type instead of the original copy.

Without further ado, here’s how to change file a file extension in Windows 10 by renaming:

How to Change the Extension of a File in File Explorer

If you found this Windows file extension tutorial useful, you may be interested in our other guides. Here’s how you can open and convert HEIC files and view or edit SVG files. If your file stopped working using this method, you may want to try renaming it back or restoring the file via File History.

.DOC     Microsoft Word Document
.DOCX    Microsoft Word Open XML Document
.LOG     Log File.MSG   Outlook Mail Message
.ODT     OpenDocument Text Document
.PAGES   Pages Document
.RTF     Rich Text Format File
.TEX     LaTeX Source Document
.TXT     Plain Text File
.WPD     WordPerfect Document
.WPS     Microsoft Works Word Processor Document

.AIF   Audio Interchange File Format
.IFF   Interchange File Format
.M3U   Media Playlist File
.M4A   MPEG-4 Audio File
.MID   MIDI File
.MP3   MP3 Audio File
.MPA   MPEG-2 Audio File
.WAV   WAVE Audio File
.WMA   Windows Media Audio File

.XLR     Works Spreadsheet
.XLS     Excel Spreadsheet
.XLSX    Microsoft Excel Open XML Spreadsheet

.CSV     Comma Separated Values File
.DAT     Data File
.GED     GEDCOM Genealogy Data File
.KEY     Keynote Presentation
.KEYCHAIN       Mac OS X Keychain File
.PPS     PowerPoint Slide Show
.PPT     PowerPoint Presentation
.PPTX    PowerPoint Open XML Presentation
.SDF     Standard Data File
.TAR     Consolidated Unix File Archive
.VCF     vCard File
.XML     XML File

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 Here Is How to Change a File Type in Windows 10

A specific file type is identified by its extension. For a regular Windows 10 user, it shouldn’t be a problem to determine the type of a file just by looking at its extension. It is important for users to know how to identify a file type from a security viewpoint. Since it is possible to add multiple full stops to a file’s name, malicious software often uses this tactic to deceive users. Therefore, by understanding how to change a file extension in Windows 10, you will also know how to identify it. You should also learn how to set your computer to show extensions.

If your computer is not showing file extensions, then you are at risk of being deceived by malware. For instance, a malicious file with multiple full stops may appear like this: companynotes.docx.exe. Now, if your computer is not set to show file extensions, the file will read as companynotes.docx, thereby tricking you into thinking that it’s a Word document, which may lead you to click on it and infect your computer. As you can see, seeing file types in Windows 10 is essential.

Windows lets users change one file type to another. For example, you can change a text file’s extension from .txt to .html. Changing a file’s extension allows the file to be compatible with another piece of software. For instance, the given example allows the TXT file, which can be accessed using Notepad, to be opened by your browser when its extension is converted to .html. So, if you want to find out how to change a file extension, then continue reading.

How to Change a File Extension in Windows 10?

To change any file extension on Windows 10, you first need to set your system to show file types. You can achieve this by following these simple steps:

1. Press the Windows Key + E shortcut. Find the View button on the top ribbon and click on it. 
2. Select Options and click on Change folder and search options.
3. Look for Hide extensions for known file types and uncheck the option. Once you are done, all files will be showing their file extensions.

When done with the process, you can now change a specific file’s extension. Follow these steps to do so:

1. Access the file you wish to change the extension for and right-click on it.
2. Choose Rename, then enter the file extension you want, replacing the existing one in the process.

If you have a specific app that you want to use when opening your file, you can achieve this by following these steps:

1. Access the file of interest and right-click on it.
2. From the resulting menu, choose Open with.
3. Windows will then suggest a list of apps that can open the file type. Find the one you want and set it as the default app for opening this file type by checking the Always use this app box. If for some reason you don’t find the app on the suggested list, you can click on the Look for an app in the Store button. Alternatively, you can click on More apps to access the expanded list.
4. Once you have found the app and selected it, you can click on OK to conclude the process.

Other Windows 10 tips could be found here.
Note that all files that have the same extension as the one you just set the default app for will be opened by that particular app in the future.