Windows Vista Tips

Windows Vista Tips > Newsgroups > Windows Vista File Management > Extension Popup

Reply
Thread Tools Display Modes

Extension Popup

 
 
S Murder
Guest
Posts: n/a

 
      02-18-2007
Everytime I try to rename an extension Windows asks me if I'm sure I want to.
Is there any way to disable that dialog?
 
Reply With Quote
 
 
 
 
Malke
Guest
Posts: n/a

 
      02-18-2007
S Murder wrote:
> Everytime I try to rename an extension Windows asks me if I'm sure I want to.
> Is there any way to disable that dialog?


What you want to do is enable seeing the hidden file extensions. I
really don't know why, but hiding known file extensions has always been
the default on Microsoft operating systems. The file extension, if you
don't know, is the three letters in a file name after the "dot". The
extension tells Windows what program is associated with that type of file.

Once you enable seeing the hidden extensions (which is better for safety
anyway), you'll be able to change the name - and not the extension -
easily and not get the prompt because your cursor will be in the right
place to just change the name and not the extension. Enable seeing
hidden extensions from Folder Options in Control Panel.


Malke
--
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User
 
Reply With Quote
 
R. C. White, MVP
Guest
Posts: n/a

 
      02-19-2007
Hi, S Murder.

I agree with Malke that the default (Hide extensions) is a dumb thing for
Microsoft to do!

The extension is usually - but not always - 3 characters. For example,
..mpeg and .jpeg are often used, in addition to the .mpg and .jpg that were
required back before LFN (Long File Names) were allowed about a dozen years
ago.

Nowadays, we must be sure that we are really looking at the extension,
especially when extensions are hidden. A popular trick for viruses and
malware is to add a malicious extension after one or more legitimate ones.
For example, you might have a file named Murder.txt. A malware program
might add a .vbs extension, making it Murder.txt.vbs. A file cannot have
more than one extension. Only the characters after the FINAL dot are the
actual extension; the dots and characters before the final dot are a part of
the filename, not the extension. So, you might click on what appears to be
Murder.txt, but the hidden .vbs extension executes the malware's payload.
Gotcha! :>(

You should also know that many programs, including many Microsoft programs,
automatically add extensions when you save files from them. For example, if
you load Murder.txt into Microsoft Word, then Save it, the filename will
become Murder.txt.doc. If you've left the default to Hide extensions, you
won't see the .doc. This might not cause you any problems at all - but it
might.

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX

Microsoft Windows MVP
(Running Windows Mail in Vista Ultimate x64)

"S Murder" <> wrote in message
news:03D9B1CE-8E22-4AE9-BD96-...
> Everytime I try to rename an extension Windows asks me if I'm sure I want
> to.
> Is there any way to disable that dialog?


 
Reply With Quote
 
S Murder
Guest
Posts: n/a

 
      02-19-2007
I already have the "view known extensions" option enabled. I want to now how
I can edit the extension without Windows butting in.
For example, when creating a new txt file, I can't erase .txt and retype
..java without getting a prompt. How can I stop this?

"Malke" wrote:

> S Murder wrote:
> > Everytime I try to rename an extension Windows asks me if I'm sure I want to.
> > Is there any way to disable that dialog?

>
> What you want to do is enable seeing the hidden file extensions. I
> really don't know why, but hiding known file extensions has always been
> the default on Microsoft operating systems. The file extension, if you
> don't know, is the three letters in a file name after the "dot". The
> extension tells Windows what program is associated with that type of file.
>
> Once you enable seeing the hidden extensions (which is better for safety
> anyway), you'll be able to change the name - and not the extension -
> easily and not get the prompt because your cursor will be in the right
> place to just change the name and not the extension. Enable seeing
> hidden extensions from Folder Options in Control Panel.
>
>
> Malke
> --
> Elephant Boy Computers
> www.elephantboycomputers.com
> "Don't Panic!"
> MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User
>

 
Reply With Quote
 
Malke
Guest
Posts: n/a

 
      02-20-2007
R. C. White, MVP wrote:
> Hi, S Murder.
>
> I agree with Malke that the default (Hide extensions) is a dumb thing
> for Microsoft to do!
>
> The extension is usually - but not always - 3 characters. For example,
> .mpeg and .jpeg are often used, in addition to the .mpg and .jpg that
> were required back before LFN (Long File Names) were allowed about a
> dozen years ago.
>
> Nowadays, we must be sure that we are really looking at the extension,
> especially when extensions are hidden. A popular trick for viruses and
> malware is to add a malicious extension after one or more legitimate
> ones. For example, you might have a file named Murder.txt. A malware
> program might add a .vbs extension, making it Murder.txt.vbs. A file
> cannot have more than one extension. Only the characters after the
> FINAL dot are the actual extension; the dots and characters before the
> final dot are a part of the filename, not the extension. So, you might
> click on what appears to be Murder.txt, but the hidden .vbs extension
> executes the malware's payload. Gotcha! :>(
>
> You should also know that many programs, including many Microsoft
> programs, automatically add extensions when you save files from them.
> For example, if you load Murder.txt into Microsoft Word, then Save it,
> the filename will become Murder.txt.doc. If you've left the default to
> Hide extensions, you won't see the .doc. This might not cause you any
> problems at all - but it might.
>
> RC


Hi, RC. I think what the OP wants (from his second post) is for Windows
not to ask him if he's sure when changing the file extension from say
*.txt to *.jpg. He used this example: "I can't erase .txt and retype
..java without getting a prompt".

To the OP - I don't believe you can get Windows to stop warning you
because changing the *name* of the file extension (*.txt or whatever) to
something completing unrelated (like *.jpg) will not actually change the
real file type. To change the real file type you would need to convert
the file from one type to another. Sometimes that's possible and
sometimes that isn't. It depends on what you are trying to convert from
and to.


Malke
--
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User
 
Reply With Quote
 
S Murder
Guest
Posts: n/a

 
      02-20-2007
Oh gee, well how do I convert text files to java and html files? Woe is me!

"Malke" wrote:

> R. C. White, MVP wrote:
> > Hi, S Murder.
> >
> > I agree with Malke that the default (Hide extensions) is a dumb thing
> > for Microsoft to do!
> >
> > The extension is usually - but not always - 3 characters. For example,
> > .mpeg and .jpeg are often used, in addition to the .mpg and .jpg that
> > were required back before LFN (Long File Names) were allowed about a
> > dozen years ago.
> >
> > Nowadays, we must be sure that we are really looking at the extension,
> > especially when extensions are hidden. A popular trick for viruses and
> > malware is to add a malicious extension after one or more legitimate
> > ones. For example, you might have a file named Murder.txt. A malware
> > program might add a .vbs extension, making it Murder.txt.vbs. A file
> > cannot have more than one extension. Only the characters after the
> > FINAL dot are the actual extension; the dots and characters before the
> > final dot are a part of the filename, not the extension. So, you might
> > click on what appears to be Murder.txt, but the hidden .vbs extension
> > executes the malware's payload. Gotcha! :>(
> >
> > You should also know that many programs, including many Microsoft
> > programs, automatically add extensions when you save files from them.
> > For example, if you load Murder.txt into Microsoft Word, then Save it,
> > the filename will become Murder.txt.doc. If you've left the default to
> > Hide extensions, you won't see the .doc. This might not cause you any
> > problems at all - but it might.
> >
> > RC

>
> Hi, RC. I think what the OP wants (from his second post) is for Windows
> not to ask him if he's sure when changing the file extension from say
> *.txt to *.jpg. He used this example: "I can't erase .txt and retype
> ..java without getting a prompt".
>
> To the OP - I don't believe you can get Windows to stop warning you
> because changing the *name* of the file extension (*.txt or whatever) to
> something completing unrelated (like *.jpg) will not actually change the
> real file type. To change the real file type you would need to convert
> the file from one type to another. Sometimes that's possible and
> sometimes that isn't. It depends on what you are trying to convert from
> and to.
>
>
> Malke
> --
> Elephant Boy Computers
> www.elephantboycomputers.com
> "Don't Panic!"
> MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User
>

 
Reply With Quote
 
Malke
Guest
Posts: n/a

 
      02-20-2007
S Murder wrote:
> Oh gee, well how do I convert text files to java and html files? Woe is me!


By opening them in each particular program if conversion is possible.
For instance, to convert text to html, you'd copy that text into an html
editor and then save the new file as whatever.html. Examples of html
editors are NVU, Dreamweaver, and Expression (Microsoft's replacement
for FrontPage). You'd create Java files with Sun's Java creator. For
information on that, go to Sun's website.


Malke
--
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User
 
Reply With Quote
 
S Murder
Guest
Posts: n/a

 
      02-20-2007
Sorry, I forgot my <sarcasm> tags. HTML and Java files ARE text; no
conversion is necessary.

"Malke" wrote:

> S Murder wrote:
> > Oh gee, well how do I convert text files to java and html files? Woe is me!

>
> By opening them in each particular program if conversion is possible.
> For instance, to convert text to html, you'd copy that text into an html
> editor and then save the new file as whatever.html. Examples of html
> editors are NVU, Dreamweaver, and Expression (Microsoft's replacement
> for FrontPage). You'd create Java files with Sun's Java creator. For
> information on that, go to Sun's website.
>
>
> Malke
> --
> Elephant Boy Computers
> www.elephantboycomputers.com
> "Don't Panic!"
> MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User
>

 
Reply With Quote
 
Sel Vol
Guest
Posts: n/a

 
      12-12-2009
Had to bump this thread. Since I am searching for the same answer and have been for a bit now.

The MS answers were almost "Robotic".

Hopefully this really shows us what MS is all about.


Id10T


Selvol



SMurde wrote:

Sorry, I forgot my <sarcasm> tags.
20-Feb-07

Sorry, I forgot my <sarcasm> tags. HTML and Java files ARE text; n
conversion is necessary

"Malke" wrote:

Previous Posts In This Thread:

On Sunday, February 18, 2007 12:57 AM
SMurde wrote:

Extension Popup
Everytime I try to rename an extension Windows asks me if I am sure I want to
Is there any way to disable that dialog?

On Sunday, February 18, 2007 8:20 AM
Malke wrote:

Re: Extension Popup
S Murder wrote

What you want to do is enable seeing the hidden file extensions. I
really don't know why, but hiding known file extensions has always been
the default on Microsoft operating systems. The file extension, if you
don't know, is the three letters in a file name after the "dot". The
extension tells Windows what program is associated with that type of file

Once you enable seeing the hidden extensions (which is better for safety
anyway), you'll be able to change the name - and not the extension -
easily and not get the prompt because your cursor will be in the right
place to just change the name and not the extension. Enable seeing
hidden extensions from Folder Options in Control Panel

Malk
--
Elephant Boy Computer
www.elephantboycomputers.co
"Don't Panic!
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User

On Monday, February 19, 2007 12:37 PM
R. C. White, MVP wrote:

Hi, S Murder.
Hi, S Murder

I agree with Malke that the default (Hide extensions) is a dumb thing for
Microsoft to do

The extension is usually - but not always - 3 characters. For example,
..mpeg and .jpeg are often used, in addition to the .mpg and .jpg that were
required back before LFN (Long File Names) were allowed about a dozen years
ago

Nowadays, we must be sure that we are really looking at the extension,
especially when extensions are hidden. A popular trick for viruses and
malware is to add a malicious extension after one or more legitimate ones.
For example, you might have a file named Murder.txt. A malware program
might add a .vbs extension, making it Murder.txt.vbs. A file cannot have
more than one extension. Only the characters after the FINAL dot are the
actual extension; the dots and characters before the final dot are a part of
the filename, not the extension. So, you might click on what appears to be
Murder.txt, but the hidden .vbs extension executes the malware's payload.
Gotcha! :>

You should also know that many programs, including many Microsoft programs,
automatically add extensions when you save files from them. For example, if
you load Murder.txt into Microsoft Word, then Save it, the filename will
become Murder.txt.doc. If you've left the default to Hide extensions, you
won't see the .doc. This might not cause you any problems at all - but it
might

R
--
R. C. White, CP
San Marcos, T

Microsoft Windows MV
(Running Windows Mail in Vista Ultimate x64

"S Murder" <> wrote in message
news:03D9B1CE-8E22-4AE9-BD96-...

On Monday, February 19, 2007 1:18 PM
SMurde wrote:

I already have the "view known extensions" option enabled.
I already have the "view known extensions" option enabled. I want to now how
I can edit the extension without Windows butting in
For example, when creating a new txt file, I can't erase .txt and retype
..java without getting a prompt. How can I stop this

"Malke" wrote:

On Monday, February 19, 2007 7:11 PM
Malke wrote:

Re: Extension Popup
R. C. White, MVP wrote

Hi, RC. I think what the OP wants (from his second post) is for Windows
not to ask him if he's sure when changing the file extension from say
*.txt to *.jpg. He used this example: "I can't erase .txt and retyp
..java without getting a prompt"

To the OP - I don't believe you can get Windows to stop warning you
because changing the *name* of the file extension (*.txt or whatever) to
something completing unrelated (like *.jpg) will not actually change the
real file type. To change the real file type you would need to convert
the file from one type to another. Sometimes that's possible and
sometimes that isn't. It depends on what you are trying to convert from
and to.


Malke
--
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User

On Tuesday, February 20, 2007 1:14 AM
SMurde wrote:

Oh gee, well how do I convert text files to java and html files?
Oh gee, well how do I convert text files to java and html files? Woe is me!

"Malke" wrote:

On Tuesday, February 20, 2007 7:42 AM
Malke wrote:

Re: Extension Popup
S Murder wrote:

By opening them in each particular program if conversion is possible.
For instance, to convert text to html, you'd copy that text into an html
editor and then save the new file as whatever.html. Examples of html
editors are NVU, Dreamweaver, and Expression (Microsoft's replacement
for FrontPage). You'd create Java files with Sun's Java creator. For
information on that, go to Sun's website.


Malke
--
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User

On Tuesday, February 20, 2007 2:40 PM
SMurde wrote:

Sorry, I forgot my <sarcasm> tags.
Sorry, I forgot my <sarcasm> tags. HTML and Java files ARE text; no
conversion is necessary.

"Malke" wrote:


Submitted via EggHeadCafe - Software Developer Portal of Choice
Java link favorites
http://www.eggheadcafe.com/tutorials...favorites.aspx
 
Reply With Quote
 
 
 
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
administrater popup mike givens Windows Vista General Discussion 2 04-03-2008 02:47 AM
SP1 and IE popup windows Doogal Windows Vista General Discussion 4 02-22-2008 02:56 PM
popup blockers Xane Windows Vista General Discussion 2 01-08-2008 01:02 PM
popup permissions bobbya Windows Vista Administration 2 12-19-2007 05:31 PM
Security Popup dec199 Windows Vista Performance 8 08-24-2007 03:17 AM



1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59