File Extensions - What are they?

The following is a list of some of the most popular "file extensions" you will see on your computer and or receive in an email...  File Extensions tell the computer the specific type of "file" something is...    Note if any file extension has an "x" at the end of it, it is an indication it was done in one of the Office 2007, 2010, 2013 programs... (ie.e docx; xlsx, pptx)
Extension	Example File Type
zip	Zip archive
pdf	PDF Document
mp3	MP3 Audio File
jpg	JPEG Image
exe	Executable file
wmv	Windows Media Video
doc	Microsoft Word Document
ppt	Microsoft PowerPoint Presentation
mpg	MPEG-1 Video
tif	Tagged Image File Format
wav	Waveform Audio Format
mov	QuickTime
psd	Photoshop Document
wma	Windows Media Audio
xls	Microsoft Excel spreadsheet
mp4	MPEG-4 Part 14
txt	Plain text file
bmp	Windows bitmap
pps	PowerPoint Show
aif	Audio Interchange File
pub	Microsoft Publisher
gif	GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) Image
qbb	QuickBooks backup file
dat	Data
rm	RealMedia
mdb	Microsoft Access
htm	Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)
flv	Flash video
wpd	WordPerfect Document
rtf	Rich Text Format
jpeg	JPEG image
html	Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) document
pst	Microsoft Personal STorage
ttf	TrueType font
mswmm	Windows Movie Maker Project File
eml	E-mail message
bat	Batch file
wps	Text document; MS Works

How to find a lost file on your Computer?

If you are using Windows XP – this is a quick way to find lost files on your computer.

Open the “Start Menu" (either left click on the Start Button left side of the Task Bar OR tap the Windows Flag Key on your keyboard)

When the Start Menu appears, choose “Search” and the Search Dialog Box Opens, with 3 search options:

1. All or part of a file name
2. A word or phrase in the file
3. Look In

Use Option 1 when you know all or part of the document-file name, but you can also add the file extensions (for example for word file, type *.doc, Excel *.xls, Acrobat *.pdf, *.ppt and *.exe for executable files.

Use Option 2 when you don't know the name of file but know that it contains a string of text, by typing the text you want to find from any file or folder. This is time taking process but creates very precise result.

Use Option 3, Look In, to Look in Specific Drives, Folders or Networks that you want to Search for what you put in Option 1 or Option 2 In Look in, click the drive, folder, or network you want to search.

To save time, always select the specified drive or location instead of whole computer
Click Start Button, point to Search, and then click For File or Folders, a Search Results dialog box will appear.

In Search for files or folders named, type the file name or folder name you want to find in containing text.

To specify additional search criteria, click Search Options, and then click one or more of the following options to narrow your search:

• Select Date to look for files that were created or modified on or between specific dates
• Select Type to look for files of a specific type, such as a text or WordPad document
• Select Size to look for files of a specific size
• Select Advanced Options to specify additional search criteria
• Click Search now.

Folders vs. Files – What’s the Difference?

When you are "saving/filing" items on your computer - it is helpful to know the difference between a file and/or a folder... sounds obvious - but to many this is confusing...

FILES – are each individual item on your computer that has a name – so if you take 5 photos, your camera will give them each a name – that “name” is a file – all file names end with an extension that tell us and the computer what the file is most photo’s will end in .jpg or maybe .bmp, .gif, .png, .tif etc.. If you have a music CD you want to copy/download to the computer, and that one CD has 12 music tracks – then there will be 12 different file names – music/audio file extensions might be .mp3, .wav, .wma

FOLDERS – symbolized with a manila folder – are the places where we store/file things of a like nature – PC’s are shipped with common folders - With Windows 98 and XP Operating Systems, the common folder names are: “My Documents”; “My Pictures”, “My Music”, “My Videos”, “My Scans”; in newer Windows Operating Systems, Vista & Windows 7, the word “My” has been dropped in your filing libraries

You can create as many folders, sub-folders, sub-sub folders, etc. as you would like. When you create a new folder - remember that whatever folder is highlighted in Windows Explorer or in the Filing Name Drop Down Box - that becomes the "Parent" to your new folder and therefore your new folder can & will be found "inside" that highlighted folder...