When working with files, it is often necessary to change the file extension. For example, in order to change the TXT extension to CSV or vice versa. This article will teach you how to change the file extension in Windows 7.
To change a file extension, you first need to enable extension display. To do this, open any folder, for example “My Computer”, press the Alt button and open the “Tools – Folder Options” menu.
You can also open the Folder Options window via . To do this, just enter the corresponding phrase into the search.
After the “Folder Options” window appears in front of you, go to the “View” tab. There is a list of options that apply to folders and files. In this list you need to find the item “Hide extensions for registered file types” and disable it by unchecking the checkbox next to it.
After that, close the window by clicking on the “Ok” button. That's it, now we can see file extensions. And in order to change the file extension in Windows 7, just rename it by specifying a different extension.
It should be noted that changing the extension does not affect the contents of the file in any way. By changing the extension, you simply tell the operating system that this file has a different format and needs to be opened through another program.
IN Windows file is a certain information unit, of a certain structure, containing the data necessary for the software, operating system or user. Extension is a designation that determines the type of data contained in the file. In the operating system Windows full the name is designated as follows: “name.extension”, for example:
- .txt – text document without formatting
- .doc, .docx – MS Office document containing formatted text
- .xls, .xlsx – MS Office document containing data spreadsheets
- .jpeg, .png, .bmp – graphic drawings
- .mp3, .wma – audio content
- .mpeg, .avi, .mov – video
Several ways to change the file extension
Important! Please note that simply changing the extension of one to another in Windows will not lead to anything - by changing .txt to .jpeg you will not get a document with an image - the graphics editor will simply not be able to open it, since the file contains text.
Change the extension in file names
For example, this can be useful when you send an executable file via email. Usually email clients such attachments are not delivered in order to prevent the spread of viruses. By deleting the prefix .exe, .bat, .cmd, you will hide from the Windows system what kind of document it is and you can safely forward it, but do not forget to warn the recipient that he needs to add “.exe” to the name again in order to get the executable file.
Default operating Windows system does not display extensions (only appearance icon tells us what it is). To disable this feature, go to “Control Panel” - “Folder Options”:
On the “View” tab, find the “Hide extension for known file types” item and uncheck it:
Click "Apply" and "OK".
Now the folders will display not only names, but also extensions that you can change.
Changing the extension in Windows 7 using software
For example, you have an image “Figure.bmp” of 10 MB in size. For sending by email or posting on a website, this is an excessive size - it is better to use jpeg or png - they are smaller in size. Simply changing the extension will do nothing - the file will not open. Therefore, open the drawing with a graphic editor and using “File” - “Save As...” or “Export”, resave the image in the format you need.
Similar actions in Windows can be carried out with music and video recordings, although changing the format from one to another will take more time than with a picture.
Many PC users have to face the need to change the file format - for example, to play a video in mkv format on a device that only supports mp4 or 3gp. To change you can use special programs, online services and even those editors where data with such an extension is created. Most applications are completely free or shareware and are easy to use.
What is the file format?
The term file format refers to the information used by a computer to open a specific area of data. Thanks to this information, the appropriate program is selected - in most cases, the operating system does this automatically. For new extensions that have not yet been opened by the system, the user must select the application manually - if problems arise with this, information about the specific format can be obtained on the Internet.
The extension is 2-4 characters after the period in the name - in Windows it is recognized, including the display of this information, file managers type Total Commander provide this opportunity immediately. When the opening application is already installed, its icon changes - by icon experienced user draw conclusions about the data type.
Text in .docx format will open in default office application Word. In this case, the icon will look like a blue letter W. If MS Office is not on your computer, but OpenOffice is already installed, the document will open in this program. The default option can be changed - for example, by forcing .txt files to open not in Notepad, but in a text editor.
Programs for changing file formats of various types
Simple and in a fast way, which allows you to both change the file format and convert it to new type, are special converter programs. With their help, the extension for the following types of data is changed:
- Images. Almost any graphic editor is suitable for this, from Paint, which works with PNG, JPG, BMP and GIF extensions, to Adobe Photoshop, capable of converting information received from digital cameras.
- Audio. Sound objects can be converted by almost any music editing software.
- Video. This format can be changed in video editors such as VSDC Free Video Editor or Photo Montage.
In addition to programs that can change a specific group of files, there are a number of universal applications, capable of handling the transformation of several types of data at once. For example, Format Factory and SuperC work with video, images, and audio. And utilities such as Any Video Converter Free, Any Audio Converter and ImBatch, by changing only audio, videos and pictures, support the conversion of a group of files. To work with applications, you need to download, install, open, select the necessary data and specify new format. The process takes minimal time, although the exact duration depends on the number of objects being modified.
If you need to change the file format for a document with a .doc, .pdf or .org extension, use the same programs in which it can be created. For text it will be Word or OpenOffice, for spreadsheets - Excel. Electronic documents are converted by a program such as Adobe FineReader. It is worth noting that analogues of these applications are created not only for Windows, but also for Android and iOS. And if you wish, you can use online resources for the same purpose. 
Online services for converting files
The advantage of sites that can change the format is that there is no need to install additional software on your computer. software. Sometimes this allows you to solve the problem with the user not having administrative rights and being prohibited from making changes. In other cases, this feature saves space on system disk and doesn't take up RAM computer.
The list of services that provide format changes includes:
- Converter convertio.co/ru/, working with audio, video, text documents, presentations and even archives. With the help of online software, you can change several files at once.
- The resource docspal.com/ru/ is a multiconverter that can not only convert data, but also work with 5 elements simultaneously.
- Service convertonlinefree.com. Despite the almost “talking” name, the site works not only with PDF formats and DOC, but also with different versions of texts, images and even e-books.
Another well-known and popular resource is online-convert.com/ru, when you go to home page where you can see a list of 8 transformation options. The service is able to change documents, images, videos, music, archives, e-books and even web services and hashes. To work with a resource, select the final format and click on the “Start” button next to the selected type. After this, you can select a file from your computer from cloud storage or follow the link, run the conversion and download the resulting data back to disk. 
Changing file extensions in Windows
In most cases, simply changing the file format by renaming it, but without actually converting it, does not give the user any benefit. additional features. A picture with a docx extension will not open in Word, a table renamed from xlsx to rar will not become an archive. However, sometimes it is really necessary to change the format. For example, to obtain from text with the txt extension the executable bat file. Such a replacement will be useful and, if necessary, make an html web page from the same txt.
Before normal renaming in Windows, you need to enable the extension display. It is usually invisible so as not to interfere with title renaming. The activation method depends on the version of Windows:
The extension is now visible to the user. To change the format of only one file, you can use context menu, select the rename item. 
You can correct the extensions of a group of files by opening cmd. To do this, hold down the Shift key, click right click mouse over the folder with files to rename in Explorer, select “open command window”. In cmd type the command below and press Enter:
ren *.xxx *.yyy, where xxx represents the initial format, yyy – the final format.
By changing the file format using special programs and resources, they provide the ability to open elements of the same type with certain applications and reduce their size (as in the case of converting BMP or RAW to JPEG). The easiest way to do this with images and documents is to use a regular editor. For some files, you can simply change the extension in Windows, but their number is limited - in most cases, simply changing the label will not give any effect.
Most computer users have at least once had the need to change the video format. Most often, video translation from one format to another is needed to:
- watch videos on a mobile device;
- post videos on the Internet;
- Compress video so that it takes up less disk space.
Movavi Video Converter allows you to complete any of these tasks in seconds. In this case, the user absolutely does not need to understand video formats and characteristics. The program has a simple and intuitive interface in Russian, so even a beginner can work with it.
Changing video file format
Movavi Video Converter supports all popular video and audio formats: AVI, MP4 (MPEG-4), MOV, 3GP, FLV, MKV, WMV, MP3, WAV and others. In addition to transcoding videos to another format, the program also allows you to “convert” DVDs (VOB format files) into regular video files. During this “remake” you can choose audio tracks and subtitles.
Saving videos for mobile devices
Holders mobile phones and players often encounter problems playing videos on their devices. When reworking a video and preparing it for portable devices you need to know not only what format to convert to, but also what video parameters (resolution, bit rate, etc.) to set. If you don't want to understand video formats for phones, video formats for players, etc., you can simply download Movavi Video Converter. The program has ready-made profiles for all kinds of mobile devices: Apple iPod, iPhone and iPad, Nokia, Samsung, Sony PSP, Android phones and many others. You will only need to select your device from the list to convert the video to the appropriate format for it.
Preparing videos for uploading to the Internet
Do you have a video that you want to show to your friends - post it on your Facebook or VKontakte page, upload it to YouTube, Vimeo or another site? You don't need to understand what video formats and resolutions these sites support. Movavi Video Converter is not just a program for changing the video format, it can make your life easier because it contains ready-made profiles for popular websites. And if you want to post a video on your own website, then you also have flexible settings for converting videos into web-compatible formats - all you have to do is embed the resulting video into the HTML code of your page.
How to change video format
At first glance, the conversion process may seem complicated and confusing, but this is not the case at all. You can change the format of your videos in just a couple of clicks. Download Movavi Video Converter and see for yourself!
You listen to audio recordings every day, view hundreds of photos on the Internet, but when it comes to downloading, your computer refuses to open a file. Automatically installed programs do not support a particular format on your PC, or your phone does not open a file with your favorite image? There is no point in despair, and especially not in deleting documents. Learn how to change the file format so you don't lose data.
What is the file format
Information about the contents of the document for you and the operating system personal computer- and there is a file format. When you see a certain name of a document, you already imagine what it is - music, picture, book, text, video file. operating system Windows works on the same principle: having determined the format, it opens the file using a specific one automatically installed program. This information separated by a dot in the document name. In older versions you might have noticed this, but in newer operating systems such data is hidden.
Text documents can be of the following types: txt, doc, docx, pdf, excel, fb2, epub, djvu. Some are created using Microsoft Word, suitable for writing articles, abstracts, diplomas. Other formats are more suitable for reading books electronically. Species graphic documents– jpg, jpeg, png, rav. The first pair is suitable for viewing regular raster and pixel images on a computer or phone, and the second pair is suitable for large-format printing. Video files can look like: avi, mp4, flv, mpeg, wmv. Audio audio tracks – mp3, wav, la (Lossless), m4a (Apple Lossless).
How to change the text file format on Windows 7, 8, 10
Manually rename file format names electronic documents It won’t work, because Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10 automatically hide this data. Remember that subsequent changes must be appropriate for the document type. For example, from “doc” to “docx”, from “m4a” to “m4r”. Otherwise, the computer will give you an error. To change the extension, follow these steps:
- You will need a menu. Go to Start / Control Panel / Appearance and Personalization / Folder Options.
- Open the “View” window, scroll to the very bottom, where we find “Hide extensions for registered file types.”
- Uncheck the box.
- Hooray! Can be easily changed text files in the title itself.
Using online converter programs
There are more simple solutions, which were invented by programmers. If you don’t want to dig into the settings to uncheck the box, and it’s more convenient for you when the extension is automatically hidden (after all, you don’t need to constantly edit it when changing the name), use special converter programs that can convert the extension in a matter of minutes. Here is a list of them for PC:
- WinScan2PDF – converts all text files into PDF format.
- Total PDF Converter – translates PDF documents in Doc, Excel, Text, HTML or CSV.
- ABC Amber Text Converter is a program that converts huge amount formats: WK4, RTF, PDF, HTML, TXT (Unicode and ANSI), RFT, DOC, SAM, XLS and others.
- BookReader is suitable for avid readers, especially when you really want to study a new work on the way to work or school, but there is no way to take an e-book. The program makes DOC, FB2, HTML, RTF, WRI, TXT, CHM formats readable on the phone.
If you don't want to download utilities onto your PC, no problem! You can choose online converters, which do file conversion in a few minutes. Often you only need to register and upload a text, audio, video file. Here are some examples of services for converting e-books: ebook.online-convert.com, convertfileonline.com, popprograms.com, lamerkomp.ru.
Programs for changing audio and video file formats
While you have not yet downloaded the conversion program, you can change the display of music files, as in text documents(uncheck the box so that the extension is highlighted). The only caveat that stops it is that the quality may be lost. This is very disappointing if you downloaded a song for a fee in excellent resolution, but your PC detects the format as unknown or unacceptable. Take advantage Format program Factory (Format Factory). It is universal in use and the question of how to change the format of a video file, audio, DVD, MP4 will be solved instantly.
Converting graphic file formats
You have several options. The simplest one is to click “Save As” and set the required format for the new document. If you have on your PC graphic editors, for example, Photoshop, Corel Draw, Adobe Illustrator, then you can do the conversion like this:
- Open the program, upload your photo there.
- Click "Save As" and install the desired extension.
- Don't forget to set the image size to the appropriate size.
Corel Draw is designed for vector graphics, logos in excellent quality, it’s better not to upload regular photo formats there. If this option does not suit you, use special converter programs (Format Factory, Paint, Microsoft office) or online services: photoconverter.ru, online-convert.com, pcfreetime.com, image.online-convert.com.
