How to replace the file extensions of several files

It may be necessary to rename several file extensions to allow compatibility with another program. A good example where this could be used is renaming an ASP file to an HTML file.

It is important to realize that you cannot rename a file extension and change the type of a file. For example, you cannot rename a file with a «.txt» extension to a «.jpg» and make it an image. If you want to change the file type, you need to convert the file. With an «.exe» file and other file extensions, you may need to use a program to create the file.

Renaming in MS-DOS and the Windows command line

To rename file extensions from the Windows command line, open the command prompt and follow the following steps.

Rename a file extension keeping the original

Use the following command at the MS-DOS or Windows command line or within a batch file.

Using a wildcard allows you to rename all files with .shn to a .wav, while keeping the original files and extensions.

• See the xcopy command for further information about this command.

Rename and replace files with a file extension

If you want to rename the extensions without keeping the original file, you can also use a command similar to the following example.

• See the ren and rename command and xcopy command pages for further information about these commands.

Rename a single file and extension

If you are only want to rename a single file and extension, you can specify the full file name and file extension as shown.

In the example above, the «hope.txt» text file would be renamed to «hope.html».

Rename a single file with the move command

Like using the rename command, you can also use the move command to rename a file as shown.

In the example above, the «hope.txt» text file would be renamed to «hope.html».

Renaming in Linux

In the Linux command line, you can rename a file and file extension using the mv (move) command as shown.

Show and change file extensions in Windows 10

Do you have trouble change file extensions on Windows computer? In an earlier post, we discussed how to convert Samsung voice recording files from 3GA to MP3 format, a couple of readers wrote to us saying “how can you rename a file (the extension) because I can’t see file extensions, I can only rename the ‘normal’ name.” It is true with most Android phones, you can only rename file on mobile but can’t edit file extensions unless you have installed the file explorer, see how to change file extensions on Samsung and Android phones. Today, we will be using Windows 10 in the demo to show you how to display file extensions and change file extension in Windows 10. File extensions of known file types are hidden on Windows 10 PC by default. Only those file types that are not associated with some software installed in your computer display file extensions after file names. This seems to be easier to use for average users. However this could be confusing as well. Many Windows 10 users are confused as file extensions can be found in some files not another. In this guide, we will show you quick ways to turn off “Hide extensions for known file types” feature of File Explorer in Windows 10 so you will not see some files have extensions, other files do not and this allows you to change file extensions in Windows 10.

How to show file extensions and change file extensions in Windows 10?

In order to edit file extensions in Windows 10, you need to change the File Explorer settings to display file extensions first. Open File Explorer in Windows 10 or any folder on your computer hard drive, then switch to the View tab in upper menu to view ribbon menu. Click to check the box before File name extensions option to enable file extension display in Windows 10. Now you can see those hidden file extensions in Windows explorer, including those common file types and file extensions like .exe, .doc, .docx, .xlsx, .jpg, .png, .mp3, mp4, .wmv, etc.

To show file extensions in Windows 10, you can also click the Options button as shown in the upper right corner, then disable the “Hide extensions for known file types” in windows 10 from File Explorer Options as shown below.

Now you can go to change a file name extension within Windows File Explorer. Simply double click a file name then edit file extensions as you like on Windows 10 PC. Alternatively you can right click on the file you like to edit, then choose Rename from the context menu on right click to start changing file extension for the selected file in Windows 10.

Batch change file extensions in Windows 10

Have you ever wanted to change a group of files file extensions in Windows 10? For example, you want to change 100 audio files with .amr extension to .mp3. You do not have to change file extensions one by one. You can make use of the Windows Command Prompt to batch change file extensions on Windows 10 PC.

Firstly create a new folder on your computer. For example, we can create a folder named ‘test’ on hard drive D. Put all those .amr files to this new folder. Then open the Command Prompt in Windows 10. You can right click on the Windows logo at the bottom-left corner of the screen, then choose Command Prompt to open Command Prompt in Windows 10 or simply type CMD in the search box at the bottom-left corner to find and open Command Prompt in Windows 10.

Secondly we need to change path to the created folder in Command Prompt. By default it opens the user folder. Type “d:” without the quotes and press Enter to change to another disk. Type “cd test” and hit Enter to change the current working directory to the “test” folder where all the files you want to change file extensions are saved.

Finally type “ren *.* *.xxx” and hit Enter to change all files’ extension to .xxx. For example, if you want to change them to mp3 files, use the command “ren *.* *.mp3”.

Windows 10 has been released for some time. We have found many new features in this latest Windows OS such as the Edge browser, new Start menu, etc. We also noticed some features have been removed, such as the DVD playback support, now you need to manually download a free DVD Player for Windows 10.

Update May 2018: this article was originally published in Sep 2015 and has since been updated. in this update, we added the new method to batch change file extensions for multiple files in Windows 10.

How to show File Extensions in Windows 10

File Extension is that which identifies the file type. If you are a regular Windows user, then it is not at all a problem to identify the file type. For it is very important to see file extension to identify the type of file you are trying to open from a security point of view. So in this post, we will see how to hide or show File Extensions in Windows 10/8/7 and why you should show them.

Since file names allow you to use multiple full stops, the real name of a malware file could be realword .docx.exe . But because you have not set Windows to show file extensions, you would see only realword .docx . Thinking its a Word document, you could well end up clicking on it and infecting your computer. If you had, on the other hand, set your PC to show file extensions, you would see its full name – realword .docx.exe , which would help you to identify that it was actually an executable file and in all probability a malware file.

What are File Extensions & how are they useful

Different file types have different extensions. Audio files have .mp3, .wav, .wma, and more based on the program used to open that file. File extensions also help the operating system to identify the corresponding program to open that particular file. So, you should be able to see file extensions to be at the safer side, and we will let you know how to enable options to see file extensions in Windows.

As mentioned earlier, by default Windows does not show file extensions and they are hidden. But, you can toggle the option to see them.

Show File Extensions in Windows 10

There are five ways how you can go about accessing this setting:

1. Through the File Explorer Options
2. Through Windows Explorer Ribbon
3. Using the Registry
4. Using Command Prompt
5. Using Group Policy Editor.

1] Through Folder or File Explorer Options

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 Advanced Settings, you will see the option Hide extensions for known file types. Uncheck this option and click on Apply and OK.

Windows 10 users may also search for File Explorer Options in Start search box and open this box.

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

In Windows 10/8.1 Explorer, you can access File Explorer Options via Explorer.

Click View > Options > Change folder and search options.

Once here, you can do the needful as explained above.

In Windows 7, open Explorer, press Alt on your keyboard to make the Classic bar appear. Next, click on Tools > Folder Options. Now follow the steps mentioned above.

These are very simple steps to follow, and you do not need any third-party software to view file extensions. Windows provides us with 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.

2] Via Windows File Explorer

Open Explorer and click on the View tab. Simply select the File name extensions checkbox, and you are all set.

3] Using the Registry Editor

Hit the WINKEY + R button combination to launch the Run utility, type in regedit and hit Enter. Once Registry Editor opens, navigate to the following key-

Look up for a DWORD entry labeled as HideFileExt.

Double click on the mentioned DWORD entry and set its value as 0. This will show up the hidden file extensions.

A value of 0 will hide the file extensions.

Exit the Registry Editor and then reboot your computer for the changes to take effect.

4] Use Windows Command Prompt

This fix can be used in both the scenarios mentioned above. Insert a bootable drive of Windows 10 installer.

Start by hitting the WINKEY + X combinations and select Command Prompt (Admin) to launch Command Prompt with Administrator Privileges.

Navigate to the root location of that bootable device inside the Command Prompt command line. Once you get there, type in the following to show the file extensions-

And then hit Enter.

You can also enter the following command to hide the file extensions,

5] Using Group Policy Editor

You can also use the Group Policy Editor and change the setting here:

User Configuration > Preferences > Control Panel Settings > Folder Options.

Set “Show hidden files and folders” and uncheck “Hide extensions for known file types”.

Thus, you can set your Windows to show file extensions in Windows 10/8. If you have anything to add, please do share it with us through comments.

Date: March 22, 2020 Tags: Explorer, Features

How to change a File Extension in Windows

This article outlines how to change a file extension in Windows. For example, you might want to rename a TURF file called MCALL_0110_4865_6500_2074._ip to MCALL_0110_4865_6500_2074.zip

These instructions are for Windows 7 but the same basic process applies to most versions of Windows.

By default, Windows hides file extensions. In order to change them, you must first unhide file extension to make them visible so they can me changed. Then you can change it.

If you can already see file extensions on your computer, skip to Step 2

How to show file extensions in Windows 7

Step 1: If you can’t see the file extension, Open Windows Explorer and click on the Organize button towards the top left. Then choose Folder and Search Options, then click the View tab. Uncheck the box titled «Hide extensions for known file types» like so:

Click OK. Now you should be able to see the file extension.

How to show file extensions in Windows 8

Step 1: It’s simple to turn file extensions on and off in Windows 8. Simply open a File Explorer window (the new name for Windows Explorer) and click the View tab.

Now check the box next to File name extensions. If the box is check, extensions will be shown. If unchecked, they won’t. This is the opposite way the tickbox works in Windows 7 and Vista.

How to show file extensions in Windows 10

Step 1: Open the File Explorer by clicking on the Windows Start button and selecting the File Explorer icon as shown below.

Click the View tab in File Explorer and then click the Options button (or click the drop down menu and click Change folder and search options) as shown below.

The Folder Options dialog box is displayed. Click the View tab at the top of Folder Options as shown below

To view file extensions, uncheck the Hide extensions for known file types option.

Click OK when done.

Step 2: Right-click the file name and select Rename (or left-click and hold down the button for one second). Enter the new extension like so:

After entering the new extension hit the Enter (return) key. Windows will give you a warning that the file may not work properly. This is quite safe—remember that you can restore the original extension if anything goes wrong.

It’s also possible that you might get another message telling you that the file is «read-only». In this case either say yes to turning off read-only or right-click the file, select Properties and uncheck the Read-only box.

If you do not have permission to change the file extension, you may have to log in as Administrator. Another option is to make a copy of the file, rename the copy and then delete the original.