Windows 7 

How to change txt file. Batch renaming of files in Windows. How to change the file extension

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 make changes, 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 displaying this information; file managers such as Total Commander provide this opportunity immediately. When the opening application is already installed, its icon changes - experienced users can use the icon to draw conclusions about the type of data.

Text in .docx format will open in the Word office application by default. 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

A simple and fast way to both change the file format and convert it to a new type is 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, which can convert 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 that can handle 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, changing only the sound, videos and pictures, support the conversion of a group of files. To work with applications, you need to download them, install them, open them, select the necessary data and specify a 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. 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 the system disk and does not occupy the computer's RAM.

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 and DOC formats, but also with various versions of texts, images and even e-books.

Another well-known and popular resource is online-convert.com/ru, when you go to the main page of which you can see a list of 8 conversion 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 a cloud storage, or via a link, start 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 provide the user with any additional capabilities. 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 an executable bat file from text with a txt extension. 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 the context menu and select the rename option.

You can correct the extensions of a group of files by opening cmd. To do this, hold down the Shift key, right-click on the folder with the 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 result.

A file extension is a 2-3 character abbreviation of letters and numbers added to the file name. It is used mainly for file identification: so that the OS knows which program to open a given file type.

For example, one of the most popular music formats is “mp3”. By default, in Windows OS, such files are opened by Windows Media Player. If the extension (“mp3”) of such a file is changed to “jpg” (picture format), then a completely different program in the OS will try to open this music file and will most likely give you an error that the file is corrupted. Therefore, the file extension is a very important thing.

In Windows 7, 8, file extensions are usually not displayed. Instead, the user is prompted to identify file types by icons. In principle, you can use icons, only when you need to change the file extension - you must first enable its display. Let's look at this question further...

How to enable extension display

Windows 7

1) Go to Explorer, on the top panel click on “arrange/folder options...”. See screenshot below.

Rice. 1 Folder options in Windows 7

Rice. 2 menu view

3) At the very bottom we are interested in two points:

“Hide extensions for registered file types” - uncheck this item. After this, you will start to see all file extensions in Windows 7.

Rice. 3 Show file extensions.

Actually, the setup in Windows 7 is complete.

Windows 8

1) Go to Explorer and go to any of the folders. As you can see in the example below, there is a text file, but the extension is not displayed.

Rice. 4 Displaying a file in Windows 8

2) Go to the “view” menu, the panel is on top.

Rice. 6 Check the box to enable display of the extension

4) Now the extension display is enabled, it is “txt”.

Rice. 6 Editing the extension...

How to change a file extension

1) In Explorer

Changing the extension is very easy. Just right-click on the file and select the rename command from the pop-up context menu. Then after the dot at the end of the file name, replace 2-3 characters with any others (see Fig. 6 just above in the article).

2) In commanders

In my opinion, for these purposes it is much more convenient to use some kind of file manager (many call them commanders). I like using Total Commander.

One of the best programs of its kind. The main direction is to replace Explorer for working with files. Allows you to perform a wide range of different tasks: searching for files, editing, group renaming, working with archives, etc. I recommend having a similar program on your PC.

So, in Total you immediately see both the file and its extension (i.e. you don’t need to include anything in advance). By the way, it’s quite easy to immediately enable the display of all hidden files (see Fig. 7 below: red arrow).

Rice. 7 Editing the file name in Total Commander.

By the way, unlike Explorer, Total does not slow down when viewing a large number of files in a folder. For example, open a folder in Explorer containing 1000 pictures: even on a modern and powerful PC you will notice slowdowns.

Just remember that an incorrectly specified extension may affect the opening of the file: the program may simply refuse to launch it!

And one more thing: do not change extensions unnecessarily.

Good luck!

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 of your personal computer is the file format. When you see a certain name of a document, you already imagine what it is - music, picture, book, text, video file. The Windows operating system works on the same principle: having determined the format, it opens the file using a specific automatically installed program. This information is 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 and are suitable for writing articles, abstracts, and dissertations. Other formats are more suitable for reading books electronically. Types of 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 renaming the names of file formats of electronic documents will not 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! You can easily change text files in the name itself.

Using online converter programs

There are simpler solutions that programmers have invented. 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 – converts PDF documents to Doc, Excel, Text, HTML or CSV.
  • ABC Amber Text Converter is a program that processes a huge number of 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 that do file conversion in a few minutes. Often there 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 displayed). 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. Use the Format Factory program. 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 graphic editors on your PC, 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.

The Corel Draw program is designed for vector graphics, logos in excellent quality, it is 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.

Extension (format) – a group of numbers or symbols following its name. For example, example.txt, where example is the name and *txt is the text extension. It is necessary to group data by content and more clearly structure the system data, understandable to both the user and the computer. In this article we will describe how to change the file extension in Windows 10 and 7 to perform some tasks.

Enable Windows file extension display

Before changing the format, you must enable its display, since extensions are hidden by default.

Enable display of file extensions in Windows 10 and 7

Windows 7

The display of extensions is enabled in the folder options. To get into these settings, you need to do the following:

  • Open the Control Panel (via Start or Win+R - control) and open Folder Options;
  • Open File Explorer, press Alt to open the toolbar and select Tools – Folder Options…

  • In the “Folder Options” window, you need to go to the View tab. These settings allow you to configure the visibility of hidden and protected elements and other display options. The item we need, uncheck it and click “Apply”.

Windows 10

In fact, the algorithm of actions has not changed much. There are 2 ways - simple and classic.

  • Simple . Open File Explorer, then click the View tab. By checking the “File name extensions” box, you will immediately solve the problem. Fast and easy.

  • Classic. Involves using the Windows 7 method.

On the View tab of Explorer, select Options. Or open the control panel (via search or Win+R - control) and select Explorer Options.

Open the View tab and look for the item "Hide extensions for registered..." which you need to uncheck.

Change file extension in Windows 10 or 7

After we found out? how to show the file extension in Windows 10 and 7, let's look at ways to change the format for both systems, which is absolutely the same.

For example:

  • Let's take a regular text document created in a notepad with the name “Example” and the extension .txt.

  • Right-click on it and select Rename from the context menu.

  • After which you need to change the format from .txt to .doc.

  • After the format change, the associative application changed. From Notepad to Microsoft Word.

Note: Formats should not be changed indiscriminately. It is possible to change the extensions of files from one group, but the format will not always be changed due to its specifics. For example, a text document.txt cannot be changed to a graphic document.bmp.

How to change file extension in Windows 10 or 7 via command line?

There are ways to change the format using commands in the CMD (command line).

Ren *.XXX *.YYY For example: ren *.txt *.doc The command changes all documents in .txt format only to .doc in the specified folder. ren *.* *.YYY For example: ren *.* *.tmp The command changes all documents to .tmp in the specified folder.

File conversion

When changing the format does not help and the document or image does not open, it means that the basic conditions have not been met. Changing the extension does not always solve the problem, especially with opening videos and images. The point is that only the description for the system changes, but not the content itself.

Video formats have different codecs and settings, text documents use templates, fonts, images and other settings, specialized files can only be opened with special software. Conversion helps solve this situation.

Conversion is the conversion of one file format to another, changing not only the extension, but also the content.

Popular online converters:

  • onlinevideoconverter.com – a large number of supported file types (MP3 | OGG | WMA | FLAC | MP4 | MPG | WMV | MKV | WEBM | 3GP and others). Conversion is performed online: upload the file to the server, select the desired format, download the result.
  • online-convert.com – converts archives, audio, databases, websites, vector and raster images, videos, text documents, presentations, spreadsheets, e-books and other types. Fast conversion, there is an API for third-party developers.

Problems associated with using a specific document type are extremely rare. Almost every file and document has an application that can open it. For video, a good player with a large number of codecs is suitable. For Microsoft Office, Libre Office or Open Office documents, spreadsheets and presentations.

Show file extension Windows 10, 7 via registry

The fastest way to enable/disable format display is to set the value in the registry. This option is suitable for Windows 7 and 10.

The HideFileExt parameter is responsible for this function, along the path:

HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced.
HideFileExt = 1 hidden

Reg add HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced /v HideFileExt /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f

HideFileExt = 0 are displayed

Or enter into the command line window:

Reg add HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced /v HideFileExt /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f

Have a great day!

Using the extension, the system determines which program it should open this or that file. Associations are registered in the registry - one might say pointers.

It's easy to change/change the file extension of Windows 7, Windows 8, XP or Vista. Click “folder options” and uncheck the box next to the line: “hide extensions...”, as in the figure.

Now by right-clicking and clicking rename in the menu that appears, you can easily change extensions (these are the last three letters before the dot, sometimes four)

Just what it will give you. Well, if you change from docx to doc, m4a to m4r or mp3 to m4r, then this number will work, but if doc to m4r, then you will see a message that an error has occurred.

doc extensions are intended for office programs, m4r for players, so the result will be a complete collapse. However, extensions opened by the same program may fail.

To correctly change the file format, download and install the free program in Russian “Format Factory”.

Program for changing file extensions

You can just change it using “total commander”, but this is ineffective. In Format Factory you can change several files at once, groups, music, videos, pictures and more.

How to use? After launching, on the left side, select the type of music video or other file (depending on what you need).

If, for example, you want to change the extension of an mp3 music file to m4r, then on the left side click “audio” and click on m4r.

A new window will appear in front of you. In it, indicate where to save the low-level extensions, indicate which one (several or a group is possible) and click “OK”.

Look at the screenshot below. After clicking “OK”, all you have to do is click “start” and the process begins.

But the program does not change the extension of all file types, although it works on all operating systems: Windows 7, Windows 8, XP or Vista. This includes text files (docx, doc, txt, pdf and others), archives, exe, etc. The program supports music, video and photos (pictures)

Some cannot be changed at all, and those that can be changed simply need to be saved in a different format.

To do this, open it, then (for almost all of them) click “file” at the top and select “save as”, then at the bottom, opposite the “save” line, expand the menu, specify the format (extension) and click save.

As for the txt file, just open it in any text program (for example Word and save it in the format you need - most support it).

I won’t be able to describe each situation in detail/separately - it will turn out to be a brochure, but with basic knowledge it will be much easier for many to understand. Good luck.