For computers running Windows Vista please see the WorkingArtist Knowledge Base article on Displaying File Extensions and Showing Hidden Folders on Windows Vista.

Windows has an option to hide some file extensions in Windows Explorer. The file extension specifies the file type. For example:

.mdb is a Microsoft Access database file.
.doc is a Microsoft Word document.
.xls is a Microsoft Excel document.
.txt is a text file.
.jpg is a jpg image file.
.tif is a tif image file.

To display file extensions from Windows Explorer.

1. From the File menu, click on Tools/Folder Options.
2. Click on the View tab.
3. Locate the option "Hide file extensions for known file types".
4. If the option is checked, un-check it.
5. Click on Apply.
6. Exit the Folder Options dialog.

To display file extensions from the Desktop.

1. Right click on the My Computer icon, then click on Explore to open Windows Explorer.
2. From the File menu, click on Tools/Folder Options.
3. Click on the View tab.
4. Locate the option "Hide file extensions for known file types".
5. If the option is checked, un-check it.
6. Click on Apply.
7. Exit the Folder Options dialog.

You should now be able to see all file extensions for all types of files.

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