How to show file extensions, view file extensions on Windows 11/10/7/8

Showing file extensions on Windows 11, 10, 7/8 will help you know what type of file it is. Depending on the operating system, the operation to view the file extension will be different. Below, Quantrimang.com will guide you to show file extensions on Windows versions.

Why should you show file extensions on Windows?

Every file has a file extension, which tells Windows and you what type of file it is. File extensions are usually three or four characters long, but can be longer in some cases. For example, Word document files have a .doc or .docx extension . If you have a file named Example.docx , Windows knows it's a Word document and will open it with Microsoft Word by default.

There are many different file extensions. Audio files can appear with extensions like .mp3, .aac, .wma, .flac, .ogg... While some common image file extensions are .jpeg, .png, .gif and .heic.

Additionally, setting Windows to show file extensions is very useful for security reasons. For example, .exe is one of many types of file extensions that Windows will run as a program (executable file). If you can't see the file extension, it's hard to tell whether it's an executable, a document, or a safe media file.

For example, you may come across a file named “ document ” with the icon of a PDF reader installed on your system. If the file extension is hidden, there is no quick way for you to determine whether it is a legitimate PDF document, or just a malicious program masquerading as a PDF reader icon. If you have Windows set to show file extensions, you will be able to easily check whether it is a safe document named “ document.pdf ”, or a file hiding a dangerous executable like “ document.exe ”.

Show file extensions on Windows 11

Microsoft changed the File Explorer user interface quite a bit between Windows 10 and 11. But overall, the process of setting up file extension display options can still be done relatively easily.

First, launch File Explorer on your Windows 11 PC. On the File Explorer window that appears, click on the “ View ” tab in the upper left corner of the screen. Then, a drop-down menu will immediately appear, hover over the “ Show ” item at the bottom of the menu and click on the “ File Name Extensions ” option in the sub-menu that appears.

That's it. The extension will now be displayed for all files, in all folders on your computer.

Show file extensions on Windows 10

Method 1: Using File Explorer

To hide and show file extensions on Windows 10, follow the steps below:

Open File Explorer , then click the View tab on the Ribbon bar, select the File name extensions option.

In addition, if you want to see hidden files and folders, check Hidden items.

Method 2: Tweak folder options

Alternatively, you can use Control Panel to view or hide file extensions on Windows 10. Here's how.

Step 1 : Open the Start menu , type file explorer options and press Enter.

Step 2 : In the View tab , Advanced settings section , uncheck Hide extensions for known file types to see the file extensions. Finally, click Apply , then select OK.

Method 3: Using Command Prompt

Although the above methods are simple, they only change the file extension hide/show option for the current user. With Command Prompt , you can change the file extension settings for all users on your PC, if you are logged in with an admin account. Here's how:

Step 1 : Open the Start menu , type command prompt and click Run as administrator on the right to open CMD with admin rights .

Step 2 : In the console, type the command below and press Enter to view the files with their extensions.

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

Similarly, to hide these file extensions, use the following command.

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

You can use the above commands to easily view or hide file extensions for all users on your PC.

Method 4: Using Registry Editor

Apart from the above methods, you can also show or hide file extensions in Windows by making changes to the Windows Registry.

Before we proceed, there is one important thing to note. The Windows Registry is an integral part of Windows. Editing it without knowledge can lead to serious consequences. So make sure you follow the instructions carefully.

Step 1 : Press Windows key + R to launch Run. Type regedit in the box and press Enter.

Step 2 : Use the address bar at the top to navigate to the following key.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced

Step 3 : Now, double-click on HideFileExt on the right. In Value data , enter 0 if you want to show file extensions or 1 to hide them.

Once done, restart your PC for the changes to take effect and file extensions to be shown or hidden.

View file extensions on Windows 7/Vista

Step 1 : Open Windows Explorer, then click Organize in the upper left corner, select the Folder and Search option.

Step 2 : In the next window, click on the View tab, then scroll down to find and uncheck the Hide file extensions for known file types option.

View file extensions on Windows 8

Open File Explorer by pressing Windows + E, then click the View tab. Next, select the File name extensions option to show the file extension or uncheck the option to hide the file extension.

Also, if you want to see hidden files, follow these instructions .