

Some people think they can just change the extension in order to change the file format. Or, if it can open it, it won’t display or run properly. This can cause problems - without the right extension, the computer won’t know what type of file it is supposed to be, and usually won’t be able to open it. This doesn’t actually change the format - you haven’t edited the file at all, just changed the name. Unfortunately, it is possible to change the file extension from a file name, or remove it altogether. The extension tells you and other programs on your computer what the file format is supposed to be. So, for example, a PNG file should have the extension. These two image formats store the information that makes up a picture in very different ways.įile names have extensions which are supposed to identify the format. For example, an image can be stored as a PNG or as a JPG (as well as many other formats). Some types of media can be found in many different formats. Each format represents a particular way of storing the data that makes up a file.

There are many different types of file formats.

Pretty much everything you view, download, or interact with is a file - except some thing which are actually a bunch of files put together. Disclosure: Your support helps keep the site running! We earn a referral fee for some of the services we recommend on this page.
