File extensions still hidden in Windows 7
Microsoft claims that it listens to what its customers say but there are some areas where Microsoft is deaf. Ever since Windows 95 (and maybe before, I’ve forgotten), the default setting has been to hide the extensions of files. Because file extensions are core to handling and managing files, this choice of default configuration often creates problems. Experienced users and businesses with IT staff know how to change the setting. However, average home PC users have no idea how to make extensions visible. There have been numerous times that someone has come to me with a problem because they couldn’t see file extensions.
In spite of longstanding complaints that file extensions should be visible by default, Microsoft continues to hide them in Windows 7. At ZDNet, Adrian Kingsley-Hughes discusses how hiding file extensions can be a security problem. Personally, I don’t think the old double-extension trick he talks about is as big a problem as it once was. However, the lack of extensions is irritating because then you don’t know the file type.
I have been writing about how to make file extensions visible for years and this blog is no exception. Three years ago, I posted some methods for showing file extensions and I wrote:
Microsoft also has a thing about hiding file extensions. Ever since the beginning of Windows, the default setting for file extensions has been to hide them. Over the years many computer experts have pointed out over and over that this is not the best choice. Microsoft has never budged and it looks like Vista continues this practice.
As Yogi Berra supposedly said, it’s deja vu all over again.
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