How to Open Files with Unknown File Extensions
How to open a file with an unknown file extension? There are many file extensions around. Some of these file extensions are popular but some others are not. Hence, sometimes we might find a file extension that we don’t know what it is and how to open it. When you double-click the file, a window will open asking you to select an appropriate program. This is where the real problem lies in. How can we know which program that can be used to open the file if we don’t know anything about the file extension?
Luckily, you can find out easily about an unknown file extension simply by using a search engine. Using an online database of file extensions is a better option as you will likely to find it easier. For example, FileSuffix, which has been reviewed here a long time ago, is just one example of the many similar websites.
OpenWith is another nice option that will help you finding information about an unknown file extension, including the program that you can use to open it. When I tried to search for .docx (just for a test), the programs recommended are all free. Instead of recommending commercial programs like Microsoft Office, the programs recommended are Open Office and Word Viewer.
OpenWith also provides a free tool to make you easy in searching for information from their database whenever you encounter an unknown file extension. This tool will make you able to investigate an unknown file extension directly from Windows Explorer.
Aside from letting you know the description of an unknown file extension, the tool also promotes some free programs to open the file. If you already have one of the programs installed on your computer, the tool will tell you so. The reason you can’t open the file is perhaps because its extension isn’t associated with the program yet. But if you don’t have any of the programs, then you can simply select a program and click the download button for a direct download.
So, how do you exactly use this desktop tool to investigate an unknown file extension?
How to open files with unknown file extensions with OpenWith Desktop Tool
- Right-click the file and select “OpenWith.org – How do I Open This?” from the context menu.
- A list of the programs that can be used to open the file extension will be displayed. It will let you know if you already have one of them installed. In this case, you can simply click the Open button to open the file with the program.
- But if you don’t have any yet, then you can select any program from the list. To help you choosing which you should use, you can double-click every program to find some information about it.
- Install the selected program and then you can open the file extension.
Note that you can’t use OpenWith Desktop Tool to investigate a file that has no extension. I tried it and it gave me no respond at all. If you download the file from somewhere on the web or if the file is sent to you by someone, ask him or her about the file.
Download OpenWith Desktop Tool or visit the website
[ this article was published on March 19, 2010 ]
