If you have ever spent any time poking around on your hard drive you will have seen that there are many different types of files on there.

In some cases your file extension (the bit that tells you what type of file it is) will be hidden and you will just see the different icons.

Either way you may be wondering what all the different file types are for, and why there can’t be just a single, universal file type for each kind of thing.

There are various different kinds of files that you will find on your PC, including office documents, media files and executables that install programs onto your computer.

The differences here are clear and well needed-the different file types tell the computer how to handle a particular file. Clearly, a video could not be opened with a word processor program, and an office document could not be opened with a media player.

Yet within the broader groupings of file types, there are still a great number of differences. Media files for instance come in different varieties. There are photos, videos, music files, and within each of these there may be different formats.

Photos may be compressed differently-that is, saved in a format that saves space by making the data smaller, and the same goes for videos.

Sometimes this compression is lossy, meaning that it causes a loss of quality, and so a compromise is made-this means that users need to have a choice of file formats according to their needs. Image file formats include .png, .jpg, .tif, png and .gif.

Office documents have different file formats both according to the type of document it is, for instance spread sheets versus word processing and also according to the maker of the office software. Again, there is an element of choice here.

The biggest problem is proprietary programs. Many of the programs will use their own file type. There are many reasons why they would do this, but often it has to do with copyright and licensing.

One company may own the rights to a certain file format, and if that is the case then no other software producer can use it without buying a license that may prove too costly. They instead are likely to create their own format, and this has led to there being several types.

There is also an element of tying customers into one format. If a customer has invested a significant amount in something that uses a particular format they are more likely to continue on using that format out of convenience. This provides ongoing revenue for the company.

The last major group of files that you will meet are executables. These run, or install something on your computer and again will do so in different ways. Some require particular programs to unpack and install them, and their file type helps to identify them, telling the computer what program needs to be opened in order to handle them.

There are many other file types on the average computer, but these too will follow the same rules and reasons as to why certain file types are used. Regardless of what the file is, it’s file type extension identifies it to the computer and helps the computer to know how to handle it.

If your computer can’t open a file, you can help by Google searching the extension, and seeing if you need to download a particular program in order to handle it.

What are all the Different File Formats For? is a post from: Computer Spot

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If you can see the importance of organizing your materials on your desk, then you might have also realized how significant it is to get the files on your computer arranged in order. That is the very function of the folder feature of our computers. Since there usually comes a point when we our hard disk gets full of files which results in difficulty finding our files in it.

Filing protocol

You must learn to organize your documents so that they won’t be scattered everywhere. Now that you are aware of the necessity, the next thing that you need to know is how you can create folders in your computer. To get started, all you need to do is to follow these simple steps.

1. Be acquainted on how the filing system in your computer works. Different computers have different directory trees and systems which you must first learn so that you won’t lose your files in the future.

2. Determine which folder you want to keep your files. If you are using the Windows operating system, it has a My Documents folder where you can choose from various directories to store your files.

However, you should be reminded that this directory might encounter some complications from time to time, particularly, when a virus gets attached to any document in it and eventually the document gets sent to everyone in your address book. The reason why this one is advised by me is because most Windows systems save files in this directory by default.

3. Make sub folders within your document storage area. As soon as you have decided where to store your files you may start creating subfolders to further keep your document organized. Nevertheless, the Windows system has some sub folders already which you can also use but if you prefer to create your own folders then that would be fine.

4. Sub folders should be titled by the subject or by its content. Need I say more?

This kind of system allows your files to be accessed easily especially when they are categorized properly. With that goal in your head, you shouldn’t dare save your files on your desktop for purposes of finding them more easily because it has the tendency to hamper your computer’s memory.

Though you may see it immediately, it is still preferable to have it organized in a folder so that there won’t be any hassle in case you want to transfer the files.

Getting organized with your computer is a post from: Computer Spot

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