How to Enable Options to See File Extensions in Windows 11/10?

The file extension is used to identify the file type and usually appears at the end of the file name. By default, file explorer hides the file extension, but you can switch the option to make the file name extension visible.

In this article, we will learn how to show File Extensions in win11 / 10 and why you should show them.

Why show file name extensions

On the one hand, the file extension can identify the file type and let us know in which application the file is opened. On the other hand, the file extension helps us to determine whether the file is a malware file. Since the file name allows you to use multiple full stops, the name of the malware may be realword docx. exe. And because our Windows default hidden file extension, you can only see realword docx., mistakenly thinking that the file is a word document, then your computer may be infected after clicking it. Therefore, from the perspective of security, it is also necessary to open the file name.

How to show file name extensions

There are three ways to display the hidden file name extensions in Windows 11/10:

1. Through the file explorer options.

2. Through windows explorer ribbon.

3. Using the registry.

1. Through the file explorer options

Step 1: Press Win + E to open file explorer.

Step 2: Click View tab, and select Options.

Step 3: The Folder Options window appears, click View tab, under Advanced settings, uncheck Hide extensions for known file types, then click Apply and OK.

2. Through windows explorer ribbon

Step 1: Press Win + E to open file explorer.

Step 2: Click the View tab, and uncheck the File name extensions in the ribbon.

3. Using the registry

Step 1: Hitting Start and typing regedit to open the registry editor.

Step 2: Once registry editor opens, use the left sidebar to navigate to the following key:

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

Step 3: On the right side, locate a value named HideFileExt and double-click it, set its value as 0, and click OK. This will show up the hidden file extensions.