I was a fortunate soul to never have the discomfort in using Windows Vista, but from what I understand it is a very unpleasant experience. Having said that, there were some changes in the GUI coming from Windows XP to Windows 7. The toolbar changed in Windows Explorer. My personal preference while browsing through my files is to have everything in Details mode and show file extensions.

Hiding the file extensions is a default setting in Windows and I am always turning it on when setting up a new system or troubleshooting someone else’s computer. Over years of doing this it has become a pretty mindless operation – so when I loaded up Windows 7 for the first time, needless to say, I was hit with a road block on my normal course of travels. For anyone else who came across this problem, I’ve decided to share the two different options in showing file extensions.

OPTION 1:

The first option on the toolbar is Organize. In that drop down there is an option for Folder and Search Options.

From there you click on the View tab. Under Advanced Settings you will see a check box for Hide Extensions for Known File Types. Uncheck this box and apply the settings and you are good to go.

OPTION 2:

The second option, you go through the Start menu. Click on Control Panel.

Find the option for Folder Options.

From there you click on the View tab. Under Advanced Settings you will see a check box for Hide Extensions for Known File Types. Uncheck this box and apply the settings and you are good to go.