[ Home | Books | Contact ]

Cancel Cable: How Internet Pirates Get Free Stuff Book details

Chapter 3 – File Types

Understanding file types lets you:

• Predict and control what happens when you double-click files that you’ve downloaded.
• Recognize unexpected or unfamiliar files in suspicious torrents. For example, an executable file bundled with a movie, music, photo, or book torrent should raise a red flag.
• Save time and bandwidth. By scanning the file list in a movie torrent, you can choose to download only the video file and exclude inessentials like subtitle, readme, snippet, screenshot, and spam files.

You should already know how to install and run programs, manage your files and folders, and change control-panel settings.

About File Types

Windows and OS X use the same file-type mechanism. When you double-click a Word document, your system launches Microsoft Word with that document open. It launches Word — rather than, say, your browser or Photoshop — because a document’s file type, or file format, is embedded in its filename, as the (usually three) characters appearing after the name’s last dot. These characters, called an extension or filename extension, link a document to a program. The link between a file type and its default program is an association. For example, the extension of the file readme.txt is .txt, denoting a plain-text file that will open in your text editor (Notepad, TextEdit, or whatever text editor you’ve specified). The extension of my.novel.doc is .doc, which tells your OS that the file is a document in the Microsoft Word file format. (Words in long filenames are generally separated by spaces, dots, or hyphens.)

Most files found on pirate sites use common formats and extensions. These formats, and their associated programs, are explained where they’re relevant. Some notable ones are:

• .avi, .mkv, and .mp4 for movies, TV shows, and videos
• .jpg and .png for photos, artwork, and pictures
• .mp3 for music and audio books
• .pdf, .epub, and .mobi for books, magazines, and documents
• .txt, .nfo, .rtf, and .html for plain or formatted text
• .cbr and .cbz for comic books
• .otf and .ttf for fonts
• .iso, .cue/.bin, and .dmg for disk images
• .url for links to webpages (usually spam)

It’s easy to set the default program for all files of the same type. You can change the program that opens all your digital photos from Picasa to Photoshop, for example, without having to change any .jpg files. If a newly installed program hijacks an association to become a file type’s unwelcome default, you can reverse the change. (This misbehavior is less common than it used to be; now, installers usually let you manually set a program’s associations.)

It may seem odd that the ability to open a file depends partially on something as easy to mistype as its filename, but when you rename a file in Windows or OS X, its name is selected only up to the last dot, letting you type a new name without accidently changing the extension. If you do edit the extension, you’re prompted to confirm the change. Changing an extension won’t alter the file’s contents or format, but it will change how the OS interacts with the file. Renaming a webpage file from index.html to index.txt, for example, causes the file to open by default in your text editor instead of your browser.

Hidden Extensions

Windows and OS X hide filename extensions by default, which is why the file Kauai.jpg appears as only Kauai in a folder or on the desktop. Extension-hiding may make your screen look friendlier, but it also forces you to discern a file’s type from its (possibly tiny) icon or the containing folder’s (possibly invisible) Type or Kind column. Instead of seeing merely LoveLetter, show extensions to see LoveLetter.avi (a movie), LoveLetter.pdf (a book), or LoveLetter.exe (a virus?) and anticipate which program will launch when you open the file.

Unregistered Extensions

OSes come with a list of registered filename extensions for built-in programs. When you install a new program, it registers its own extensions. The default program for .jpg files, for example, on a fresh copy of Windows is Windows Photo Viewer (in OS X, it’s Preview). Install Microsoft Excel and it registers itself as the default program for .xls and .xlsx files, among others.

If you double-click a file that has an unregistered extension, you’re prompted to specify a compatible program. To find file types, extensions, and programs, go to fileinfo.com  or read Wikipedia’s list of file formats . Files that have no extension are usually text files containing release notes or support files not meant to be opened (support files display as random-looking garbage in a text editor).

Windows Tasks

Windows maintains a master list that pairs each filename extension with its default program. A file’s Properties window shows its file type and associated program (and other metadata). You can override the default program for specific files.

To open a file’s Properties window:

Do any of the following:

• Right-click the file and choose Properties from the shortcut menu. (The Properties command is usually at the bottom of the menu.)
• Select the file and choose File > Properties.
• Select the file, hold down the Alt key, and then press Enter.
• Hold down the Alt key and double-click the file.

To show or hide filename extensions for all files:

1. Open the Start menu and choose Control Panel > Appearance and Personalization > Folder Options.
   
   or
   
   In Windows Explorer, click Organize on the toolbar and choose Folder and Search Options.
   
   or
   
   Open the Start menu, type folder options in the Search box, and then press Enter.
2. In the Folder Options window, click the View tab, turn on or off “Hide extensions for known file types”, and then click OK.
   
   Note: If a filename has an unregistered extension, Windows shows the complete name even if extension-hiding is turned on.

To open a specific file with a nondefault program:

1. Right-click the file, choose the desired program from the Open With submenu, and skip the remaining steps.
   
   or
   
   If the desired program isn’t listed in the Open With submenu, choose Open With or Open With > “Choose default program”.
2. In the Open With window, select the desired program (if it isn’t listed, then click Browse and select it).
3. Turn off “Always use the selected program to open this kind of file”.
4. Click OK.

To change the default program for all files of a specific file type by using a file:

1. Right-click any file of the target file type and, from the shortcut menu, choose Open With or Open With > “Choose default program”.
2. In the Open With window, select the new default program (if it isn’t listed, then click Browse and select it).
3. Turn on “Always use the selected program to open this kind of file”.
4. Click OK.

To change the default program for all files of a specific file type by using the program:

1. Open the Start menu, type default in the Search box, and then click “Set your default programs” (under Control Panel) in the results list.
   
   or
   
   Choose Start > Control Panel > Programs > Default Programs > “Set your default programs”.
2. In the Set Default Programs window, select the new default program.
3. Do one of the following:
   • To set the program as the default for every file type that it can open, click “Set this program as default”. For example, you can set a media player to open all your video and audio files.
   • To set the program as the default for some file types, click “Choose defaults for this program”, turn on the checkboxes for the desired file types, and then click Save.

To change the default program for all files of a specific file type by using the filename extension:

1. Open the Start menu, type associated in the Search box, and then click “Change the file type associated with a file extension” (under Control Panel) in the results list.
   
   or
   
   Choose Start > Control Panel > Programs > Default Programs > “Associate a file type or protocol with a program”.
2. In the Set Associations window, select the filename extension in the list, and then click “Change program”.
3. In the Open With window, select the new default program (if it isn’t listed, then click Browse and select it).
4. Click OK and then Close.

To open a file that has an unregistered extension (or no extension):

1. Double-click the mystery file.
2. Do one of the following:
   
   
   • If you don’t know which program can open the file, click “Use the Web service to find the appropriate program” to try to look up the extension on Microsoft’s website. If Microsoft draws a blank, refer to one of the websites listed in “Unregistered Extensions” earlier in this chapter.
   • To open the file in a program that’s installed on your computer, click “Select the program from a list of installed programs”, select a compatible program in the Open With window, and then turn on “Always use the selected program to open this kind of file” if you want.

OS X Tasks

OS X maintains a master list that pairs each filename extension with its default program. A file’s Info window shows its file type and associated program (and other metadata). You can override the default program for specific files.

To open a file’s Info window:

Do any of the following:

• Right-click (or Ctrl-click) the file and choose Get Info from the shortcut menu.
• Select the file and choose File > Get Info or press Command+I.
  
  Note: These actions also work when multiple files are selected.

To show or hide the filename extension for a specific file:

1. Right-click (or Ctrl-click) the file and choose Get Info from the shortcut menu.
2. In the Name & Extension section of the Info window, turn on or off “Hide extension”.

To show or hide filename extensions for all files:

1. In Finder, choose Finder > Preferences or press Command+, (comma).
2. In the Preferences window, click the Advanced pane and turn on or off “Show all filename extensions”.
   
   Note: Some filename extensions (such as those of imported photos) will show even if extension-hiding is turned on.

To show or suppress warnings when you change a file’s extension:

1. In Finder, choose Finder > Preferences or press Command+, (comma).
2. In the Preferences window, click the Advanced pane and turn on or off “Show warning before changing an extension”.

To open a specific file with a nondefault program:

Do any of the following:

• Right-click (or Ctrl-click) the file and choose Open With from the shortcut menu.
• Select the file and choose File > Open With.
• Select the file, click on the toolbar, and then choose Open With.
• Drag the file onto the program’s icon in Finder or the Dock.
• Open the program that you want to use, choose File > Open, and then locate the file.
  
  Note: If the program isn’t listed in the Open With menu, choose Other to locate it.

To change the default program for a specific file:

Do any of the following:

• Hold down the Option key, right-click (or Ctrl-click) the file, and then choose Always Open With from the shortcut menu.
• Select the file, hold down the Option key, and then choose File > Always Open With.
• Select the file, hold down the Option key, click on the toolbar, and then choose Always Open With.
• Select the file, choose File > Get Info (or press Command+I), and then choose a program from the “Open with” drop-down list. (Don’t click Change All.)
• If multiple files are selected, hold down the Option key, choose File > Show Inspector (or press Option+Command+I), and then select a program from the “Open with” drop-down list.
  
  Note: If the program isn’t listed in the Always Open With menu, choose Other to locate it.

To change the default program for all files of a specific file type:

1. Select any file of the target file type.
2. Choose File > Get Info (or press Command+I).
3. In the Info window, choose a new default program from the “Open with” drop-down list or choose Other to locate a different program.
4. Click Change All.

To open a file that has an unregistered extension (or no extension):

1. Double-click the mystery file.
2. Click Choose Application, select a compatible program in the Choose Application window, and then click Open. If you draw a blank, refer to one of the websites listed in “Unregistered Extensions” earlier in this chapter.

---

Forward to Chapter 4
Back to Table of Contents