First you need to explain the origins, the basics. To understand everything further, you need to familiarize yourself with the initial concepts. For example, what is a file in simple terms: it is a certain amount of structured information, united by a common meaning and collected in one shell.
With a file it is more or less clear, that is, it is any textual, multimedia user information of any segment and size. Clear? More than. But there is another vague concept - a certain file extension. What is it?
The extension is used to indicate the file type. In other words, it helps the computer identify the program with which to open it, and also helps the person quickly understand the type of information it contains.
So the file is the information itself, the file extension is its type.
The need to create information without its specific type in Windows: origins
To solve many technical problems in the Windows operating system, you need to create information without a type, that is, a file without an extension, or an empty one. How to create an empty file in Windows system? The article presents the answer to this question in the form of a simple example with photographs in order toinexperienced PC users were able to understand the whole process. So, first we will decide whether the type of information is displayed at all on the computer. Usually, OS Windows developers for ordinary users hide the extensions of all files, but this will not work for this instruction.
To test, let's create the simplest text file of a notepad and name it "How to create an empty file":
- To do this, right-click in the explorer menu.
- In the context menu, move the cursor over the line "Create".
- Choose from the presented files "Text file".
A notepad file appears in the Explorer window with the highlighted name "New Text Document" - the system suggests renaming it. Let's do this.
Let's name it, pay attention to the fact that, apart from the name, there are no other indications on the right side. This is just a sign that in the Windows system the information type is hidden in the settings.
In the explorer menu, go to the upper left corner, where there is a line "File", click on it, another context menu appears, in which we look for the line "Options", click on it.
A context window with three tabs immediately appears, in which you need to go to the "View" tab, and already in it select the line marked with the "Hide extensions of known file types" checkbox. Remove the checkmark on it, click on the bottom "Apply" and OK. Furtherback to our file and see the changes in it.
Thus, after the name of the text document, we see the symbol “.”, as well as three Latin letters txt. This is the previously hidden designation of the file extension, in this case the abbreviation of the text file extension.
Moving on with the file and its type
Now we solve the main task - to create an empty file without extension in Windows:
- Select the desired file with the left mouse button.
- Press the right mouse button, in the context menu that appears, select the line "Rename".
- The file name will be highlighted, move the cursor from the file name to its extension, in our case to.txt, and use the Backspace keyboard key to erase all characters up to the file name.
- A warning window of information appears, in which we boldly click "Yes".
- Press the Enter key to save our actions.
As a result of these actions, we get the desired result - an empty file without its type.
File information and changing its format: conclusion
The instruction presented above, although intended for inexperienced users, is also useful for those who are going to carry out any technical actions with these empty files (checking an external drive, checking or saving a browser system file, etc.).) alone or according to other detailed instructions. If the user is still unfamiliar with the specified operations and looked intothis instruction for the sake of curiosity - in practice it is better not to use it, or before performing the action, it is necessary to save the Windows system checkpoint (in order to avoid possible problems with the PC).
You can also change or remove file extensions through the command line, as well as in other operating systems, but that's another story.
