Call me crazy, but I'm sure I remember this capability existing in previous versions of Windows. In Windows 7, we can have file extensions Off… or On. Pick one. Is there some obscure switch buried in the registry to have Explorer show specific extensions, but leave the rest hidden?
In my case, I'd like to always show extensions for text files (*.txt, *.csv, *.tdt), because I frequently have to handle flat files which may come in with a .txt extension where I need it to be .csv, for example. I'd rather not have extensions on all the time, it's just clutter for almost all files.
Best Answer
Open the Registry Editor, navigate to
HKCR
(althoughHKCU\Software\Classes
would be a better location, but most are lazy). For every file type, create a zero-length string value namedAlwaysShowExt
.For example, if you have
.txt
:Navigate to the subkey for the extension –
HKCR\.txt
– and note the data stored in the "(Default)
" value – it usually saystxtfile
.Navigate to the file type subkey
HKCR\txtfile
, right-click the value list, choose New → String value, and name the new valueAlwaysShowExt
.Not all extensions have separate subkeys for file types – sometimes all information is kept directly under
HKCR\.myext
. In such cases,AlwaysShowExt
goes directly to the extension subkey as well.It is very likely that there are dedicated programs for editing file types, possibly with support for
AlwaysShowExt
and other flags. I don't know any to recommend, though.