You may never have seen one. Mac users I have known over the years really didn't give file extensions a thought, unless I asked about a file they sent. My mother once said, "I don't need them, so my Mac doesn't show them. If I can open that file, you should be able to too!"
I used to hate that. She figured if her Mac didn't display it, she didn't need it.
File Extensions are the definitive clue to what kind of file you are dealing with, what software you need to open it, and even if you are able to open it with some alternate software application. This applies to Macs as well as PCs.
Not to neglect PC users. The default view on a PC right out of the box (as long as I can remember) is to not show the file extension. You have to guess (just like on a Mac) what kind of file it is by the little icon (picture) representation when you view the file name in a folder. I still hate this. I resent these blasted machines treating us humans like we don't have enough brains and need to be coddled.
Kindle files:
As far as your Kindle is concerned, there are certain file types that are "Kindle friendly," meaning you can simply place these file types directly into the Documents folder of your Kindle, then see them listed on your Kindle home screen. They don't need to be converted. They just work.
- Text files (.txt)
- Unprotected Mobipocket files (.mobi, .prc)
- Kindle files (.azw, .azw1, and .azw2)
- Adobe pdf files (.pdf)
If you want to see .txt at the end of a file name, you need to make sure your computer is set up to show the file extensions to you.
PC:
Open your Documents folder on your computer. Click the Start button, then Documents. Click the word Tools, then Folder Options. You can also click the Start button and type the words Folder Options in the search box. This will open the Folder Options window.
Open your Documents folder on your computer. Click the Start button, then Documents. Click the word Tools, then Folder Options. You can also click the Start button and type the words Folder Options in the search box. This will open the Folder Options window.
Once you have the Folder Options window open, click the View tab, scroll down and make sure there is not a check next to the words Hide extensions for known file types. Click OK and you are done. Whenever you view a file from now on, you will see the dot and extension after the file name.
View file extensions on Mac:
I'm not sure how this was done on older Macs, but the newer ones (Tiger operating system and newer) seem to understand how valuable knowing what the file extension of a file is and made it quite easy to set up so you will see them from then on.
While Mac OS X hides file extensions by default (just like Windows), you can choose to show all file extensions by clicking on the desktop to activate the Finder if is not already active and select "Preferences..." from the Finder menu.
Then click the Advanced tab and make sure to put a check next to the words Show all file extensions.
Voila!
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