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IN112 HTML
Preparing Your Desktop
File Extensions: One of the best things you can do for yourself before you begin creating documents, is to make sure your computer is set up to show all file extensions. (Extensions are the three letters following the dot in a typical file name. For example, a file you make in Word might be named letter.doc. The "doc" extension identifies the file as a Word file.)

The Windows default setting is to not show file extensions in both My Computer and Windows Explorer when you are looking at the lists of files on your computer. As a Web designer, however, you will definitely want to see these extensions. It makes a difference whether your image is an image.jpg or an image.gif, or whether your XML files are file.asp or file.php. So, the first thing to do is turn on those extensions! 

If you're using a different operating system, such as Linux, check your user's manual or the help files.

How to show all files and file name extensions in Windows 98/2000/ME/XP:

  1. In My Computer or Windows Explorer, click the C:\ disk drive.
  2. On the Tools menu, choose Folder Options.
  3. Click the View tab, and then under Hidden files and folders, click Show hidden files and folders.
  4. Next, uncheck the box next to Hide extensions for known file types.
    Click OK to save your changes.

That's all there is to it. The changes should take effect immediately; however, if you still can't see the extensions, you may need to restart your computer.

Important: When moving back and forth from your text editor to your browsers, you have to do two things to make sure you are using the latest version of your file.

In your text editor, you must save the changes. Remember to save it as a .asp or another appropriate extension, not the default extension of .txt.

In your browser window, you must click on refresh or reload to ensure that you are seeing the newly saved file.