Show file extensions in WinXP

One of my gripes about Windows is that sometimes it tries too hard to protect me from myself. Sure, I know that there are users who don’t know what a .doc extension means and would happily click on any .vbs file that comes through their email. But I want to see the extensions for files on my computer, and Windows turns this off by default.

Fortunately, it’s easy to fix. Open up a My Computer window and click on Options -> Folder Options and then the View tab. It’ll look like this.

Notice the very last option in the list box. If your computer isn’t showing extensions then there’s probably a check in the box. Clear the check and press ok. Now all the extensions will show.

This works in both WinXP and Windows 2000.