It also discusses the difference between file extensionand file key in.

A quick method is to use theWIN+Ekeyboard shortcut.

SelectViewat the top of the window, followed byShow>File name extensions.

View > Show > File Name Extensions in File Explorer

In theGeneraltab, rename the characters after the period to change the file extension.

PressOK, and thenYes, to save.

Changing the file extension does not change the filetype.

Properties in a file’s context menu

See the bottom of this page for more on that.

Change to the directory where your file is located.

The trick is using asterisks so you don’t have to call out any specific file by name.

The ‘TXT’ file extension highlighted, and the ‘Yes’ button highlighted, in a file’s Properties window

Put all the files you want to edit into their own folder.

Right-click an empty area next to the files, and selectOpen in Terminal.

Confirm that Command Prompt shows the correct folder.

An example of the CD command in the Windows 11 Command Prompt

In my example, it saysC:\files>.

If PowerShell opens instead, pressCtrl+Shift+2to get to Command Prompt.Learn more about Terminalif you need help.

Don’t breeze through this step.

Using the REN command to change a file extension in Windows 11

verify you’re in the correct folder,andwant to change the file extension for every file in there.

All of the file extensions will change automatically.

Visit Zamzar, and selectChoose Files.

The “Open in Terminal” command in a folder’s context menu

grab the MP3 file you want to change to WAV, and then pressOpen.

SelectConvert To, and then pickWAVfrom the list.

SelectConvert Nowto start the file conversion.

An example of the REN command highlighted in Command Prompt

ChooseDownloadto save the file to your unit.

Some software programs have built-in file conversion tools.

This is often the case for programs that can open several file types.

‘Choose Files’ button highlighted on the Zamzar website

What Does Changing the File Extension Do?

The Windows operating system uses the file extension to understand how to open a file.

For example, when you double-click to open a TXT file, Notepad probably opens it.

An MP3 file highlighted, and the ‘Open’ button highlighted, in the Open box on Zamzar’s website

This happens because Notepad is configured to open TXT files.

SeeHow to Change File Associations in Windowsif you want a different program to open any particular file bang out.

This lets you change which app plays MP3s or pick an other image viewer for your GIF files.

‘Convert To’ and ‘wav’ highlighted on the Zamzar website

This sometimes happens when a file is downloaded from a website.

Another example is if you’re working with aBATfile.

But when you’re done, you have to change the file extension to BAT to work as intended.

‘Convert Now’ button highlighted on the Zamzar website

You might think about changing the file extension to make the file work with a different program or unit.

In reality, you’d need to change the file pop in.

It might look like it does if the icon changes and a different program opens when you double-click it.

‘Download’ button highlighted on the Zamzar website

The file jot down is the format that the file exists in.

Those are three different file types.

TheDATfile extension is another great example.

That’s three differentfile typesthat are using the samefile extension.

MP3 is an audio file format, and DOCX is a document format.

Instead, use a file converter to change the file pop in.

The same is true for other file types.