email attachments,how do i know what format it is

steveo3002

ok ive posted before...i have trouble opening certain email attachments

using hotmail or windows mail

is there a way i can click on an attachment to see what format it is so that i can then search out the correct programme to download so that i can open it

timbim_2

How do you mean you have trouble opening them? If you double click, it should try to open, if it cannot then it should tell you that that file format is incompatible. That window should also show the file format.

isofa

The extension of the attachment should indicated what file type it is:

e.g:
.doc - word
.xls - excel
.pdf - adobe pdf file
.mdb - access database
.zip - compressed Zip file

There is a almost complete list of file extensions here: http://filext.com/alphalist.php?extstart=%5EA

Paparika

windows xp (and probably Vista) has a built-in service for file extensions that aren't currently associated with a particular program. When you try to open the unknown file a window will come up asking you to either select a program from a list or let the service connect to the internet and search for a program that would open the file.

It isn't brilliant - I prefer to use somewhere like http://www.fileinfo.net/

fwor

With the growing popularity of Linux, it's also worth noting that the system used to identify files in Linux is completely different. The name of the file and its extension is not used - instead the OS uses a system of "magic numbers" embedded within the file's header.

The result may be that a Linux user sends an attachment which can be identified on his own PC but can't on a Windows-based PC.

To the OP: The following utility claims to be able to identify file types in DOS, Windows and Linux:

http://www.optimasc.com/products/fileid/index.html

Not ~quite~ what you wanted, as it's a command-line utility, not point-and-click.