How to open files in Windows with different file extensions
Posted on February 24, 2008 at 6:44 am
I’ve always wanted to write a resource article on how to open file with different file extensions, such as .wps, .prn, .mpp, .mdi, .rar, .psd, .pps, .sit, .nrg and lots more! I’ve come across this issue myself many times (usually because I download from BitTorrent sites or because someone sent me a file) and I have no idea which program opens it!
So if you come across a file with a strange extension you have never seen before, there are a couple of ways you can identify which program opens that file. I’m going to go through some of most common file types that people need to open, but if it’s not in my list, check at the bottom of the post because there are some cool web sites you can use that will take your file, analyze it, and tell you which program it is originally from so that you can open it.
How to open PRN file
A PRN file is what you end up getting when you check the “Print to file” option from Windows. It’s a special file that contains the print job in a format that can be understood by the printer, such as what to print, the tray to use, the paper size, etc. Normally, when you print this file is created transparently in the background before being sent to the printer.
Since the PRN file is actually the instruction set for the printer, it will contain lots of extra garbage data that you won’t understand. It’s almost impossible to open it in Word, Notepad, etc if you try. You can, however, use a a PostScript viewer like GSView to view the file correctly. Normally, however, if someone was intending to send the file to your electronically, you would want them to print it out to a PDF writer, etc as the “Print to file” option is not meant for humans to read!
How to open MPP file
An MPP file is the file extension for Microsoft Project files. Sometimes people unintentionally send this file thinking that everyone has Microsoft Project installed on their computers! Sadly we all do now work at places that can afford that type of luxury. Either way, there are a couple of free and commercial programs that you can use to open an MPP file.
Check out this list of free/paid apps for opening Microsoft Projects files.
How to open PSF file
The PSF file extension can be one of several different types of files. If you have to open a PSF file, it is more likely than not a Photoshop Proof Setup file or a PhotoStudio Graphic. It can also be from Microsoft’s Picture It! software that create slideshows of pictures.
The first way to try an open it would be to download the Picture It! viewer software or try to use Adobe Photoshop. If you don’t have Photoshop, you can try a free photo viewer like XnView.
If that doesn’t work, try to rename the file extension to .JPG instead of .PSF and then open it. Some people have said this method works for opening PSF files.
Also, it could be a PhotoStudio file from Arcsoft, which you can get here. That should hopefully get your file open!
How to open MDI file
MDI stands for Microsoft Document Imaging and is usually created by the Microsoft Office Document Image Writer when you go to print files from Office. This is basically useful for printing documents in electronic format that you can then send to someone else for viewing.
Sometimes Windows will not open this file type even if you have Office installed on your computer, especially if it’s Office 2007 because Microsoft Office Document Imaging is not installed by default.
You can install it by following these steps:
- Go to Control Panel and select Uninstall a program link under the Programs section.
- Click on Microsoft Office 2007
- Click on Change towards the top of the window
- Select Add or Remove Features
- Expand Office Tools
- Click on the drop down list for Microsoft Office Document Imaging and select Run all from My Computer
- Click Continue and then Close.
You should now be able to open MDI files with Office 2007 in Windows XP or Windows Vista.
How to open VSD file
A file with a VSD file extension is a Microsoft Visio drawing. In order to view the drawing, you have to have Microsoft Visio installed on your computer. If you don’t, there are several free Visio viewers that are available for free.
Using the Visio 2007 viewer, you should be able to view Visio documents created in Visio 5, 2000, 2002, 2003, and 2007!
How to open PUB file
A file with a .PUB extension is another proprietary Microsoft format, this time from Microsoft Publisher! Luckily, if you don’t have Publisher installed on your computer (obviously otherwise you would not be on this site), then you can try to convert the file into another format, such as PDF, etc.
Check out PDFOnline, a cool and free website that converts several different file formats, including .PUB into PDF format. Sadly, there are no viewers, plguins, or anything else for viewing Microsoft Publisher files, so you’ll have to convert it to PDF or tell the person to save it out as a different file type.
There are many other types of files that I have not mentioned here, so I’ll continue with more How to open Windows files as a series of posts. If there’s a file you’re looking to open mentioned above and you can’t, post a comment below and I will help you. Enjoy!
[tags]open prn file, open mpp file, open psf, open mdi, open vsd, open pub[/tags]
» Filed Under Computer Tips
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Comments
40 Responses to “How to open files in Windows with different file extensions”
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Hide extensions for known file types in Windows Vista Says:
[...] For me, showing the file extensions for known files types is mostly distracting. It does come in handy when Windows does not recognize the file type and only shows “File” as the file type. In that case, it’s useful to show the file extension so that you can Google it. It helps to open files with PRN, MPP, PSF, MDI, PUB, etc file extensions. [...]
October 9th, 2008 at 5:47 am
Thanks so much even though I thought I had already installed it, it was not bringing up any mdi files, so I followed your instructions above and now I can view all of my saved mdi files. Thanks a bunch! I appreciate a website where you can come to and get direct help, instead of having to read through tons of message board help pages!
Bom dia, um amigo meu me mandou um programa que eu precisava ver o codigo, mas ele perdeu e ficou so o arquivo com a extenção .com e eu gostaria de saber se podem me informar como abro esse arquivo com extenção .com , preciso ver o código que esta dentro desde arquivo, muito obrigado.
I downloaded some files from google which has .in extension. How to open this .in files.
How can I open/view an .wmv file? I currently using Windows XP.
how to open a file which shows type of file: ‘file’ in properties?
I have windows vista, windows mail and microsoft office and I’m trying to open an email with a .wpd file and when I do it says “this file does not have a program associated with it for performing this action. Create an association in the Set Associations control panel. I have no idea what this means or where it is. can you help please. thanx.
Wow… thanks! it really helped!
How do I change a file extension (psf) so I can see my picture with or on my new computer Windows Vista?
i downloaded .psd file from my mail, and how to open it?
Thanks for your article. I was struggling to save MS Project format file in some readable format so that other users can view it. I got error while trying to save file in pdf format. Based on your suggestion, I did print to file and it worked! I wasted one hour trying to figure this out! Appreciate your help!
For opening of MPP, MPX, MSPDI try Ganttzilla (ganttzilla.com). Ganttzilla is the online project plan documents viewer which supports all popular formats. Using it, you can view or share your Gantts with anyone using just Web Browser.
Taras
Thank you!!
Hi I’ve managed to get mdi files created within Vista, which I can now view (via memory stick
) on XP operating systems. The problem is when I try to open it in Vista ‘MS Office Picture Manager’ ‘opens’ the file and all I see in an ‘icon’ of the file? I can’t actually see the content! I.e. the printed document within it! How can I ‘open’ the file as an MDI file i.e. straight into the content as it does with XP.
Great article. I was able to open my really old .psf files using the 15-day trial on ArcSoft. Thanks a bunch for saving me a lot of time and agony.
-Matt
I NEED HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!
well i converted an ebook to a text file online and i downloaded it. the problem is that now when i try to open it my computer makes me browse for a program to open it with.when i look at the type of file it just says: .file
so the type of file IS file???????
can someone please help me and how do you open a “file” file?
Hi: I nedd help to open a .psf file. I was told to get Adobe Photo Shop – I did get this but still cannot open my picture.
Hi I have downloaded XnView and it opened by picture. Thanks!!
Now I need help on opening a MHTML file. What kind of a file is this?
It is amazing how many file extensions there are. For some info on opening DWG files, check out http://filetonic.com/blog/2009/12/06/open-dwg-file/
I need some help with my file extensions in Windows. I have Windows XP Home edition and I want to change the file extension from .PRN into .DAT. How can I do that? Thank you.
Hi,
A huge thank you! I had wonderful pictures of my family growing up in the pst format and you allowed me not to lose these memories. Thank you so much for taking the time to post this repsonse. Best wishes to you.
Reshma
If you need to just open an MS Project file, you do not need to install any software. Just go on http://www.amiproject.com and open it in browser. That is it!
how do I open a .PPS file in windows mail? I get a message saying “this file does not have a program associated with it for performing this action. Create an association file”.
I am trying to open .php file from Mico Home Publishing 2000 on my Windows XP. I even downloaded Home Pub 2000 on it, but it is saying “This file is read only”. “Use a different file name.” Not sure what to do next?
I use Windows XP (Office 2003). I was just sent a file with a .pages extension, which I now know is an Apple file. I need to open it — how do I get it to open in Word?
Thank you so much. You know what you are doing! I had some strange file with extensions I had not heard of before…this helped.
how do you paste graphics on an email message page so that receivers open and see the pic instead of attachment and again make it serve as a hypertext to your site. thank you
Thanks for mentioning the MDI files! I got one in an email and didn’t know what it was. Not sure why Microsoft does not just install the Document Imaging tool automatically!
Well done, thank you! I have solved the problem of opening and reading .MDI files with Office 2007!
Leo
I just created a prn file and tried a couple of programs to view it. It may be a tiff file. I changed its extension to .tif and was able to open it with
Windows Picture and Fax Viewer
Microsoft Office Document Imaging (best)
Microsoft Picture Manager and Paint opened it as well but only let me see the first page.
I have a laptop and I had installed Office 2007. The problem is that when i try to open a word file, it will open in windows media center. I thought it was a problem with Word, so I uninstalled Office and reinstalled it. However, the files are still opening in WMC and not Word. Please help.
How can you open files with a .WPS and .XPS file extensions? Thanks.
Hey friend, do you know of any program that can open a .PRT file? Thanks
Como abrir arquivo mef? Sem que seja explorado por programas “fajutos”!
Não consigo abrir um arquivo com extensão .rar. Pode me informar como fazer, ou que programa preciso…
Grato
And how to open a WPS file?
How do I open files with the .bkf extension?
Hi, there,
How to open files with .dbd extension ?
Tks.
I use Windows XP (Office 2003). I was just sent a file with a .pages extension, which I now know is an Apple file. I need to open it.
How do I get it to open in Word?
I have an assignment that I saved and I can’t open it now. I usually save to .docx so my instructor can open it. However, somehow its saved to MHTML and I can’t open it to send my assignment in. Please help!!!