1. Principles of Information Technology
Identifying File Types, Purposes & Extensions
© UNT in partnership with TEA
Trade & Industrial Education

2. TEKS Correlations
(5) The student demonstrates knowledge of the different software associated with information systems. The student is expected to:
(F) demonstrate understanding of file extensions and the purpose of file types across software products;
(H) identify appropriate use of application software;
(L) demonstrate proper file management techniques such as creating, naming, organizing, copying, moving, and deleting files.
© UNT in partnership with TEA
IT: Principles of Information Technology – Identifying File Types, Purposes & Extensions
Trade & Industrial Education

3. Lesson Objectives
Define and give examples of application software and application suites
Identify a file type by looking at its extension
Identify the specific application software needed to open a given file
Identify the uses for a given application software
Demonstrate how to create, name, organize, copy, move, and delete files and folders
© UNT in partnership with TEA
IT: Principles of Information Technology – Identifying File Types, Purposes & Extensions
Trade & Industrial Education

4. Application Software
“I’ve got an app for that” - App is short for application software
Application software:
a computer program that performs a specific function(s) for the user
A group of applications packaged together are called a Suite
© UNT in partnership with TEA
IT: Principles of Information Technology – Identifying File Types, Purposes & Extensions
Trade & Industrial Education

5. Application Software Examples of applications: Examples of Suites:
Google Earth application software locates and gives a virtual picture of any place on earth
Windows Media Player application software plays songs and videos
Examples of Suites:
Microsoft Office is a package that bundles Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher and Access together
Adobe offers various Suites containing Photoshop, Flash, and other Designing applications
© UNT in partnership with TEA
IT: Principles of Information Technology – Identifying File Types, Purposes & Extensions
Trade & Industrial Education

6. File Extensions
Using the “my computer” icon or “my files” icon/folder, you can view a list of files contained on your computer
Each file displays an icon, the filename, and an extension
The filename is followed by a period and then an extension
© UNT in partnership with TEA
IT: Principles of Information Technology – Identifying File Types, Purposes & Extensions
Trade & Industrial Education

7. File Extensions You can identify a file by its extension
.doc and .docx are Microsoft Word documents
.doc represents a Word document created for version 2003 or less
.docx represents a Word document created for version 2007 or higher
© UNT in partnership with TEA
IT: Principles of Information Technology – Identifying File Types, Purposes & Extensions
Trade & Industrial Education

8. File Extensions You can identify a file by its extension
.xls and .xlsx are Microsoft Excel documents
.mdb and .accd are Microsoft Access documents
.pub and .pubx are Microsoft Publisher documents
.ppt and .pptx are Microsoft PowerPoint documents
© UNT in partnership with TEA
IT: Principles of Information Technology – Identifying File Types, Purposes & Extensions
Trade & Industrial Education

9. File Extensions You can identify a file by its extension
.psd represents an Adobe Photoshop document
.fla represents an Adobe Flash document
.avi represents an audio or video file
.wav represents an audio file
.mp3 represents an audio file
.wmv represents a video file
© UNT in partnership with TEA
IT: Principles of Information Technology – Identifying File Types, Purposes & Extensions
Trade & Industrial Education

10. File Extensions
Pictures, images and graphics can also be identified by their extensions
Common graphic extensions are:
.bmp - bitmap
.gif – Graphics Interchange Format
.jpg or .jpeg – Joint Photographic Experts Group
.tiff – Tagged Image File Format
.png – Portable Network Graphic
Not all software applications can read all the various picture formats. For example, PowerPoint can’t read a png file (which is a picture created using Fireworks) nor can Dreamweaver read a bmp (picture created using Microsoft Paint).
© UNT in partnership with TEA
IT: Principles of Information Technology – Identifying File Types, Purposes & Extensions
Trade & Industrial Education

11. Choosing the Right Application
Depending on the type of view in the window, you can see the application name in the list
© UNT in partnership with TEA
IT: Principles of Information Technology – Identifying File Types, Purposes & Extensions
Trade & Industrial Education

12. Choosing the Right Application
Choose the correct application to open your file according to its type and extension
.doc or .docx extension means that you should choose Microsoft Word to open the file.
If you choose the wrong application you will get an error message like this one:
Also, if you choose the wrong application, the document will open but there will just be squares or other symbols on the page.
© UNT in partnership with TEA
IT: Principles of Information Technology – Identifying File Types, Purposes & Extensions
Trade & Industrial Education

13. Application Purposes Software/ Application Name
Purpose of the Application
Types of Documents Created
Microsoft Word
Word Processing
Writing letters and reports
Microsoft Excel
Spreadsheet
Making tables and charts
Microsoft Publisher
Desktop Publishing
Flyers and Newsletters
Microsoft PowerPoint
Presentation
Slideshow Presentations
Microsoft Access
Database
Tables, Forms, Queries, Reports
© UNT in partnership with TEA
IT: Principles of Information Technology – Identifying File Types, Purposes & Extensions
Trade & Industrial Education

14. File Manipulations
Folders are a great way to help you organize your files
To create a new folder:
Navigate to the disc or drive where you save your work
Click on the File option
Choose New from the drop down menu
Choose Folder
Type in the name you want to give your folder
Use something descriptive that will help you identify the contents of the folder
© UNT in partnership with TEA
IT: Principles of Information Technology – Identifying File Types, Purposes & Extensions
Trade & Industrial Education

15. File Manipulations You can create as many folders as you need
You could create a folder named Word Processing then save all your letters and reports in this folder
You could create folders named for each of the classes you are taking this year
There are many different ways to organize folders and files
Use the method according to your instructor’s directions
© UNT in partnership with TEA
IT: Principles of Information Technology – Identifying File Types, Purposes & Extensions
Trade & Industrial Education

16. File Manipulations To create a copy of an existing file:
Right-click on the filename
On the drop down menu that appears, choose Copy
Right-click in a blank area of the screen
On the drop down menu that appears, choose Paste
You will see the original file and the copied file
The copied file will have the word copy in the filename
© UNT in partnership with TEA
IT: Principles of Information Technology – Identifying File Types, Purposes & Extensions
Trade & Industrial Education

17. File Manipulations To rename an existing file:
Right-click on the filename
On the drop down menu that appears, choose Rename
The filename will then be highlighted – just start typing the new name
Be sure to leave the extension and the period in front of it
Strike the enter key when finished
© UNT in partnership with TEA
IT: Principles of Information Technology – Identifying File Types, Purposes & Extensions
Trade & Industrial Education

18. File Manipulations To delete an existing file or folder:
Right-click on the filename or folder name
On the drop down menu that appears, choose Delete
You will get a delete file message asking if you are sure you want to permanently delete this file.
Click YES to delete the file.
© UNT in partnership with TEA
IT: Principles of Information Technology – Identifying File Types, Purposes & Extensions
Trade & Industrial Education

19. Lesson Summary
An application software is a computer program that performs a specific function(s) for the user
A group of applications packaged together are called a Suite
A file type can be identified by looking at its extension
Example: savings.xlsx is an Excel spreadsheet file
© UNT in partnership with TEA
IT: Principles of Information Technology – Identifying File Types, Purposes & Extensions
Trade & Industrial Education

20. Lesson Summary
Various software applications perform different functions and are used for different purposes
Folders are created and named appropriately to help organize files
Files and Folders can be created, named, renamed, moved and deleted
© UNT in partnership with TEA
IT: Principles of Information Technology – Identifying File Types, Purposes & Extensions
Trade & Industrial Education

21. The End
© UNT in partnership with TEA
Trade & Industrial Education