From the course: CompTIA IT Fundamentals (FC0-U61) Cert Prep 2: Files and Applications, Networking, and Security

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Applications and extensions

Applications and extensions

- Operating systems associate specific file types with specific programs. This makes it easy for you and the operating system. You look at a file in file explorer, it has a distinctive icon next to its name. Like the little W for Microsoft Word. You double click the file, and the operating system opens Word with the file open to, sweet. That's called file association. It's absolutely essential in Microsoft Windows and used in other operating systems as well. Windows tracks file association based on the name of the file. Or more explicitly, the last part of the file name called the file extension. A word document has a name like MyAwesomeChapter and an extension that relates to the associated program. In this case, .docx. Don't forget the icon too. Let's look examples of common applications, their uses and their file extensions. Productivity software enables standard office work, like word processing, spreadsheets and…

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