File ID program?

Hello!

In Linux, I use "file" command to identify files for their format types.
Does one exist in Windows XP and other Windows versions?

Thank you in advance.
--
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fell on me. Then it wouldn't seem quite so funny." --Saturday Night Live
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Ummm...if you want to determine the file format in Windows XP, why dont you just right-click on the
file and select properties. That will tell you the file format and a lot more about the specific
file. Is there something else that you are looking for ?

--
Anando
Microsoft MVP- Windows Shell/User
http://www.microsoft.com/mvp


My Blog
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"Ant" <philpi@earthlink.netANT> wrote in message news:eYALKmGKIHA.5860@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
> Hello!
>
> In Linux, I use "file" command to identify files for their format types. Does one exist in Windows
> XP and other Windows versions?
>
> Thank you in advance.
> --
> "Whenever I see an old lady slip and fall on a wet sidewalk, my first instinct is to laugh. But
> then I think, what if I was an ant, and she fell on me. Then it wouldn't seem quite so
> funny." --Saturday Night Live FAQ: Deep Thoughts
> /\___/\
> / /\ /\ \ Phillip/Ant @ http://antfarm.ma.cx (Personal Web Site)
> | |o o| | Ant's Quality Foraged Links (AQFL): http://aqfl.net
> \ _ / Remove ANT from e-mail address: philpi@earthlink.netANT
> ( ) or ANTant@zimage.com
> Ant is currently not listening to any songs on his home computer.

Ant <philpi@earthlink.netANT> wrote:

>Hello!
>
>In Linux, I use "file" command to identify files for their format types.
>Does one exist in Windows XP and other Windows versions?

No.

The first few bytes in most Unix/Linux files have some kind of
signature that the "file" utility reads and interprets. Very few PC
files have such a thing. (Executable files, including *.exe and *.dll
do.) So a "file" utility would have very little to work with.

In this world, the file type is supposed to be given by the extension.
In Windows, the OS looks the extension up in the registry to determine
which program should be used to open a file. Some file types are well
known: *.txt, *.doc, *.xls, *.jpg, *.png, etc. Others are pretty
meaningless: *.dat is used by a number of programs for *totally*
different files. What they generally have in common is that they are
opened by the programs as needed, you never open them directly.
(Somebody will now come up with an exception.)

There is a list of many file extensions here:
http://mistupid.com/computers/filetypes.htm. I'm sure there are web
sites with more complete lists available.

--
Tim Slattery
MS MVP(Shell/User)
Slattery_T@bls.gov
http://members.cox.net/slatteryt

On 11/16/2007 8:26 AM PT, Anando [MVP] typed:

> Ummm...if you want to determine the file format in Windows XP, why dont you just right-click on the
> file and select properties. That will tell you the file format and a lot more about the specific
> file. Is there something else that you are looking for ?

Sorry, I forgot to say with a command line.
--
"When I am at my lowest, that is when I see things the clearest. It's
hard to care about ants when you're soaring with eagles." --unknown
/\___/\
/ /\ /\ \ Phillip/Ant @ http://antfarm.ma.cx (Personal Web Site)
| |o o| | Ant's Quality Foraged Links (AQFL): http://aqfl.net
\ _ / Remove ANT from e-mail address: philpi@earthlink.netANT
( ) or ANTant@zimage.com
Ant is currently not listening to any songs on his home computer.