Filename extensions will not disappear

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Level 1

94 points

Filename extensions will not disappear

Ever since I've had my Mac, (since 4th January), it has displayed filename extensions to every file, despite my having read somewhere that the OS 'comes with filename extensions turned off by default'.

I have, naturally, tried to turn them off myself via Finder>Preferences>Advanced>'Show all filename extensions'. That tick box was already un-ticked when I looked, (despite all the extensions being shown), so I ticked it, closed the window, re-opened it and re-un-ticked the box in an effort to 'force' it to do as I wanted, but to no avail.

At a recent One-to-One session the tutors seemed to think that this was a bug in 10.6.6, (or at least what they described as the most recent manifestation of it), and cited another instance that they had come across since Christmas which was the opposite of my problem- the owner couldn't get his Mac to show filename extensions, no matter whether the box was ticked or not.

Were they correct in this belief, or is there a secret way to get shut of the extensions hidden somewhere in the OS?

MacBook Pro 15" 2.66GHz, Mac OS X (10.6.6)

Posted on Feb 11, 2011 2:27 AM

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Answer 1

Feb 11, 2011 2:53 AM in response to Steve Zodiac

Hello Steve:

Try trashing a preference file (com.apple.finder.plist) and restarting. Be sure the filename extension box is unchecked.

Barry

P.S. I seriously doubt a "bug" in OS X 10.6.6 is causing your problem.

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Answer 2

Steve Zodiac Author

Level 1

94 points

Feb 11, 2011 6:22 AM in response to Barry Hemphill

Barry,

Thanks for the tip, but could you (or someone) be a tiny bit more specific about where I can find this file in order to delete it please?

I've typed 'com.apple.finder.plist' into Spotlight and into Finder, but it doesn't seem to get me to it.

I am still a bit new on Macs; not found my way around completely yet... 🙂

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Answer 3

Steve Zodiac Author

Level 1

94 points

Feb 11, 2011 7:01 AM in response to Steve Zodiac

Okay, I've found where that preferences file was and trashed it. Following advice from another website I also trashed the file for the sidebar preferences.

Unfortunately, my extensions were still there. 😟

I also tried doing the same thing via Terminal, (text to enter was on the same website), but again, after I'd done it the extensions were all still there.

One thing I realised when I was doing this was that I was doing it in my own user account, but that the problem manifests itself on both user accounts I have set up on my machine. In other words it seems to be more of a global problem.

Any other suggestions, please?

Message was edited by: Steve Zodiac

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Answer 4

rmgman

Level 3

538 points

Feb 11, 2011 7:54 AM in response to Steve Zodiac

My advice is to just get used to it. These filename extensions are important in OSX land, just like they are in the rest of the Free World.

Here's some interesting information you should know that I found at this link:

http://arstechnica.com/reviews/2q00/macos-qna/macos-x-qa-2.html

"The situation for plain files is somewhat less perfect. There are only two popular methods for representing concrete types: HFS/HFS+ type/creator codes and filename extensions. Mac OS X supports both, but Apple "strongly encourages developers to use file extensions as alternative means for identifying document types." Apple's reasoning is that the Internet, the new "lowest common denominator" of interoperability, does not support HFS-style attributes and forks; it deals only in flat files. Where the overwhelming majority of "flat file" volume formats (i.e. Windows/FAT, Unix/UFS) failed to change Apple's thinking, the pervasive connectivity of the multi-million-node Internet has succeeded.

On the other hand, Apple itself provides a method for preserving HFS/HFS+ resource forks and meta-information across flat file systems. When a file with HFS/HFS+ attributes and/or a resource fork is copied or moved to a flat file system like UFS, the Mac OS X Finder creates a hidden file containing the meta-information and the resource fork data. When that file is copied or moved back to HFS/HFS+, those hidden files are read and re-incorporated back into the file. So while Apple encourages the use of file name extensions, it also provides a mechanism that allows the "old ways" to continue functioning more or less transparently within Mac OS X.

Unfortunately for Apple, the matter of filename extensions is not entirely in their hands. Mac OS X will initially ship with HFS+ as the default volume format. This is necessary to enable the transition of classic Mac OS users to Mac OS X. Requiring users to reformat their drives in order to upgrade to Mac OS X is not exactly good business. Furthermore, Mac OS X's backwards compatibility with classic Mac OS apps requires an HFS/HFS+ volume somewhere from which to run its copy of classic Mac OS inside Classic.app (yes, they could use a disk image, but that's a sub-optimal solution).

Given this situation, Mac OS developers could simply continue business as usual, using type/creator codes (instead of the un-Mac-like filename extensions) to identify the files their applications save. (They could even continue to use resource forks, but that's much less likely. A file that relies on its resource fork will be irreparably broken if it is copied to a flat volume format via any method other than the Finder (FTP, HTTP, etc.), whereas a file's type/creator codes are simple to restore.)

The deciding factor may be the users. Will Mac users accept filename extensions or will they complain bitterly to their favorite application developer that they don't want ".psd" or ".doc" files on their Mac? *Remember that the Finder will not hide any filename extensions* (other than ".app"), so they will be visible to (and editable by) the user."

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Answer 5

jsd2

Level 5

6,245 points

Feb 11, 2011 7:58 AM in response to Steve Zodiac

Hi,

It's my understanding that two independent parameters have to be set properly in order for a file's extension to be hidden.

1) Each individual file carries a "metadata attribute" for whether or not its extension can be hidden. That attribute can be seen and changed in the file's Get Info window:
.

.

2) The Finder has an overall preference setting as to whether or not the extensions on those files that individually carry the "Hide extension" attribute will in fact be hidden:
.

.
In order for a file's extension to be hidden, the Finder's preference box for "Show all filename extensions" has to be unchecked, AND the individual file's GetInfo box for "Hide extension" has to show as checked. If either of these conditions is not satisfied, the extension will be visible.

So in your system, if you set the advanced Finder preference not to show extensions, and then Get Info on one of your files, what does the "Hide extension" box there show? If it is unchecked, what happens if you check it?

Whether or not an individual file's "hide extension" attribute is automatically set depends on how the file was created. In my system, TextEdit and Preview have a checkbox in the "Save as" dialog for "Hide Extension". Files I have downloaded from the internet do not carry this attribute.

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Answer 6

Steve Zodiac Author

Level 1

94 points

Feb 11, 2011 8:32 AM in response to jsd2

Thanks JSD...

You're absolutely correct, of course. All of the files I have that are misbehaving do not have the 'Hide extension' box ticked in the 'Get Info' window. If I tick them, the extensions disappear.

But the down-side, of course, is that I will have to go through +each and every file+ on my Mac and tick that box in all their 'Get Info' windows. (Unless someone knows of a way to do them en masse, of course.) What a prospect!

Sort of good news and bad news at once...

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Answer 7

jsd2

Level 5

6,245 points

Feb 11, 2011 8:45 AM in response to Steve Zodiac

I just found Niel's Applescript in this thread:
*Hide Extensions*
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=4762701

In Snow Leopard, AppleScript Editor is in the Utilities folder.

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Answer 8

Steve Zodiac Author

Level 1

94 points

Feb 11, 2011 10:31 AM in response to jsd2

Splendid!

Isn't it a marvellous feeling when you've just resigned yourself to a mountain of work, and then find an easy way?

This has just made my day! 😀

Thanks.

(And thanks to Niel too.)

I might have some advice for the One-to-One tutors at my next session, which will make me feel really smug.

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Answer 9

jsd2

Level 5

6,245 points

Feb 11, 2011 11:30 AM in response to Steve Zodiac

You're very welcome! 🙂

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Answer 10

vijen

Level 1

0 points

Apr 27, 2011 3:47 AM in response to jsd2

Hello!

my problem is that even if I set the general Finder Preferences, the invidual hide extension tick box in each file is disabled!

It seems that every new file I generate now.. be it .doc, .pdf... they all are being saved without extension.

it is strange, because until yesterday it was working fine

any idea?

cheers!

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Answer 11

jsd2

Level 5

6,245 points

Apr 27, 2011 7:06 AM in response to vijen

If you are sure that the box in advanced Finder preference for "Show all filename extensions" is unchecked, then I don't know why your new saves have changed.

In addition to immediately affecting the display for all files, that Finder preference apparently also affects whether a newly saved file will automatically carry the "hide extension" attribute that shows up in Get Info. In my system, if I uncheck that Finder Preference box and then try to save a new file in TextEdit, the expanded Save window then have a pre-checked box for "Hide extension", and the resulting file's extension will be hidden:

If I check the box in advanced Finder preferences before doing the save, then the Save window won't include the "hide extension" checkbox, and the metadata attribute as seen in Get Info won't be added. The resulting file's extension will remain visible even if the Finder preference box is unchecked later.

What happens if you try a different user account, and again uncheck the "show all filename extensions" box in the Finder preferences before you save a new file?

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Answer 12

vijen

Level 1

0 points

Apr 27, 2011 7:21 AM in response to jsd2

Thanks for advising TextEdit... I just realized that the problem with extensions only happen with openoffice!

TextEdit creates files with the right extension (even pdf) and they can be saved to thumbdrive, transfered over to pc and all...

I guess I'll try to reinstall openoffice..

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Answer 13

gumsie

Level 4

2,179 points

Sep 9, 2011 11:57 PM in response to Steve Zodiac

When you think about it.

Show filename extensions does not mean unchecking that box will have the opposite effect and hide them all.

Confusing admittedly but correct nonetheless?

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Answer 14

jsd2

Level 5

6,245 points

Sep 10, 2011 5:38 AM in response to gumsie

Yes, unchecking that box is "necessary but not sufficient" to hide an extension.

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Answer 15

Jan 4, 2012 7:43 AM in response to jsd2

I know this is a Snow Leopard 10.6 discussion but I've learned A BUNCH reading here, thanks!! Was hoping I could jump in here with a related Lion 10.7 issue that is currently being discussed here:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3511612

Basically with the Finder "show extension" preferences set to NOT show extensions, the TextEdit app still CONSTANTLY shows the extensions in the Finder. The problem doesn't seem to necessarily stem from the discussion above about the two different attributes associated with whether a file's extension will be hidden but the fact that in the Save dialog box for TextEdit, the "Hide Extension" checkbox is ALWAYS UNCHECKED.

In previous OSX versions (and I'm coming from 10.4 straight to 10.7!) once the Finder preference to hide/not show extensions was set and once the TextEdit "Hide Extensions" checkbox in the Save dialog box was checked then each and every subsequent Save dialog box in TextEdit automatically had the "Hide Extension" checkbox checked so that NO extension was saved with the filename.

The PROBLEM now as a few people along with me have seen is that now, with 10.7, the Hide Extension checkbox in the Save dialog of TextEdit is always UNchecked!!! This is very tedious and very annoying for those of us using TextEdit often because we have to manually check that box each and every time we save a file.

Since I recall that older OS versions used to "save" the state of that "Hide Extension" checkbox so that one wouldn't have to check it each and every time a file was saved, is this a bug/glich in 10.7?? Is there some way around this without having to check the box each and every time the file is saved or by checking the box in the Get Info window in the Finder??

MANY THANKS for taking the time to read!!

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