OT -- emailed picture question

[bskts4bj]

A friend emailed me a picture that I'd like to print, but the file name ends w/a ".dat" -- what program do I need to open it?? I'm used to getting .jpg files.

TIA!
Brenda

 

[Timon]

Brenda,

If you haven't already, go to your e-mail and click on the file and save as a jpg. That just might work....if not....


Here's some info for you:

How to open/view a .dat file?

Answer
Normally, a file's extension indicates the file's format. The format usually can tell you which application created the file and/or which application you might use to read it. Examples: .doc is often Word, .xls is often Excel, and .pdf is often Adobe Acrobat. But this usage is all done by convention; you can use .xls to name one of your Word files, but it would just be confusing and annoying.

The ".DAT" extension is often used to indicate a file containing arbitrary "data." Some applications that have a format of their own choosing simply use .DAT. This means that as a user, you must have your own way to figure out how to open the file. There is no single way to open or view a .DAT file since there can many different types of content. The best way is to ask whoever gave you the file what application should be used to open it.

Failing that, there are some applications that can open almost any file. For example, on most Windows OSs, NotePad can be used to look at any type of file. If you try to open the file in NotePad, you might see something recognizable. For example, if you open a file that is really a .PDF file in NotePad, you might see the string "%PDF" near the beginning of the file. What you see will probably be mostly junk, but it might give you a hint about what's there.


Hope that helps!

 

[bskts4bj]

Thanks Timon!! I worked.

Brenda