Filename Extension's

[cougar25]

Hi all,

I wonder if anyone can possibly help at all please.
I have been in to my MSTS Trainset folders and all filenames (Including Wag and Eng) are now showing .wag and .eng at the end of the filename. These previously did not show this. Can someone advise me how to revert back to how they were originally?

Many Thanks

Andy

[ianmacmillan]

If you go to Tools/Folder Options/View you can hide extentions but I would advise against it.

You will find that some day you will want to edit a MSTS file and need to see the extention.

Worse still....
Only the part after the last dot is hidden.
A naughty person could send you a file named prettypicture.jpg which could realy be prettypicture.jpg.exe and be a virus.

[cougar25]

Many Thanks for the reply - I have done a virus check and done what you have suggested and this hasn't resolved the issue? Has anyone else had this problem?

Many Thanks

Best Wishes.

[Easilyconfused]

The addition of .wag and .eng is not a problem - it is really what the files are called. There is a setting in Windows to hide that which presumably you were using before.

As Ian suggested it is not a very good idea and a lot of security websites will advise against using it since you can not be sure exactly what the file is if you are hiding part of the name.

[cougar25]

Just incase it helps. I thought I would upload this screenshot.

[steam4me]

As Ian suggested it is not a very good idea and a lot of security websites will advise against using it since you can not be sure exactly what the file is if you are hiding part of the name.

Absolutely correct - IMHO it is one of the stupidest options enabled by Microsoft. It is most unwise to enable "hide extensions".

This is where it is found:

[EricF]

If you do much with MSTS beyond running pre-defined routes and consists, you will almost certainly want to keep file extensions showing. For instance, let's say you want to use an upgraded cabview on the default Dash-9 locomotive. You can do so by editing the .eng file to point to the new cabview files. But, in doing so, you might like to go back to the original some time later. The easiest way to do this is to copy the original DASH9.eng file and just rename the copy DASH9.bak as a backup. You can't change file extensions in Windows easily if they're hidden, and as you work with MSTS, you'll find that having this option is very, very useful.

Here's why hiding file extensions can be bad for your computer -- Windows only "hides" the extension by tuncating the last part behind the final "." in the filename. So, "Click Me.txt" becomes just "Click Me" in what you see. But, "Click Me.txt.exe" will still show as "Click Me.txt" which looks fairly innocent - most people know "txt" means a text file. In this case an executable file is hiding. Unless you know the file is safe for sure, it could be malware constructed to take advantage of unsuspecting users who are running Windows in the default configuration. Yes, the extension often determines what icon Windows assigns to a file, but that's very easy to edit and change. So showing file extensions can be very helpful to spot files that don't belong.

-Eric

[cougar25]

The problem I have is that if I have to create a new .Eng or .Wag file, then I have to rename it for example Dash9.eng. Because if I don't do that, it isn't seen as a .eng file. Hope this explains things a bit clearer?

Thanks for the replies and the help so far guys.

[BobLatimer]

So what's the problem with that? You want to name it just "Dash9" and you think the operating system should be able to figure out that it's an .eng file? Is that what you mean?

[ianmacmillan]

The screenshot shows that the .ace file is associated with WinRar.
To view an ace file you need to download TGAtool2A from this site....
http://www.btinternet.com/~mnwright/

If it still tries to open in WinRar,you need to change this by right clicking on the ace file and choosing Open With.
Then browse your way to wherever you installed TGAtools and choose TGATool2A.exe
If you have installed Route Riter there is also a copy of TGATool2A.exe in the RR folder.

This is a perfect example of why you should not hide file extentions.
I would never have noticed this if the extention was hidden.

The problem is caused by another program which uses the .ace extention for a compressed file.

[steam4me]

You want to name it just "Dash9" and you think the operating system should be able to figure out that it's an .eng file? Is that what you mean?

File extensions avoid ambiguity - there's a possibility you could end up with a Dash9.wag.