Clipboard
Compiled by Heidi Brumbaugh
START Programs Editor
Three-character filename extenders often provide clues that identify the types of files on your disk. START has found a number of standard names--some mnemonic, some arcane, some just plain silly. Many of these extensions are holdovers from previous computer systems. Others were designed specifically for the ST, and some--those marked with an asterisk--are acted on by the operating system in a special way. As a general rule, unless a file has a .PRG, .TOS, or.TTP extender, or has been Installed from the Options menu of the Desktop, that file will be read as a text file from the ST Desktop and you will receive a "Show/Print/Cancel" box if you double-click on it.
This issue, we're devoting the Clipboard to some of the generic extenders we find common and useful to know. Next issue, we'll publish a detailed list of extenders used by the major commercial ST programs--so you'll know exactly what files are cluttering up your disks and why!
| .ACC | Active desk accessory.* |
| .AC_ or .ACX | Inactive desk accessory. |
| .APP | GEM application (IBM). |
| .ASC | ASCII file. |
| .ASM | Assembler source code. |
| .BAK | Backup file. |
| .BAS | BASIC file. |
| .BAT | Batch file. |
| .BIN | Binary object file. |
| .C | C source code. |
| .CFG | Printer configuration file. |
| .CNF | Configuration file. |
| .DAT | Data file. |
| .DEF | Resource companion file. |
| .DIC | Dictionary file. |
| .DFN | Resource companion file. |
| .DOC | Text document. |
| .DUP | Backup file |
| .FNT | Font file |
| .GEM | GEM VDI graphics metafile. |
| .H | C include file. |
| .HLP | Help file. |
| .IMG | GEM bit-image file. |
| .INF | GEM information file (e.g., DESKTOPINF*). |
| .INP | LINK68 input file. |
| .LOG | LOGO file. |
| .LST | Output listing. |
| .MAC | Macro. |
| .MAN | Manual. |
| .O | Linkable object file. |
| .OVL | Overlay file. |
| .PAR | Parameters file. |
| .PAS | Pascal source code. |
| .PRG | Executable GEM file* |
| .PRN | Printer definition. |
| .PRT | Printer definition. |
| .RSC | GEM resource file. |
| .RSH | Resource source file. |
| .S | AS68 assembler source file. |
| .SYM | Symbol table. |
| .SYS | System file. |
| .TOS | Executable TOS file* |
| .TTP | Executable TOS-takes-parameters file.* |
| .TXT | ASCII or ST Writer file |