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File Extension Question

post #1 of 6
1/20/11 at 11:00pm
Thread Starter 
I've gone through the search and couldn't find a solution to this, so I'm hoping someone on here knows something about system-wide file extensions.

I personally loathe file extensions. I know that OS X is smart enough all on its own to know that a PNG is a PNG. I don't need to see that extension. I always go through and click CMD+I and then click "Hide Extension". This is tedious and I have to do this every single time I create a file or save a file.

Is there a way to tell OS X that I don't want to see a file extension? I see no value in them from an enduser standpoint. I have looked all around and haven't found a way to hide extensions system wide. If any of you know about how to make this happen, I'd greatly appreciate it.

Thank you for your time.

Brian Green
MacPro2,1 2 x 3GHz Quad Core Intel Xeons, 13GB RAM, 1.5TB Storage, 30" Apple Cinema Display pushed by an NVIDIA Quadro FX 4500
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post #2 of 6
1/21/11 at 6:44am
I believe Finder>Preferences menu has the checkbox you are looking for.
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From out there on the moon, international politics look so petty. You want to grab a politician by the scruff of the neck and drag him a quarter of a million miles out and say, "Look at that!" -...
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post #3 of 6
1/29/11 at 9:47am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by KingOfSomewhereHot View Post

I believe Finder>Preferences menu has the checkbox you are looking for.

I'd already done that one. :-) It still doesn't default the system into not showing file extensions. I understand the reason for the OS needing them, I'd just rather not "see" them. As it is, I still have to go through and every time a new file is created, go and hit CMD+I and manually "hide" the file extension. It's just one of those little annoying things I wish were easy to fix. Finder Preferences ought to have a box to check that says "Never display file extensions". I'd certainly click it.
MacPro2,1 2 x 3GHz Quad Core Intel Xeons, 13GB RAM, 1.5TB Storage, 30" Apple Cinema Display pushed by an NVIDIA Quadro FX 4500
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MacPro2,1 2 x 3GHz Quad Core Intel Xeons, 13GB RAM, 1.5TB Storage, 30" Apple Cinema Display pushed by an NVIDIA Quadro FX 4500
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post #4 of 6
1/29/11 at 3:25pm
It obviously CAN be done... because I don't see ANY extensions from here.
Several dozen icons on my desktop... with names but no extensions.
Even in a Finder window... no extensions show for MOST files ... a few have them.
I wish I could tell you how I got it configured this way, but it's been that way for as long as I can remember, and I don't know how it happened. I can say, though that I did NOT use any 3rd party utilities to do it ... SOMEwhere within the stock Finder/Preferences is a way to accomplish this.
From out there on the moon, international politics look so petty. You want to grab a politician by the scruff of the neck and drag him a quarter of a million miles out and say, "Look at that!" -...
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From out there on the moon, international politics look so petty. You want to grab a politician by the scruff of the neck and drag him a quarter of a million miles out and say, "Look at that!" -...
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post #5 of 6
1/29/11 at 4:59pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by KingOfSomewhereHot View Post

It obviously CAN be done... because I don't see ANY extensions from here.
Several dozen icons on my desktop... with names but no extensions.
Even in a Finder window... no extensions show for MOST files ... a few have them.
I wish I could tell you how I got it configured this way, but it's been that way for as long as I can remember, and I don't know how it happened. I can say, though that I did NOT use any 3rd party utilities to do it ... SOMEwhere within the stock Finder/Preferences is a way to accomplish this.

After some messing around, I've come to the preliminary conclusion that once the box is checked that new files created won't have an extension. That doesn't change any of the old files though, imported from other computers. It's a process, I guess, for someone that doesn't like file extensions. I'll deal with it. I even tried using an Automator workflow for it. No dice.

At least your system doesn't have them.
MacPro2,1 2 x 3GHz Quad Core Intel Xeons, 13GB RAM, 1.5TB Storage, 30" Apple Cinema Display pushed by an NVIDIA Quadro FX 4500
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post #6 of 6
1/29/11 at 7:41pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian Green View Post

After some messing around, I've come to the preliminary conclusion that once the box is checked that new files created won't have an extension. That doesn't change any of the old files though, imported from other computers. It's a process, I guess, for someone that doesn't like file extensions. I'll deal with it. I even tried using an Automator workflow for it. No dice.

At least your system doesn't have them.

Ah... at a glance, that would probably explain the few files I see that DO sport extensions.
From out there on the moon, international politics look so petty. You want to grab a politician by the scruff of the neck and drag him a quarter of a million miles out and say, "Look at that!" -...
Reply
From out there on the moon, international politics look so petty. You want to grab a politician by the scruff of the neck and drag him a quarter of a million miles out and say, "Look at that!" -...
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