>>>FWIW, I consider that setting ("hide known extensions") in Windows to be a terrible idea. It's one of the first things I change anytime I install any version of Windows.
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>>Its not a bad idea, just annoying to people that deal alot with files directly like us (the minority).
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>Actually, it's also a bad idea because it allows people to be confused about what kind of file they're looking at. Some of the email viruses have exploited this setting by adding an innocuous extension (like .bmp) before the .vbs or whatever. The user thinks it's a bitmap or whatever and doesn't hesitate to click on it.
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>>It would be nice if there was a general control panel in Windows to be able to set all these I've-been-a-computer-user-for-years-and-this-is-how-it-has-to-work-damnit settings.
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>That's for sure. Kind of like when I talk to a tech support person and fairly early in the conversion work in that I'm a computer professional, so I don't have to get instructions like "Click on Start and choose Run". <g>
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Tamar,

Too bad that same technique doesn't seem to work with computer hardware salesmen.