Exchanging Files
Division of Secondary and Virtual Learning
Kentucky Department of Education
Not all files are created equal



Before you start to exchange files in an online course,
you need to know that different programs produce
different kinds of files. For example, the document file
that is created by Microsoft Word is different than the
one that is created by Microsoft Excel.
Furthermore, computer programs will change over the
years, and the companies who develop these programs
will usually come up with better versions. Different
versions of the same program will also create different
kinds of files.
Since the files you exchange online are created by
many different computer programs that are available to
you, to your teacher and to your classmates, you need
to know how to handle many different kinds of files.
This document is based on the course materials created by Paige Brooks-Jeffiers. Used with permission
from KCTCS.
Why do I need to care about different files?

Because
 Many times, you must use the same program,
sometimes the same version, that created these files to
open and view their contents.
 You need to know the name of the program created the
file. There has to be compatibility with the program and
with the file to view the contents of the file.
 Instead of using the same program, you can sometimes
convert the file. You need to know what kind of file it is
that you will convert to.
 You could also sometimes download the player/viewer
of the file to your computer. You need to recognize the
file to know what program to download.
This document is based on the course materials created by Paige Brooks-Jeffiers. Used with permission
from KCTCS.
Why do I need to care about different files?
(Examples:)
1.
2.
3.
You have Word 2000 installed on your computer, and your teacher
places a Word 2007 document in the online course. Without
downloading special program, you will not be able to open and view
the teacher’s file, because you have an older version of Word.
Without conversion, the 2000 version cannot read the 2007 newer
files.
You have Word 2007 and want to send a document to your
classmates. You need to know that you have a newer version of
Word that your classmates may not have.
Your teacher places a PDF file in the online course. You cannot
open the PDF file nor can you view the contents of that file, unless
you have Adobe Acrobat program installed on your computer.
In all of these examples, you need to recognize the different
files so you can either download necessary programs or
convert your file so you or the others can open and view the
contents of the file.
This document is based on the course materials created by Paige Brooks-Jeffiers. Used with permission
from KCTCS.
How can I recognize different files?



Every file will have a file type that is associated
with the program that created the file. You can
recognize different files by identifying these file
types.
Usually each file type will have a special icon or
small picture associated with it.
Sometimes, for each file type you can also see
a unique 3 letter suffix at the end of the file
name (called a file extension), separated with a
period.
This document is based on the course materials created by Paige Brooks-Jeffiers. Used with permission
from KCTCS.
File Types

The following is a table showing some of the common file types with
their default icons (pictures) and file extensions. Since the icon that is
associated with a file may be customized, your icon may look different
than what is shown below.
File Type
Icons
File Extensions
Word 1997-2003
.doc
Word 2007
.docx
PowerPoint 1997 –
2003
.ppt
PowerPoint Slideshow
.ppts
PowerPoint 2007
.pptx
This document is based on the course materials created by Paige Brooks-Jeffiers. Used with permission
from KCTCS.
File Types (Cont.)
File Type
Icons
File Extensions
Rich Text Format
.rtf
Adobe PDF
.pdf
Web Page
.htm or .html
(The icon shown is in the case you use Internet
Explorer as your default Internet Browser. If you use
other default Internet Browser, the icon will be different).
Zip File
.zip
Sound
The icons will be
different depending on
your computer settings.
.mp3 or .wav
Picture
The icons will be
different depending on
your computer settings.
.bmp or .jpg or .jpeg or .gif
The icons will be
different
depending on
This document is based on the course materials created by Paige Brooks-Jeffiers. Used
with permission
from KCTCS.
your computer settings.
Movie
.mov or .avi or .wmv
.swf is Flash Movie
File Types (Cont.)


For a complete list of all file types, you can search on the
Internet by typing in the key word “file extension list”.
You could also find out the
file types by
 right clicking on a file,
and clicking Properties.
 The Properties window
will be opened. Make
sure the General tab is
selected. (If not, click
General to select the
tab). The type of file will
be listed at the top of
the page.
This document is based on the course materials created by Paige Brooks-Jeffiers. Used with permission
from KCTCS.
File sizes are important too



File sizes are important because if your file is large and
your teacher and/or classmates do not have very fast
Internet connections or computers, it will take a long
time for them to download your file.
You want to minimize the file size as much as possible
without degrading the quality of the content.
File sizes are measured by
 Byte – 8 bits (a bit is the smallest file size unit. It has
the value of 1 or 0).
 Kilobytes (KB) – about a thousand bytes.
 Megabyte (MB) – about a million bytes.
 Gigabyte (GB) – about a billion bytes.
This document is based on the course materials created by Paige Brooks-Jeffiers. Used with permission
from KCTCS.
What programs do I have?

To test and determine what programs are
installed on your computer:
 Log
into your Blackboard account.
 Click the Help Tab.
 Click
the Test Brower Button.
 A screen
will be opened. Read the section labeled
Optional Components and try the sample
downloads.
This document is based on the course materials created by Paige Brooks-Jeffiers. Used with permission
from KCTCS.
Now, you are ready…
Please click topic of interest
How to open and view a PDF file
How to open and view a RTF file
How to save a Word document as a RTF file
How to open and view a Microsoft Office 1997-2003
file without the program or without the correct
version
How to open and view a Microsoft Office 2007 file
without the program or without the correct version
How to save an Office 2007 file as an Office 19972003 file
How to open a zip file
How to reduce a file’s size
Exit
This document is based on the course materials created by Paige Brooks-Jeffiers. Used with permission
from KCTCS.
Menu
How to open and view a PDF file





PDF stands for Portable Document Format.
This file format was originally developed by Adobe
company.
To view a PDF file, you need Adobe Acrobat Reader
downloaded on your computer to view it.
Adobe Acrobat is free and can be downloaded from
www.adobe.com.
The reader will allow you to view, search and print the
content of the PDF file but you cannot edit the original
document without specialized software.
This document is based on the course materials created by Paige Brooks-Jeffiers. Used with permission
from KCTCS.
Menu
How to open and view an RTF file





RTF stands for Rich Text Format.
Most word processing programs can read/open an RTF file
and they will preserve most of the formatting such as bold,
italic and underlined text of your original document.
To open and view an RTF file, you can open it as you open
any other file. You can also save the file on your computer
and open it with the word processing program on your
computer.
If you want to share a document so that the recipients can
open and view regardless of the word processing programs
they have, you should save your file as an RTF file.
Click here to see the steps to save a Word document as an
RTF file.
This document is based on the course materials created by Paige Brooks-Jeffiers. Used with permission
from KCTCS.
Next
How to save a Word document as a RTF file




Open the document in Word.
For Word 1997- 2003, click File on the menu bar. For Word 2007, click .
Slide down and click Save As. The Save As window will appear.
Click the drop down arrow next to the Save in: drop-down list box to select the
location where you want to save the file. Type the name for the file in the File
name: textbox. Click the drop down arrow next to the Save as type: drop-down
list box and click to select Rich Text Format. Click the Save button when done.
Click this down arrow
button to select the
location where you
want to save the rtf file.
Type the name for the
rtf file here. No spaces
in the file name.
Click this down arrow button to
display the list of available file types.
Click to select the Rich Text
Format. If the Rick Text Format
This document is based on the course materials created by Paige Brooks-Jeffiers. Used with permission
type is not visible, click the scroll
from KCTCS.
arrow to scroll down the list.
Menu
How to save a Word document as a
RTF file (Cont.)

Since some formatting of the original
document can be lost in the process of
conversion, you should open the
converted file to check and make sure that
it is in the format that you want to share
with your recipients.
This document is based on the course materials created by Paige Broos-Jeffiers. Used with permission
from KCTCS.
How to open and view a Microsoft Office
1997-2003 file without the program or without
the correct version

Next
In order to open and view a Microsoft Office file, such as a Word
document, or a PowerPoint slide show, without Microsoft Office or a
compatible version installed on your computer , you need to visit the
Microsoft web site below to download the converters and/or viewers.
Office Online File Converters and Viewers



A converter allows you to open a file created with Office programs that
is a different version from your Office programs.
A viewer allows you to read the Office file when you don’t have the
Microsoft Office programs on your computer.
With the Viewer, you can read and print the content, and copy the file to
another program. However, the viewer will not allow you to edit the
original document, nor save it, nor create a new document.
This document is based on the course materials created by Paige Brooks-Jeffiers. Used with permission
from KCTCS.
Menu
How to open and view a Microsoft Office
2007 file without the program or without the
correct version



Microsoft has made significant changes to Office 2007 file
format. If you have Office 2007, you will be able to open and
view Office1997 to 2003 files without any converter. However,
you will not be able to use Office 1997 to 2003 to open a file
that is created in Microsoft Office 2007.
You have to install Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for
Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 file formats. Visit the site
below to get the compatibility pack.
Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack
If you do not have any Microsoft Office programs, you can
download the Office 2007 Viewers from the following site:
Office Online File Converters and Viewers
This document is based on the course materials created by Paige Brooks-Jeffiers. Used with permission
from KCTCS.
Next
How to save an Office 2007 file as an Office 19972003 file


If you have Office 2007 installed on your
computer and you want to share a 2007 file
with others, it may be a good idea to save
your file as a 1997 – 2003 Office file. This will
save the recipients who do not have Office
2007 the trouble of downloading the
compatibility pack.
The followings are steps to save a Office
2007 file as a Office1997-2003 file.


Open the file in Word, Excel or PowerPoint.
Click
.
This document is based on the course materials created by Paige Brooks-Jeffiers. Used with permission
from KCTCS.
Next
How to save an Office 2007 file as an Office 1997-2003
file (Cont.)


Slide down and click Save As. The Save As window will appear.
Click the drop down arrow next to the Save in: drop-down list box to select
the location where you want to save the file. Type the name for the file in the
File name: textbox. Click the drop down arrow next to the Save as type:
drop-down list box and click to select PowerPoint 97-2003 Presentation.
Click the Save button when done.
Click this down arrow
Type the name for the
file here. No spaces in
the file name.
This document is based on the course materials created by Paige Brooks-Jeffiers. Used with permission
from KCTCS.
button to select the
location where you
want to save the file.
Click this down arrow
button to display the list
of available file types.
Click to select the
PowerPoint 97-2003
Presentation.
Menu
How to save an Office 2007 file as an
Office 1997-2003 file (Cont.)

Since Office 1997-2003 will not have some of
the new features that are in Office 2007, some
formatting of the original document may be lost
in the process of conversion. You should open
the converted file and check to make sure that it
does not lose some of the special features that
you put in your Office 2007 file.
This document is based on the course materials created by Paige Broos-Jeffiers. Used with permission
from KCTCS.
Menu
How to open a zip file




You can compress or zip a very large file or multiple files into
a single zip file. Zipping a file will reduce the size of the file.
This is as if you pack many individual items into a suitcase
when you are traveling. You just need to carry one thing –
your suitcase, but it contains all the items you need inside.
Later, you will unpack and use each individual items.
Please visit the following website to learn more about what zip
files are and how to create a zip file.
WinZip
To open a zip file, you need to download and install popular
special programs such as WinZip. Visit the following website
to learn more.
Microsoft
This document is based on the course materials created by Paige Brooks-Jeffiers. Used with permission
from KCTCS.
Next
How to reduce a file’s size
Adding pictures or images will greatly
increase your file size. You should make
sure that these images are compressed or
optimized for the web. This will save time for
others who will download your files..
 Not all pictures can be optimized. See the
following website for more information:
Reduce the file size of a picture

This document is based on the course materials created by Paige Brooks-Jeffiers. Used with permission
from KCTCS.
Menu
How to reduce a file’s size (Cont.)

The followings are steps to reduce the file size using Office 2007:

Click on any pictures or images that can be optimized in your Office program.
 Click Format on the menu bar. Then in the Adjust group, click the
Compress Pictures button.

The Compress Pictures box will appear. If you leave the Apply to selected
pictures only checkbox unchecked, the compression will be applied to all of the
pictures in the file. You can click the Options button to change the default
compression settings.
This document is based on the course materials created by Paige Brooks-Jeffiers. Used with permission
from KCTCS.