CHAPTER 4 Manipulating Files and Folders This chapter provides information and commands concerning the following topics: n n n n n n n n n n Associating file extensions with assoc and ftype Viewing attributes with attrib Compressing files with compact Encrypting files with cipher Copying files with copy, xcopy, and robocopy Deleting or removing files with del Expanding cabinet files with expand Taking ownership of files with takeown Removing the Windows.old folder Mapping drives with netuse Associating File Extensions with assoc and ftype File extensions are used to tell the operating system what application to open when you double-click a file. For example, if you receive a file named project.docx from a co- worker via e-mail, you can simply double-click the attached file. Microsoft Word 2010 automatically starts and opens the project.docx file, because the .docx extension is asso- ciated with Microsoft Word 2010. Three key points about file extensions and their associated file are File Extensions and File Types Comments Most files have extensions, such as .htm. Some files do not have an extension, such as the Hosts file used to resolve hostnames to IP addresses. The file extension is mapped The extension isn't directly mapped to the applica- to a file type, such as htmlfile. tion, but instead is mapped to the file type. The file type is mapped to an application. The application can open the file, such as "c:\program files (x86)\internet explorer\iexplore.exe" -nohome. nOTE: If you're using a 32-bit system, the path does not need (x86); instead, the path is "c:\program files\ internet explorer\iexplore.exe" -nohome.