Image files are often referred to by the three-or-more letter ending (extension) at the end of their filenames. The file polecat.tif, for example, is a TIF (or TIFF) file. On many computers, Windows is set up to hide these extensions, which makes your life harder when using Paint Shop Pro. If, when you go to open a file in Paint Shop Pro, the files don't appear to end with a period and three-letter extension (such as .psp, .bmp, or .pcx), Windows is hiding valuable information from you.

To reveal the extensions, do this: Double-click the My Computer icon. In the window that appears, choose View—>Folder Options (or in Windows XP, choose Tools—>Folder Options) to display the Folder Options dialog box. Click the View tab there, and under Files and Folders, Hidden Files, deselect the check box labeled Hide File Extensions For Known File Types. (Then click OK.)