Frequently often on the Internet I bump into a question than to open one or another file. And indeed, a person who recently purchased a computer may not be clear what is the game in MDF or ISO format, or how to open the SWF file. I will try to collect all the types of files, about which such a question arises most often, to describe their purpose and which program can be opened.
How to open the files of common formats
MDF, ISO. - CD image files. In such images, Windows, games, any programs, etc. distributions may be distributed. You can open with the free Daemon Tools Lite, the program mounts such an image as a virtual device on your computer, which can be used as a regular CD. In addition, the ISO files can be opened with a regular archiver, such as WinRAR and access all files and folders contained in the image. In the event that a Windows distribution kit or another operating system is recorded in the ISO disk image, you can record this image on a CD - in Windows 7 this can be done by clicking on the right mouse button on the file and choosing "write an image to a CD". You can also use third-party programs to record disks, such as Nero Burning ROM. After recording the image of the boot disk, you will have the opportunity to boot from it and install the required OS. Detailed instructions here: how to open an ISO file and here: how to open MDF. The manual discusses various ways to open the disk images in the .iso format, given recommendations for the time when it is better to mount the disk image in the system when downloading Daemon Tools, and when to open the ISO file using the archiver.
SWF - Adobe Flash files in which various interactive materials can be - games, animated rollers and much more. For startup, Adobe Flash Player is needed, downloaded from the official Adobe site. Also, if your browser has a flash plugin, you can open the SWF file using your browser even in the absence of a separate flash player.
FLV, MKV. - Video files or movies. FLV and MKV files are not open in Windows by default, but can be open after installing the appropriate codecs that will allow decoding the video in these files. You can install the K-Lite Codec Pack package containing most of the necessary codecs to play video and audio in various formats. Helps when there are no sound in films or on the contrary, there is a sound but no image.
PDF. - PDF files can be opened using free Adobe Reader or Foxit Reader. PDF may contain various documents - textbooks, magazines, books, instructions, etc. Separate instructions on how to open PDF
Djvu. - The DJVU file can be opened using various free software programs using plugins for popular browsers using applications for smartphones and tablets on Android, iOS, Windows Phone. Read more in the article: how to open DJVU
FB2. - E-book files. You can open using FB2 Reader, these files are also perceived by most electronic readers and simply e-book reading programs. If you wish, you can convert to many other formats using FB2 Converter.
Docx - Documents Microsoft Word 2007/2010. You can open with relevant programs. Also, DOCX files open Open Office, can be viewed in Google Docs or Microsoft SkyDrive. In addition, you can select DOCX file support in Word 2003 separately.
XLS, XLSX - Microsoft Excel spreadsheet documents. XLSX opens in Excel 2007/2010 and in the programs specified for DOCX format.
RAR, 7Z. - WinRar and 7Zip archives. Can be opened with relevant programs. 7Zip is distributed free of charge and works with most archive files.
PPT. - Microsoft Power Point presentation files are open by the appropriate program. You can also view on Google Docs.
If you are interested in how to open another type file - ask in the comments, and I, in turn, will try to answer as quickly as possible.
