File extension hiding prefs

[endian]

I submitted this idea to Apple awhile back, and thought I'd throw it out there to see what others thought of it.

Currently on OSX all file extensions are shown as-is, except for .app extensions (and except for items on the desktop, but hopefully that'll be fixed by the final release.) What I *really* want is to be able to set this on a per-folder basis. For example, in my web sites folder and my development folder I definitely want to see extensions, but in my folder full of pics of my cat, I really dont need to see them. There could be a 'Show file extensions' check box in the folders View Options window for this.

So whaddaya think? Is this a good idea or just a potential source of confusion everytime you open a folder?

 

[latourfl]

I truly think Apple NEED to fix file extensions concerns in a good way. Sure we would like to not see them (well, they were not used by Mac OS 9 as a piece of information, but I think they are needed in OS X?) This and types and creators, which is a so powerfull way to manage files, should be fixed.

But your idea is interesting. Maybe we could set these preferences by file types (or extension) rather than folder, like show me every .pdf extension but not .gif...

But the most interesting thing, if this is possible, would be to NEVER have to add a file extension. I know for sure that when a Mac exchange files with non-mac users, they are simply required if we want the document to open (what a big flaw in Windows!) But let me explain my idea.

Take for example a Word documment. Of course, if you put it on the web, the .doc extension is required, but who cares about adding it. That's not ease of use! But as long as the file type is set when you create the document, the extension could be added to the file name by the system (according to the file type) only when required. That would be:
1) if you upload it on the net (extensions required there),
2) if someone out there wants to upload it from your disk (ftp, napster, or others) or if you use your mac as a server,
3) if you actualy want to see the extension.

Of course, that is probably not easy because your system is often busy remaming files (or doing any other thig that yould add the extension to the name), but it would be really powerfull. And this is already done wiht app !!! Also downloded file could "lose" their extension the same way. So no confusion here, if you don't like extensions, you can get rid of them ! A good thing with that is that icons designed recently usually show the letters of the extension. So why would I need to ad a .mp3 to my nice song titles only to be able to exchange them?

Is this clear? I think that details like that would really make
Mac OS X the most advanced and intuitive system in the world (or what ever they call it!)

Thanks for your comments
Fred