How do I change a file's file type (not only file association)?

A

awd

New member
I need to change a zip file to an epub file. I have heard this can be done, but when I add the .epub after the file name, I notice the file is still actually zip type file when I right click properties. This is causing a problem when I try to open it in in different ebook reader programs.

I know there is a way to change a file's actual file type, but I don't know how. Perhaps there is a software or I need to go into the registry?

I can do this either with windows 7 or XP home, because I have two computers. So help on either operating system would be great?

As a related question, I am wondering does changing a file's icon type actually change the file type or just the icon?
 

My Computer

OS
windows 7
Hi awd and welcome to Seven Forums.

I take it that your zip file is an e-book. Changing the extension does nothing to change the format of the data. If you have need to convert an e-book from one format to another try Calibre. In addition to managing e-books it allows you to convert from one form to another. calibre - E-book management
 

My Computer

Computer type
Laptop
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Hewlett-Packard/G62-107SA Notebook
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Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Service Pack 1
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kado897 said:
Hi awd and welcome to Seven Forums.

I take it that your zip file is an e-book. Changing the extension does nothing to change the format of the data. If you have need to convert an e-book from one format to another try Calibre. In addition to managing e-books it allows you to convert from one form to another. calibre - E-book management
Click to expand...

Thanks for the response. I already tried calibre because it DOES have a built in converter from zip to epub. However, it is not working very well with large files and that is what I need it for.

I got the idea of building my own epubs from the tutorial for making epub files by hand at .epub eBooks Tutorial - Part 3: Turning Your Content into an eBook . There is PART 1 PART 2 AND PART 3. Specifically PART 3 talks about changing the file extension from .zip to .epub. But as I said, it still remains a zip file and doesn't seem to open in some ebook readers, even after I follow his exact steps.

Therefore, I thought maybe there was a way to actually change the file type to a TRUE epub because all of the files contained in the ZIP file are the same ones contained in an epub file.
 

My Computer

OS
windows 7
awd said:
kado897 said:
Hi awd and welcome to Seven Forums.

I take it that your zip file is an e-book. Changing the extension does nothing to change the format of the data. If you have need to convert an e-book from one format to another try Calibre. In addition to managing e-books it allows you to convert from one form to another. calibre - E-book management
Click to expand...

Thanks for the response. I already tried calibre because it DOES have a built in converter from zip to epub. However, it is not working very well with large files and that is what I need it for.

I got the idea of building my own epubs from the tutorial for making epub files by hand at .epub eBooks Tutorial - Part 3: Turning Your Content into an eBook . There is PART 1 PART 2 AND PART 3. Specifically PART 3 talks about changing the file extension from .zip to .epub. But as I said, it still remains a zip file and doesn't seem to open in some ebook readers, even after I follow his exact steps.

Therefore, I thought maybe there was a way to actually change the file type to a TRUE epub because all of the files contained in the ZIP file are the same ones contained in an epub file.
Click to expand...

That's interesting. I didn't know that. I wonder if Calibre would recognize your renamed file as e-pub. If it does you could convert from e-pub to e-pub to get a more robust format. Be careful as it will overwrite the original.
 

My Computer

Computer type
Laptop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Hewlett-Packard/G62-107SA Notebook
OS
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Service Pack 1
CPU
Intel(R) Core(TM) i3 CPU M 330 @ 2.13GHz
Motherboard
Hewlett-Packard 1425
Memory
8 GB DDR3
Graphics Card(s)
Intel(R) HD Graphics
Sound Card
Realtek High Definition Audio
Monitor(s) Displays
Builtin
Screen Resolution
1366 x 768 x 32 bits (4294967296 colors) @ 60 Hz
Hard Drives
250 GB SATA Hard Disk Drive 7200 rpm
2TB Seagate GoFlex USB 2 Drive
1TB Iomega Prestige USB 2 Drive
1.5TB Iomega Prestige USB 2 Drive (Samsung)
2TB WD MyBook Live NAS.
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It works for certain filetypes. I have done that eg. for videos. It is very easy. Just do it with a rename in Explorer.
 

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Yes I have seen that before. I just didn't know that the internal structure of a zip file was similar to epub. I've just checked and 7zip can explore an epub file.
 

My Computer

Computer type
Laptop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Hewlett-Packard/G62-107SA Notebook
OS
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Service Pack 1
CPU
Intel(R) Core(TM) i3 CPU M 330 @ 2.13GHz
Motherboard
Hewlett-Packard 1425
Memory
8 GB DDR3
Graphics Card(s)
Intel(R) HD Graphics
Sound Card
Realtek High Definition Audio
Monitor(s) Displays
Builtin
Screen Resolution
1366 x 768 x 32 bits (4294967296 colors) @ 60 Hz
Hard Drives
250 GB SATA Hard Disk Drive 7200 rpm
2TB Seagate GoFlex USB 2 Drive
1TB Iomega Prestige USB 2 Drive
1.5TB Iomega Prestige USB 2 Drive (Samsung)
2TB WD MyBook Live NAS.
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Chrome
kado897 said:
Yes I have seen that before. I just didn't know that the internal structure of a zip file was similar to epub. I've just checked and 7zip can explore an epub file.
Click to expand...

Are you saying that 7ZIP offers something unique in handling EPUB files that WINZIP does not?

From what I have tried, you can open an epub file with a zip or .rar program (such as WINZIP AND WINRAR) and it will show all of the files that make up the epub file. You can then make edits and then zip it up again.

However, when you zip it up again, it is NOT an epub anymore but a ZIP or RAR file. THUS...THIS IS WHERE THE PROBLEM LIES. If I want to make changes to my epub files, THEN HOW DO I REBUILD THE EPUB FILE WITH THE NEW CHANGES?

WHAT I HAVE TRIED SO FAR: Re-ZIPPING and then changing the zip extension to epub does not seem to really work. It still truly remains a ZIP filetype.
 

My Computer

OS
windows 7
EPUB - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
awd said:
kado897 said:
Yes I have seen that before. I just didn't know that the internal structure of a zip file was similar to epub. I've just checked and 7zip can explore an epub file.
Click to expand...

Are you saying that 7ZIP offers something unique in handling EPUB files that WINZIP does not?

From what I have tried, you can open an epub file with a zip or .rar program (such as WINZIP AND WINRAR) and it will show all of the files that make up the epub file. You can then make edits and then zip it up again.

However, when you zip it up again, it is NOT an epub anymore but a ZIP or RAR file. THUS...THIS IS WHERE THE PROBLEM LIES. If I want to make changes to my epub files, THEN HOW DO I REBUILD THE EPUB FILE WITH THE NEW CHANGES?

WHAT I HAVE TRIED SO FAR: Re-ZIPPING and then changing the zip extension to epub does not seem to really work. It still truly remains a ZIP filetype.
Click to expand...

No I just used 7zip to explore the container of an epub file. It can't save them. There is an interesting article in Wikipedia about the structure of an epub file.EPUB - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 

My Computer

Computer type
Laptop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Hewlett-Packard/G62-107SA Notebook
OS
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Service Pack 1
CPU
Intel(R) Core(TM) i3 CPU M 330 @ 2.13GHz
Motherboard
Hewlett-Packard 1425
Memory
8 GB DDR3
Graphics Card(s)
Intel(R) HD Graphics
Sound Card
Realtek High Definition Audio
Monitor(s) Displays
Builtin
Screen Resolution
1366 x 768 x 32 bits (4294967296 colors) @ 60 Hz
Hard Drives
250 GB SATA Hard Disk Drive 7200 rpm
2TB Seagate GoFlex USB 2 Drive
1TB Iomega Prestige USB 2 Drive
1.5TB Iomega Prestige USB 2 Drive (Samsung)
2TB WD MyBook Live NAS.
Mouse
Logitech Anywhere MX
Internet Speed
152 Mbs download 10 Mbs upload
Antivirus
Norton 360
Browser
Chrome
There's an option in Control Panel -> Folder Options named Hide extensions for known file types. I'm pretty sure if you uncheck that, you can change any file's actual extension (instead of simply turning abc.zip into abc.epub.zip). I've always kept this setting off and never had an issue changing file extensions.
 

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Asus PL5D2
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Creative X-Fi XtremeMusic
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Acer P236H
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1920x1200 (DVI)
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OCZ SSD Vertex Plus 60GB SATA (Firmware 3.55), 64MB cache
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Antec TruePower 2.0
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Cooler Master Centurion
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Too many fans
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Standard
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Microsoft wireless optical mouse
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AT&T U-verse (18mbit/sec)
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Microsoft Security Essentials
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Firefox
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