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File formats for downloading Files

When you click a link to download a file, the MIME type determines what action is taken. If you see an Opening <filename> dialog asking if you want to save the file or open it with a specified application, that normally means that your Mozilla application cannot handle the MIME type internally, no plugin is installed and enabled that can handle it and you have not previously selected a download action or helper application to always use for that type of file. Starting in Firefox 3 and Opera the Opening <filename> dialog will also appear if you have selected "Always ask" as the action for the file's content type in your (Helper) Applications options/preferences (see below).
The "Open with" option can show a
  1. Choose or
  2. Browse
button, if no application is associated with the file type (shown here on Windows), or it may show a default application for the file type.
You can choose to open the file with that application or you can choose or browse to a different application. You can use the Browse button or click the drop-down menu icon and then click on "Other" to open a "Choose Helper Application" dialog, as shown here on Windows.


File format underlying Microsoft Word files and viewed with Microsoft Word.

File format underlying (PDF) portable document format files and allowing printed pages to be viewed electronically be reader plug-ins such as Adobe Acrobat Reader.

File format underlying Microsoft PowerPoint presentations and viewed with Microsoft PowerPoint.

File format underlying PostScript (PS) files and used to describe page settings and to give printer commands, and viewed with GhostView or Acrobat Exchange after distillation with Acrobat Distiller.

File format underlying Rich Text Format (RTF) files and is a Microsoft standard for encoding formatted text and graphics, and viewed with word processors.

File format underlying unformatted ASCII text files and viewed with text editors and word processors

File format for Microsoft Excel spreadsheets and viewed with Microsoft Excel.

A standard bitmapped file underlying (GIF) Graphic Interchange Format files, aloowing for graphics to be viewed online