Outlook 2002 data files appear as Office data files in Windows Explorer (287837)

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The following are the files used by Outlook 2002 that are classed as office data files:

• Personal Folders (PST) files
• Offline Storage (OST) files
• Personal Address Book (PAB) files
• Nickname (NICK, NK2) files
• Rules (RWZ) files

This behavior is by design.

Both Microsoft Office XP and, by extension, Outlook 2002 register their data files with the operating system during installation. Data files in of Microsoft Office versions before Microsoft Office 2000 were not registered when Office was installed.

You can edit the file type association entry to change the office data file description. To do this:

For Microsoft Windows 2000

1. Double-click My Computer on your desktop.
2. On the Tools menu, click Folder Options, and then click the File Types tab.
3. Scroll down to and select the first office data file that you want to change.
4. Click Advanced.
5. In the Description of type box at the top of the File Types dialog box, change Office Data File to Outlook Data File, and then click OK.
6. Click Close.

For Microsoft Windows 98 and Microsoft Windows NT

1. Double-click My Computer on your desktop.
2. On the Tools menu, click Folder Options, and then click the File Types tab.
3. Scroll down to, and select, the first Office Data File that you want to change, and then click Edit.
4. In the Description of type box at the top of the File Types dialog box, change Office Data File to Outlook Data File.
5. Click OK twice.