3] Using Third-Party Apps
In addition to using the default Windows application, you can also use third-party applications specifically designed to create files with a period prefix. One of the applications that you can use is DotFileMaker, which is a free and lightweight application that can be run without installation.
To create a file with a period prefix using DotFileMaker, follow these steps:
- Download DotFileMaker from the official website, then extract the obtained zip file.
- Run the DotFileMaker file.exe which is inside the extracted folder.
- Select the directory where you want to create a file with a period prefix by clicking the Browse button or type it manually in the Directory field.
- Type the file name with the period prefix and extension you want in the File Name field, for example, “.gitignore”.
- Click the Create File button to create the file in the selected directory.
- To populate the.gitignore file with the content you want, you can use a text editor such as Notepad or Visual Studio Code.
The advantage of this method is that you can create files with a period beginning easily and quickly without having to change Windows Explorer settings or type any commands. However, the drawback is that you have to download and run additional applications that may not always be available or compatible with your operating system.
Conclusion
Files with a period prefix are files whose names begin with a period character (.), such as.gitignore,.htaccess, or.env. These files are typically used to store configurations, preferences, or sensitive information that you don’t want to be displayed publicly.
To create a file with a period prefix in Windows, you can use several ways, such as using Command Prompt, Windows Explorer, or third-party applications such as DotFileMaker.
If you use Git as a version management system, you need to create a file.gitignore to tell Git which files and folders to ignore when performing certain operations. File.gitignore is a plain text file that lists file or folder name patterns that you want Git to ignore.
Hope it is useful and can help you in creating files with period prefixes in Windows. Thank you for reading this article to the end.