Change file type in PyCharm

Question

I created a text file, and renamed it into testTreeGen.py.

The problem is that PyCharm does not detect it as a python source so that I can't execute it.

How can I teach PyCharm that this is python script? I tried remove the file and recreated it, and created another python file and renamed it; all ends up being the file as text file not Python script.

The version is 3.0.2.

EDIT

Refactoring does not working.

The file property comes back to text (the original file property that I created before the first refactoring) even after I renamed it as python script.

The weird thing is that no matter where I create the testTreeGen.py, PyCharm creates it as a text file as if it remembers the name of the file should be text file. I can create python script anything but the testTreeGen.py.

Answer 1

Settings (Preferences on Mac) | Editor | File Types | Text

Check patterns there (bottom list) -- you must have had testTreeGen or similar pattern. Just remove it.

UPDATE 2021-02-28:

Since 2020.3 version you should also check under Auto-detect file type by content file type.

See a bit more / with screenshots in this answer: WebStorm File association system does not recognize a file

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This usually happens when creating new file and instead of using specific file template you use New | File and forgetting to enter file extension (which is required here as opposed to specific file template which adds file extension automatically) -- this is to allow to create ANY file with any extension (e.g. .htaccess or just README).

Since such file (testTreeGen in your case) does not have extension, IDE does not know how to treat it and treats it as plain text (not automatically though -- it asking you to choose correct file type with "text file" type preselected, but vast majority of users just hitting enter instead of reading what that screen says -- "relax, I'm a professional and I know what I'm doing").

Now, since the testTreeGen pattern is there and it is bigger/more precise that generic *.rb or *.py, file is treated as Text file regardless of file extension -- renaming will not help.

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Conclusion / advice -- pay a bit more attention to confirmation dialogs.

Answer 2

Go in the Settings -->Editor --> File Types --> Text --> Registered Patterns (lower list box in the dialog) --> Remove the file name that has been added (Should be the file name you accidentally created as text file) by clicking the "-" right hand side. Apply and you should have this speeding ticket off your record.

1. Select File Types
2. Scroll down until you see [text]
3. select [text]
4. scroll down to the bottom, you should see your file that Pycharm thinks is text
5. hit the [-] option to remove the text association and hit OK
6. When you go back to Project view you should see the file associated with the extension you gave it.