Why do people include ".app?"

[rm5]

This is a pretty stupid question I know, but why, when referring to an app/program on Mac, do some people include the ".app" in their description? For example, this statement:

To expand an archive on Mac, open Archive Utility.app

I'm in no way against this, and I'm not trying to be critical, just curious about why that is necessary—it seems kind of redundant.

 

[usagora]

This is a pretty stupid question I know, but why, when referring to an app/program on Mac, do some people include the ".app" in their description? For example, this statement:

To expand an archive on Mac, open Archive Utility.app

Not trying to be critical, just curious about why that is necessary—it seems kind of redundant.

Because not everyone is familiar with all the names of all the first party apps on Mac to know that it's an app that is being referred to. And it's a bit shorter than saying "open the Archive Utility app" (which is how I normally refer to apps). Never hurts to be very specific, especially when writing tutorials. There's been many a time that I've thought something is very obvious without saying, but then discover a number of people were confused, so I've learned to be as clear as I possibly can.

 

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

And with genious names likes Photos, Books and Music, it can get really confusing.

 

[ignatius345]

I find myself Googling with .app appended becuase a lot of Apple apps have such generic names. "Numbers.app" will match more (relevant) things than just "Numbers"

I'm also one of those people who sets the Finder preference to "always show extensions"

 

[AZhappyjack]

And with genious names likes Photos, Books and Music, it can get really confusing.

... or "Apple TV" in any of its instances/iterations (app, device, service)...

 

[maxoakland]

I think it’s used more on names that are generic and someone thinks they might confuse the person they’re talking to. Like I see Mail.app used a lot more than Safari.app

 

[HDFan]

why, when referring to an app/program on Mac, do some people include the ".app" in their description?

That is the name of the application filename on your disk. It's like using http:// or https:// when accessing a website. Normally you just enter the website name without the prefix. It's a shortcut.