RAR FILES/WINRAR

it is real difficult to pinpoint anything.

You downloaded a RAR archive then you downloaded the WinRar trial version.

Then you had a problem that doesn't apply to Winrar as winrar has no graphics filter--all it does is comptress or uncompress files and type is immaterial.

How did you go about extracting the contents of the file you downloaded? Here is a link that explains exactly how to extract file contents.

After the files are extracted they are available for opening and depending of the type of file a program may well need a filter of some type to handle the file but that is between you, the application used to work with the file and the type of file in the archive--not the archiver.

Try telling us what the names of the files extracted are and INCLUDE their file extensions (such as .txt or .jpg, or .png) as the file extensions will generally provide info regarding the appropriate programs to work with them. Also mention the name of the application you are using that causes the error message.

From your post, I take it that from the WinRAR file list, you double-clicked on the file you wanted to open. Well, double-clicking a file in the file list will not extract the file, but will open the file right away after WinRAR extracts in to a temporary location. If this is what you did, then the problem is not with WinRAR but on the file you are trying to open.

Check about the program associated with the file you are trying to open. For instance, if the file you are trying to open is an Adobe Photoshop (PSD) file, check if the Photoshop program is working fine. The problem you are facing can be traced to this three causes:
1. The program associated with the file is not working fine
2. The file in the RAR archive is corrupted, thus cannot be opened
3. There's no program associated with the file in the archive

However looking at the symptoms you described I think it's cause 1.

Also, try this. If there are multiple files in the archive, opening just one file might not work because the other files are needed. Try extracting the whole archive to a temporary folder, then open the file you wanted to open again, maybe it would work. This is a simple problem but often overlooked by those who are new to compression programs like WinZip an WinRAR.

Here are the steps:
- Open the archive file with WinRAR
- Click "Extract To" on the toolbar
- Fill in a folder name in the Destination Path and click OK
- Go to that folder and try opening that file again, does it work?