Open

Updated: 11/12/2023 by Computer Hope

Open may refer to any of the following:

Open sign hanging from a doorknob.

1. In general, open refers to something that can be accessed or viewed.

2. With computer software, open commonly refers to executing or running a program or accessing and reading a file. For example, if you wanted to read a word processor file, you could open Microsoft Word and select the file to open it. Also, most of the time, you can double-click the file, and Windows automatically finds the correct program to open the file.

Tip

The keyboard shortcut Ctrl+O shows the open window in most programs and lets you choose a file to open.

3. When describing a jumper, open is jumper pins that could be jumped but are not.

4. With computer hardware or other hardware devices, open refers to physically removing a compartment, such as removing the computer case cover.

5. With a network port, open refers to a specific port being enabled, so that traffic can be transferred through that port. For security reasons ports that are not frequently used are closed by default.

6. When using FTP, open is a command to establish a connection with a remote computer.

7. With an issue, question, post, or ticket, open refers to something that still needs to be fixed or reviewed. For example, if you open a support ticket with a question, it remains open until the problem is solved. Once solved, its status would change from "open" to "closed."

8. Open may be used as an abbreviated form of open source when describing a type of software.

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