Sorry, missed a couple of your replies while typing my last one. Thank you all SO much. Your answers have cleared up a lot of my muddled thinking and make much more sense than anything else I have been able to find. Did not realise that I could ask for unzipped files, so will do that while getting used to everything.
Sue

To open the file on your computer you would need a program installed that would open that format - like you need a word program to open documents , excel for spread sheets . Does that make sense ? So without a program to open PES files I don't think you can open them - doesn't mean its not there just that you can't open it to see them :wink:

also your pc wont be able to do anything with the PES file as it doesnt know what it is so it wont open it. But your embroidery machine will once its on a usb key.
the quick flash is the downloading of the files which are so tiny, shouldve gone into your download directory. Go grab a cheap key in Aldi's, tesco, asda, any of the supermarkets will have them, i'd probably go with a cheap 2 or 4gb one, that'd give you hundreds and hundreds of designs on it at one time...

Thanks Sharonb, that makes perfect sense.
Sue

Great information being shared on this thread!!

There are quite a few freebies to see your downloads. Wilcom is one of them. I have the Brother PE770 and that uses a USB stick also. Just make sure that you don't have too many downloads on the same stick. My machine can handle no more than 200 at a time on one stick. However, I save the PES downloads on one and than only transfer the ones I want to be working with on another stick. This way you don't have to search through all of them to find the correct one. The embroidery machine pictures are too small, not clear and only black and white , so I use the Wilcom (free) or ERA Universal to show my pictures in color on the computer, while I am embroidering.

Pulse Ambassador is another free program you can use to view your embroidery files:

http://www.pulsemicro.com/index.htm

go to the right side of the screen and look for the "Ambassador" section. Click on the "free sizing and conversion embroidery software"

Wilcom truesizer will allow you to view any embroidery file you get and you can convert it to whatever file extension your brother machine takes. Best of all it's free

Again, as always!!!! you guys are amazing!!! It's so funny when one of us asks a question, it helps so many more of us at the same time. Thanks everybody and thanks for the question I did not realize that you could just d/l to a stick....I will have to check this out tonite after work (work is so over-rated and really interfering with my quilting life!!

When I bought my Janome 110000 the sales lady told me about a web site (Wilcom.com) and said that I could download the software for free that would recognize the special machine formatting of embroidery files (mine is JEF). I've never been able to get it to work for me, but perhaps someone who is more technically savvy than I could make it work.