File extensions – definition and basic information


File extensions are the integral parts of the files that are on each computer. Often, when working on a computer, we encounter a wide range of files, such as docx, ppt, part, mp3 or rmvb. We realize that they are there – but we often do not know what they are for on our computer.

File extension, also known as the filename extension is a suffix added to the name of a computer file, usually consisting of a number of characters placed after the last dot in the filename, which gives us information about its coding. In other words a file extension is a file format. It allows the operating system (e.g. Windows) to recognize what program it should try to open the file.

In the table below you will find a random selection of popular file extensions.


File extension The full name of the file Category

BIN file extension

Binary Disc Image

Disk Image Files

GPX file extension

GPS Exchange File

GIS Files

IBOOKS file extension

Multi-Touch iBook

Data Files

INI file extension

Windows Initialization File

Settings Files

ISO file extension

Disc Image File

Disk Image Files

JAVA file extension

Java Source Code File

Developer Files

PKG file extension

Mac OS X Installer Package

Compressed Files

RA file extension

Real Audio File

Audio Files

RPM file extension

Red Hat Package Manager File

Compressed Files

RSS file extension

Rich Site Summary

Web Files

TIF file extension

Tagged Image File

Raster Image Files

UUE file extension

Uuencoded File

Encoded Files

VB file extension

VBScript File

Executable Files

ZIP file extension

Zipped File

Compressed Files

ZIPX file extension

Extended Zip File

Compressed Files