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

GADGET file extension

Windows Gadget

Executable Files

VCD file extension

Virtual CD

Disk Image Files

PIF file extension

Program Information File

Executable Files

TORRENT file extension

BitTorrent File

Misc Files

TGA file extension

Targa Graphic

Raster Image Files

CPP file extension

C++ Source Code File

Developer Files

XLSX file extension

Microsoft Excel Open XML Spreadsheet

Spreadsheet Files

7Z file extension

7-Zip Compressed File

Compressed Files

PAGES file extension

Pages Document

Text Files

MSG file extension

Outlook Mail Message

Text Files

PNG file extension

Portable Network Graphic

Raster Image Files

H file extension

C/C++/Objective-C Header File

Developer Files

TIF file extension

Tagged Image File

Raster Image Files

C file extension

C/C++ Source Code File

Developer Files

TEX file extension

LaTeX Source Document

Text Files