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

AZW file extension

Amazon Kindle eBook File

eBook Files

CBR file extension

Comic Book RAR Archive

Compressed Files

CRDOWNLOAD file extension

Chrome Partially Downloaded File

Misc Files

DB file extension

Database File

Database Files

DDS file extension

DirectDraw Surface

Raster Image Files

DOC# file extension

Microsoft Word Document

Text Files

MPA file extension

MPEG-2 Audio File

Audio Files

NES file extension

Nintendo (NES) ROM File

Game Files

ODT file extension

OpenDocument Text Document

Text Files

PDF file extension

Portable Document Format File

Layout Files

PIF file extension

Program Information File

Executable Files

PSPIMAGE file extension

PaintShop Pro Image

Raster Image Files

VOB file extension

DVD Video Object File

Video Files

WPS file extension

Microsoft Works Word Processor Document

Text Files

XML file extension

XML File

Data Files