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

CUR file extension

Windows Cursor

System Files

DMP file extension

Windows Memory Dump

System Files

DRV file extension

Device Driver

System Files

GADGET file extension

Windows Gadget

Executable Files

JAR file extension

Java Archive File

Executable Files

M3U file extension

Media Playlist File

Audio Files

MAX file extension

3ds Max Scene File

3D Image Files

MDB file extension

Microsoft Access Database

Database Files

PDF file extension

Portable Document Format File

Layout Files

PIF file extension

Program Information File

Executable Files

PPTX file extension

PowerPoint Open XML Presentation

Data Files

RPM file extension

Red Hat Package Manager File

Compressed Files

TGA file extension

Targa Graphic

Raster Image Files

WMV file extension

Windows Media Video File

Video Files

XHTML file extension

Extensible Hypertext Markup Language File

Web Files