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

CBR file extension

Comic Book RAR Archive

Compressed Files

DXF file extension

Drawing Exchange Format File

CAD Files

GPX file extension

GPS Exchange File

GIS Files

JPG file extension

JPEG Image

Raster Image Files

KMZ file extension

Google Earth Placemark File

GIS Files

PHP file extension

PHP Source Code File

Web Files

PLUGIN file extension

Mac OS X Plug-in

Plugin Files

RM file extension

Real Media File

Video Files

TEX file extension

LaTeX Source Document

Text Files

TTF file extension

TrueType Font

Font Files

UUE file extension

Uuencoded File

Encoded Files

VCF file extension

vCard File

Data Files

XLSX file extension

Microsoft Excel Open XML Spreadsheet

Spreadsheet Files

ZIPX file extension

Extended Zip File

Compressed Files