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

C file extension

C/C++ Source Code File

Developer Files

CRDOWNLOAD file extension

Chrome Partially Downloaded File

Misc Files

DXF file extension

Drawing Exchange Format File

CAD Files

EXE file extension

Windows Executable File

Executable Files

FNT file extension

Windows Font File

Font Files

GBR file extension

Gerber File

Data Files

MAX file extension

3ds Max Scene File

3D Image Files

PLUGIN file extension

Mac OS X Plug-in

Plugin Files

RA file extension

Real Audio File

Audio Files

SVG file extension

Scalable Vector Graphics File

Vector Image Files

TEX file extension

LaTeX Source Document

Text Files

TIF file extension

Tagged Image File

Raster Image Files

TOAST file extension

Toast Disc Image

Disk Image Files

XML file extension

XML File

Data Files