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

CPP file extension

C++ Source Code File

Developer Files

DBF file extension

Database File

Database Files

GED file extension

GEDCOM Genealogy Data File

Data Files

ICO file extension

Icon File

System Files

IFF file extension

Interchange File Format

Audio Files

MDB file extension

Microsoft Access Database

Database Files

PDB file extension

Program Database

Database Files

PNG file extension

Portable Network Graphic

Raster Image Files

PS file extension

PostScript File

Vector Image Files

SAV file extension

Saved Game

Game Files

TEX file extension

LaTeX Source Document

Text Files

WPS file extension

Microsoft Works Word Processor Document

Text Files

XML file extension

XML File

Data Files

ZIPX file extension

Extended Zip File

Compressed Files

3G2 file extension

3GPP2 Multimedia File

Video Files