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

CFM file extension

ColdFusion Markup File

Web Files

EPS file extension

Encapsulated PostScript File

Vector Image Files

GPX file extension

GPS Exchange File

GIS Files

JS file extension

JavaScript File

Web Files

MOV file extension

Apple QuickTime Movie

Video Files

MPG file extension

MPEG Video File

Video Files

MSG file extension

Outlook Mail Message

Text Files

ODT file extension

OpenDocument Text Document

Text Files

PAGES file extension

Pages Document

Text Files

PDF file extension

Portable Document Format File

Layout Files

SAV file extension

Saved Game

Game Files

SH file extension

Bash Shell Script

Developer Files

SQL file extension

Structured Query Language Data File

Database Files

TIFF file extension

Tagged Image File Format

Raster Image Files

WAV file extension

WAVE Audio File

Audio Files