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

ACCDB file extension

Access 2007 Database File

Database Files

CSR file extension

Certificate Signing Request File

Web Files

PY file extension

Python Script

Developer Files

VCF file extension

vCard File

Data Files

AIF file extension

Audio Interchange File Format

Audio Files

TGA file extension

Targa Graphic

Raster Image Files

DOC file extension

Microsoft Word Document

Text Files

TEX file extension

LaTeX Source Document

Text Files

7Z file extension

7-Zip Compressed File

Compressed Files

3DS file extension

3D Studio Scene

3D Image Files

DRV file extension

Device Driver

System Files

DBF file extension

Database File

Database Files

AZW file extension

Amazon Kindle eBook File

eBook Files

PKG file extension

Mac OS X Installer Package

Compressed Files

TXT file extension

Plain Text File

Text Files