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

ASF file extension

Advanced Systems Format File

Video Files

AZW file extension

Amazon Kindle eBook File

eBook Files

DB file extension

Database File

Database Files

EPS file extension

Encapsulated PostScript File

Vector Image Files

EPUB file extension

Open eBook File

eBook Files

GADGET file extension

Windows Gadget

Executable Files

GPX file extension

GPS Exchange File

GIS Files

JPG file extension

JPEG Image

Raster Image Files

OBJ file extension

Wavefront 3D Object File

3D Image Files

PPS file extension

PowerPoint Slide Show

Data Files

RPM file extension

Red Hat Package Manager File

Compressed Files

TAX2012 file extension

TurboTax 2012 Tax Return

Data Files

TEX file extension

LaTeX Source Document

Text Files

TIF file extension

Tagged Image File

Raster Image Files

UUE file extension

Uuencoded File

Encoded Files