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

7Z file extension

7-Zip Compressed File

Compressed Files

VCF file extension

vCard File

Data Files

WMV file extension

Windows Media Video File

Video Files

RPM file extension

Red Hat Package Manager File

Compressed Files

SLN file extension

Visual Studio Solution File

Developer Files

BIN file extension

Binary Disc Image

Disk Image Files

SRT file extension

SubRip Subtitle File

Video Files

XML file extension

XML File

Data Files

PL file extension

Perl Script

Developer Files

MSI file extension

Windows Installer Package

Misc Files

IFF file extension

Interchange File Format

Audio Files

ICO file extension

Icon File

System Files

HQX file extension

BinHex 4.0 Encoded File

Encoded Files

CUE file extension

Cue Sheet File

Disk Image Files

PS file extension

PostScript File

Vector Image Files