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

TAX2012 file extension

TurboTax 2012 Tax Return

Data Files

DEB file extension

Debian Software Package

Compressed Files

VCF file extension

vCard File

Data Files

CBR file extension

Comic Book RAR Archive

Compressed Files

ROM file extension

N64 Game ROM File

Game Files

DNG file extension

Digital Negative Image File

Camera Raw Files

HTML file extension

Hypertext Markup Language File

Web Files

GPX file extension

GPS Exchange File

GIS Files

JAR file extension

Java Archive File

Executable Files

MPA file extension

MPEG-2 Audio File

Audio Files

FON file extension

Generic Font File

Font Files

AI file extension

Adobe Illustrator File

Vector Image Files

7Z file extension

7-Zip Compressed File

Compressed Files

3DM file extension

Rhino 3D Model

3D Image Files

M file extension

Objective-C Implementation File

Developer Files