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

EXE file extension

Windows Executable File

Executable Files

RM file extension

Real Media File

Video Files

JPG file extension

JPEG Image

Raster Image Files

DXF file extension

Drawing Exchange Format File

CAD Files

SH file extension

Bash Shell Script

Developer Files

SLN file extension

Visual Studio Solution File

Developer Files

FLV file extension

Flash Video File

Video Files

TAR file extension

Consolidated Unix File Archive

Data Files

TGA file extension

Targa Graphic

Raster Image Files

PSPIMAGE file extension

PaintShop Pro Image

Raster Image Files

PLUGIN file extension

Mac OS X Plug-in

Plugin Files

TXT file extension

Plain Text File

Text Files

RA file extension

Real Audio File

Audio Files

PDF file extension

Portable Document Format File

Layout Files