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

AVI file extension

Audio Video Interleave File

Video Files

BMP file extension

Bitmap Image File

Raster Image Files

CFG file extension

Configuration File

Settings Files

FON file extension

Generic Font File

Font Files

GADGET file extension

Windows Gadget

Executable Files

JAVA file extension

Java Source Code File

Developer Files

MDB file extension

Microsoft Access Database

Database Files

PPT file extension

PowerPoint Presentation

Data Files

PPTX file extension

PowerPoint Open XML Presentation

Data Files

PRF file extension

Outlook Profile File

Settings Files

SH file extension

Bash Shell Script

Developer Files

TORRENT file extension

BitTorrent File

Misc Files

VCF file extension

vCard File

Data Files

WPD file extension

WordPerfect Document

Text Files

XLR file extension

Works Spreadsheet

Spreadsheet Files