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

ACCDB file extension

Access 2007 Database File

Database Files

ASP file extension

Active Server Page

Web Files

BMP file extension

Bitmap Image File

Raster Image Files

FLA file extension

Adobe Flash Animation

Developer Files

GED file extension

GEDCOM Genealogy Data File

Data Files

GZ file extension

Gnu Zipped Archive

Compressed Files

HTM file extension

Hypertext Markup Language File

Web Files

HTML file extension

Hypertext Markup Language File

Web Files

IBOOKS file extension

Multi-Touch iBook

Data Files

JPG file extension

JPEG Image

Raster Image Files

MDB file extension

Microsoft Access Database

Database Files

PL file extension

Perl Script

Developer Files

PSPIMAGE file extension

PaintShop Pro Image

Raster Image Files

WAV file extension

WAVE Audio File

Audio Files

XCODEPROJ file extension

Xcode Project

Developer Files