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

CBR file extension

Comic Book RAR Archive

Compressed Files

CSR file extension

Certificate Signing Request File

Web Files

DDS file extension

DirectDraw Surface

Raster Image Files

DEB file extension

Debian Software Package

Compressed Files

GPX file extension

GPS Exchange File

GIS Files

ICO file extension

Icon File

System Files

LNK file extension

Windows File Shortcut

System Files

MAX file extension

3ds Max Scene File

3D Image Files

MP3 file extension

MP3 Audio File

Audio Files

PAGES file extension

Pages Document

Text Files

PS file extension

PostScript File

Vector Image Files

TIFF file extension

Tagged Image File Format

Raster Image Files

TORRENT file extension

BitTorrent File

Misc Files

XHTML file extension

Extensible Hypertext Markup Language File

Web Files

ZIPX file extension

Extended Zip File

Compressed Files