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

CFM file extension

ColdFusion Markup File

Web Files

CUR file extension

Windows Cursor

System Files

DBF file extension

Database File

Database Files

DNG file extension

Digital Negative Image File

Camera Raw Files

DWG file extension

AutoCAD Drawing Database File

CAD Files

ISO file extension

Disc Image File

Disk Image Files

ODT file extension

OpenDocument Text Document

Text Files

PDB file extension

Program Database

Database Files

RTF file extension

Rich Text Format File

Text Files

SH file extension

Bash Shell Script

Developer Files

SVG file extension

Scalable Vector Graphics File

Vector Image Files

TMP file extension

Temporary File

Backup Files

3DS file extension

3D Studio Scene

3D Image Files

3G2 file extension

3GPP2 Multimedia File

Video Files

3GP file extension

3GPP Multimedia File

Video Files