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

EPS file extension

Encapsulated PostScript File

Vector Image Files

TXT file extension

Plain Text File

Text Files

7Z file extension

7-Zip Compressed File

Compressed Files

XCODEPROJ file extension

Xcode Project

Developer Files

TIFF file extension

Tagged Image File Format

Raster Image Files

MAX file extension

3ds Max Scene File

3D Image Files

CBR file extension

Comic Book RAR Archive

Compressed Files

SVG file extension

Scalable Vector Graphics File

Vector Image Files

FON file extension

Generic Font File

Font Files

XML file extension

XML File

Data Files

3GP file extension

3GPP Multimedia File

Video Files

PLUGIN file extension

Mac OS X Plug-in

Plugin Files

MPA file extension

MPEG-2 Audio File

Audio Files

CUR file extension

Windows Cursor

System Files

UUE file extension

Uuencoded File

Encoded Files