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

AIF file extension

Audio Interchange File Format

Audio Files

CPP file extension

C++ Source Code File

Developer Files

DB file extension

Database File

Database Files

DBF file extension

Database File

Database Files

DEM file extension

Video Game Demo File

Game Files

DOC file extension

Microsoft Word Document

Text Files

FNT file extension

Windows Font File

Font Files

H file extension

C/C++/Objective-C Header File

Developer Files

JAR file extension

Java Archive File

Executable Files

MPG file extension

MPEG Video File

Video Files

PIF file extension

Program Information File

Executable Files

PSPIMAGE file extension

PaintShop Pro Image

Raster Image Files

TGA file extension

Targa Graphic

Raster Image Files

WMV file extension

Windows Media Video File

Video Files

XCODEPROJ file extension

Xcode Project

Developer Files