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

ICS file extension

iCalendar File

Misc Files

INI file extension

Windows Initialization File

Settings Files

JAR file extension

Java Archive File

Executable Files

MPA file extension

MPEG-2 Audio File

Audio Files

OTF file extension

OpenType Font

Font Files

PDB file extension

Program Database

Database Files

RAR file extension

WinRAR Compressed Archive

Compressed Files

ROM file extension

N64 Game ROM File

Game Files

SDF file extension

Standard Data File

Data Files

SRT file extension

SubRip Subtitle File

Video Files

TIFF file extension

Tagged Image File Format

Raster Image Files

TORRENT file extension

BitTorrent File

Misc Files

VCF file extension

vCard File

Data Files

XCODEPROJ file extension

Xcode Project

Developer Files

YUV file extension

YUV Encoded Image File

Raster Image Files