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

ACCDB file extension

Access 2007 Database File

Database Files

DB file extension

Database File

Database Files

DWG file extension

AutoCAD Drawing Database File

CAD Files

GAM file extension

Saved Game File

Game Files

M4A file extension

MPEG-4 Audio File

Audio Files

MOV file extension

Apple QuickTime Movie

Video Files

PART file extension

Partially Downloaded File

Misc Files

PPTX file extension

PowerPoint Open XML Presentation

Data Files

PY file extension

Python Script

Developer Files

RSS file extension

Rich Site Summary

Web Files

TARGZ file extension

Compressed Tarball File

Compressed Files

TEX file extension

LaTeX Source Document

Text Files

VCD file extension

Virtual CD

Disk Image Files

VCF file extension

vCard File

Data Files

WPD file extension

WordPerfect Document

Text Files