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

DEB file extension

Debian Software Package

Compressed Files

FLA file extension

Adobe Flash Animation

Developer Files

FNT file extension

Windows Font File

Font Files

IFF file extension

Interchange File Format

Audio Files

MID file extension

MIDI File

Audio Files

ODT file extension

OpenDocument Text Document

Text Files

PDF file extension

Portable Document Format File

Layout Files

PY file extension

Python Script

Developer Files

SLN file extension

Visual Studio Solution File

Developer Files

SQL file extension

Structured Query Language Data File

Database Files

TAX2012 file extension

TurboTax 2012 Tax Return

Data Files

TORRENT file extension

BitTorrent File

Misc Files

UUE file extension

Uuencoded File

Encoded Files

VCD file extension

Virtual CD

Disk Image Files

VCXPROJ file extension

Visual C++ Project

Developer Files