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

DB file extension

Database File

Database Files

DBF file extension

Database File

Database Files

DESKTHEMEPACK file extension

Windows 8 Desktop Theme Pack File

System Files

DMP file extension

Windows Memory Dump

System Files

GIF file extension

Graphical Interchange Format File

Raster Image Files

H file extension

C/C++/Objective-C Header File

Developer Files

ICO file extension

Icon File

System Files

LOG file extension

Log File

Text Files

ODT file extension

OpenDocument Text Document

Text Files

PSD file extension

Adobe Photoshop Document

Raster Image Files

RPM file extension

Red Hat Package Manager File

Compressed Files

SH file extension

Bash Shell Script

Developer Files

VCXPROJ file extension

Visual C++ Project

Developer Files

XCODEPROJ file extension

Xcode Project

Developer Files

YUV file extension

YUV Encoded Image File

Raster Image Files