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

DMP file extension

Windows Memory Dump

System Files

EXE file extension

Windows Executable File

Executable Files

GADGET file extension

Windows Gadget

Executable Files

GBR file extension

Gerber File

Data Files

JSP file extension

Java Server Page

Web Files

LUA file extension

Lua Source File

Developer Files

M file extension

Objective-C Implementation File

Developer Files

M4A file extension

MPEG-4 Audio File

Audio Files

M4V file extension

iTunes Video File

Video Files

MSI file extension

Windows Installer Package

Misc Files

PS file extension

PostScript File

Vector Image Files

SQL file extension

Structured Query Language Data File

Database Files

WMV file extension

Windows Media Video File

Video Files

WPS file extension

Microsoft Works Word Processor Document

Text Files