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

ASPX file extension

Active Server Page Extended File

Web Files

BMP file extension

Bitmap Image File

Raster Image Files

DBF file extension

Database File

Database Files

DRV file extension

Device Driver

System Files

DWG file extension

AutoCAD Drawing Database File

CAD Files

GED file extension

GEDCOM Genealogy Data File

Data Files

GPX file extension

GPS Exchange File

GIS Files

HQX file extension

BinHex 4.0 Encoded File

Encoded Files

HTML file extension

Hypertext Markup Language File

Web Files

M3U file extension

Media Playlist File

Audio Files

MP3 file extension

MP3 Audio File

Audio Files

SVG file extension

Scalable Vector Graphics File

Vector Image Files

TIF file extension

Tagged Image File

Raster Image Files

WAV file extension

WAVE Audio File

Audio Files

WSF file extension

Windows Script File

Executable Files