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

AIF file extension

Audio Interchange File Format

Audio Files

ASPX file extension

Active Server Page Extended File

Web Files

CAB file extension

Windows Cabinet File

System Files

CFM file extension

ColdFusion Markup File

Web Files

DBF file extension

Database File

Database Files

DMP file extension

Windows Memory Dump

System Files

DWG file extension

AutoCAD Drawing Database File

CAD Files

FON file extension

Generic Font File

Font Files

MP4 file extension

MPEG-4 Video File

Video Files

PDB file extension

Program Database

Database Files

SH file extension

Bash Shell Script

Developer Files

TARGZ file extension

Compressed Tarball File

Compressed Files

TORRENT file extension

BitTorrent File

Misc Files

VCXPROJ file extension

Visual C++ Project

Developer Files

ZIPX file extension

Extended Zip File

Compressed Files