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

CRX file extension

Chrome Extension

Plugin Files

DDS file extension

DirectDraw Surface

Raster Image Files

FLA file extension

Adobe Flash Animation

Developer Files

FON file extension

Generic Font File

Font Files

GADGET file extension

Windows Gadget

Executable Files

GAM file extension

Saved Game File

Game Files

JPG file extension

JPEG Image

Raster Image Files

LNK file extension

Windows File Shortcut

System Files

LOG file extension

Log File

Text Files

M3U file extension

Media Playlist File

Audio Files

PNG file extension

Portable Network Graphic

Raster Image Files

PPT file extension

PowerPoint Presentation

Data Files

RPM file extension

Red Hat Package Manager File

Compressed Files

RTF file extension

Rich Text Format File

Text Files