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

EXE file extension

Windows Executable File

Executable Files

GIF file extension

Graphical Interchange Format File

Raster Image Files

MDF file extension

Media Disc Image File

Disk Image Files

MPG file extension

MPEG Video File

Video Files

PNG file extension

Portable Network Graphic

Raster Image Files

ROM file extension

N64 Game ROM File

Game Files

RPM file extension

Red Hat Package Manager File

Compressed Files

RSS file extension

Rich Site Summary

Web Files

VCXPROJ file extension

Visual C++ Project

Developer Files

VOB file extension

DVD Video Object File

Video Files

WPS file extension

Microsoft Works Word Processor Document

Text Files

XCODEPROJ file extension

Xcode Project

Developer Files

XML file extension

XML File

Data Files

ZIPX file extension

Extended Zip File

Compressed Files