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

AI file extension

Adobe Illustrator File

Vector Image Files

BAT file extension

DOS Batch File

Executable Files

CGI file extension

Common Gateway Interface Script

Executable Files

DBF file extension

Database File

Database Files

DMP file extension

Windows Memory Dump

System Files

DOC file extension

Microsoft Word Document

Text Files

JAVA file extension

Java Source Code File

Developer Files

JPG file extension

JPEG Image

Raster Image Files

PL file extension

Perl Script

Developer Files

PLUGIN file extension

Mac OS X Plug-in

Plugin Files

PPS file extension

PowerPoint Slide Show

Data Files

PPTX file extension

PowerPoint Open XML Presentation

Data Files

PSPIMAGE file extension

PaintShop Pro Image

Raster Image Files

SH file extension

Bash Shell Script

Developer Files

VB file extension

VBScript File

Executable Files