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

ASP file extension

Active Server Page

Web Files

GBR file extension

Gerber File

Data Files

ICO file extension

Icon File

System Files

KML file extension

Keyhole Markup Language File

GIS Files

LUA file extension

Lua Source File

Developer Files

PDB file extension

Program Database

Database Files

PIF file extension

Program Information File

Executable Files

PLUGIN file extension

Mac OS X Plug-in

Plugin Files

RAR file extension

WinRAR Compressed Archive

Compressed Files

SH file extension

Bash Shell Script

Developer Files

TGA file extension

Targa Graphic

Raster Image Files

TMP file extension

Temporary File

Backup Files

TTF file extension

TrueType Font

Font Files

XCODEPROJ file extension

Xcode Project

Developer Files

3GP file extension

3GPP Multimedia File

Video Files