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

ACCDB file extension

Access 2007 Database File

Database Files

APP file extension

Mac OS X Application

Executable Files

CFM file extension

ColdFusion Markup File

Web Files

GZ file extension

Gnu Zipped Archive

Compressed Files

INI file extension

Windows Initialization File

Settings Files

LNK file extension

Windows File Shortcut

System Files

RSS file extension

Rich Site Summary

Web Files

SAV file extension

Saved Game

Game Files

SH file extension

Bash Shell Script

Developer Files

TEX file extension

LaTeX Source Document

Text Files

TGA file extension

Targa Graphic

Raster Image Files

TMP file extension

Temporary File

Backup Files

TXT file extension

Plain Text File

Text Files

XCODEPROJ file extension

Xcode Project

Developer Files

XML file extension

XML File

Data Files