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

ASF file extension

Advanced Systems Format File

Video Files

CFM file extension

ColdFusion Markup File

Web Files

CRDOWNLOAD file extension

Chrome Partially Downloaded File

Misc Files

DB file extension

Database File

Database Files

DMP file extension

Windows Memory Dump

System Files

GBR file extension

Gerber File

Data Files

IFF file extension

Interchange File Format

Audio Files

M4V file extension

iTunes Video File

Video Files

PL file extension

Perl Script

Developer Files

PS file extension

PostScript File

Vector Image Files

RSS file extension

Rich Site Summary

Web Files

SITX file extension

StuffIt X Archive

Compressed Files

SVG file extension

Scalable Vector Graphics File

Vector Image Files

XML file extension

XML File

Data Files

3DM file extension

Rhino 3D Model

3D Image Files