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

BMP file extension

Bitmap Image File

Raster Image Files

CSV file extension

Comma Separated Values File

Data Files

DLL file extension

Dynamic Link Library

System Files

DMP file extension

Windows Memory Dump

System Files

HQX file extension

BinHex 4.0 Encoded File

Encoded Files

ICNS file extension

Mac OS X Icon Resource File

System Files

IFF file extension

Interchange File Format

Audio Files

M4A file extension

MPEG-4 Audio File

Audio Files

OBJ file extension

Wavefront 3D Object File

3D Image Files

PAGES file extension

Pages Document

Text Files

PPTX file extension

PowerPoint Open XML Presentation

Data Files

RPM file extension

Red Hat Package Manager File

Compressed Files

THM file extension

Thumbnail Image File

Raster Image Files

TMP file extension

Temporary File

Backup Files

ZIPX file extension

Extended Zip File

Compressed Files