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

DBF file extension

Database File

Database Files

DOC file extension

Microsoft Word Document

Text Files

DRV file extension

Device Driver

System Files

HTM file extension

Hypertext Markup Language File

Web Files

JAVA file extension

Java Source Code File

Developer Files

LOG file extension

Log File

Text Files

M4A file extension

MPEG-4 Audio File

Audio Files

MID file extension

MIDI File

Audio Files

PS file extension

PostScript File

Vector Image Files

RTF file extension

Rich Text Format File

Text Files

SVG file extension

Scalable Vector Graphics File

Vector Image Files

TAX2012 file extension

TurboTax 2012 Tax Return

Data Files

TGA file extension

Targa Graphic

Raster Image Files

XCODEPROJ file extension

Xcode Project

Developer Files

YUV file extension

YUV Encoded Image File

Raster Image Files