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

AIF file extension

Audio Interchange File Format

Audio Files

CPL file extension

Windows Control Panel Item

System Files

CPP file extension

C++ Source Code File

Developer Files

DB file extension

Database File

Database Files

DNG file extension

Digital Negative Image File

Camera Raw Files

DXF file extension

Drawing Exchange Format File

CAD Files

JAR file extension

Java Archive File

Executable Files

M3U file extension

Media Playlist File

Audio Files

MPA file extension

MPEG-2 Audio File

Audio Files

OBJ file extension

Wavefront 3D Object File

3D Image Files

PPT file extension

PowerPoint Presentation

Data Files

RPM file extension

Red Hat Package Manager File

Compressed Files

RSS file extension

Rich Site Summary

Web Files

SH file extension

Bash Shell Script

Developer Files

TMP file extension

Temporary File

Backup Files