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

AI file extension

Adobe Illustrator File

Vector Image Files

AIF file extension

Audio Interchange File Format

Audio Files

APK file extension

Android Package File

Executable Files

DMP file extension

Windows Memory Dump

System Files

DRV file extension

Device Driver

System Files

H file extension

C/C++/Objective-C Header File

Developer Files

ICO file extension

Icon File

System Files

IFF file extension

Interchange File Format

Audio Files

JPG file extension

JPEG Image

Raster Image Files

KMZ file extension

Google Earth Placemark File

GIS Files

LUA file extension

Lua Source File

Developer Files

PART file extension

Partially Downloaded File

Misc Files

PHP file extension

PHP Source Code File

Web Files

TIF file extension

Tagged Image File

Raster Image Files

XML file extension

XML File

Data Files