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

ASP file extension

Active Server Page

Web Files

CRDOWNLOAD file extension

Chrome Partially Downloaded File

Misc Files

CRX file extension

Chrome Extension

Plugin Files

DMP file extension

Windows Memory Dump

System Files

FLV file extension

Flash Video File

Video Files

GAM file extension

Saved Game File

Game Files

GED file extension

GEDCOM Genealogy Data File

Data Files

JSP file extension

Java Server Page

Web Files

M4A file extension

MPEG-4 Audio File

Audio Files

PART file extension

Partially Downloaded File

Misc Files

PHP file extension

PHP Source Code File

Web Files

PL file extension

Perl Script

Developer Files

PS file extension

PostScript File

Vector Image Files

UUE file extension

Uuencoded File

Encoded Files

XHTML file extension

Extensible Hypertext Markup Language File

Web Files