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

ASF file extension

Advanced Systems Format File

Video Files

DNG file extension

Digital Negative Image File

Camera Raw Files

GADGET file extension

Windows Gadget

Executable Files

GPX file extension

GPS Exchange File

GIS Files

ICS file extension

iCalendar File

Misc Files

JAVA file extension

Java Source Code File

Developer Files

KMZ file extension

Google Earth Placemark File

GIS Files

MID file extension

MIDI File

Audio Files

MSG file extension

Outlook Mail Message

Text Files

PLUGIN file extension

Mac OS X Plug-in

Plugin Files

PS file extension

PostScript File

Vector Image Files

RPM file extension

Red Hat Package Manager File

Compressed Files

TAR file extension

Consolidated Unix File Archive

Data Files

VCD file extension

Virtual CD

Disk Image Files

3G2 file extension

3GPP2 Multimedia File

Video Files