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

BIN file extension

Binary Disc Image

Disk Image Files

DEB file extension

Debian Software Package

Compressed Files

DXF file extension

Drawing Exchange Format File

CAD Files

GBR file extension

Gerber File

Data Files

KML file extension

Keyhole Markup Language File

GIS Files

LUA file extension

Lua Source File

Developer Files

M4A file extension

MPEG-4 Audio File

Audio Files

OTF file extension

OpenType Font

Font Files

PNG file extension

Portable Network Graphic

Raster Image Files

RM file extension

Real Media File

Video Files

RPM file extension

Red Hat Package Manager File

Compressed Files

SRT file extension

SubRip Subtitle File

Video Files

VB file extension

VBScript File

Executable Files

WAV file extension

WAVE Audio File

Audio Files

WPS file extension

Microsoft Works Word Processor Document

Text Files