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

DB file extension

Database File

Database Files

DMP file extension

Windows Memory Dump

System Files

EPS file extension

Encapsulated PostScript File

Vector Image Files

JSP file extension

Java Server Page

Web Files

LOG file extension

Log File

Text Files

LUA file extension

Lua Source File

Developer Files

NES file extension

Nintendo (NES) ROM File

Game Files

PPTX file extension

PowerPoint Open XML Presentation

Data Files

ROM file extension

N64 Game ROM File

Game Files

SQL file extension

Structured Query Language Data File

Database Files

TEX file extension

LaTeX Source Document

Text Files

WAV file extension

WAVE Audio File

Audio Files

WMV file extension

Windows Media Video File

Video Files

WSF file extension

Windows Script File

Executable Files

3GP file extension

3GPP Multimedia File

Video Files