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

CSV file extension

Comma Separated Values File

Data Files

DBF file extension

Database File

Database Files

DOCX file extension

Microsoft Word Open XML Document

Text Files

FLV file extension

Flash Video File

Video Files

GBR file extension

Gerber File

Data Files

GZ file extension

Gnu Zipped Archive

Compressed Files

MDB file extension

Microsoft Access Database

Database Files

OBJ file extension

Wavefront 3D Object File

3D Image Files

PDF file extension

Portable Document Format File

Layout Files

PHP file extension

PHP Source Code File

Web Files

SH file extension

Bash Shell Script

Developer Files

SRT file extension

SubRip Subtitle File

Video Files

TARGZ file extension

Compressed Tarball File

Compressed Files

VCXPROJ file extension

Visual C++ Project

Developer Files

WPS file extension

Microsoft Works Word Processor Document

Text Files