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

AVI file extension

Audio Video Interleave File

Video Files

FON file extension

Generic Font File

Font Files

GBR file extension

Gerber File

Data Files

H file extension

C/C++/Objective-C Header File

Developer Files

ICO file extension

Icon File

System Files

JS file extension

JavaScript File

Web Files

KEY file extension

Keynote Presentation

Data Files

MDB file extension

Microsoft Access Database

Database Files

MID file extension

MIDI File

Audio Files

PDF file extension

Portable Document Format File

Layout Files

PIF file extension

Program Information File

Executable Files

RAR file extension

WinRAR Compressed Archive

Compressed Files

ROM file extension

N64 Game ROM File

Game Files

TEX file extension

LaTeX Source Document

Text Files

TGA file extension

Targa Graphic

Raster Image Files