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

AIF file extension

Audio Interchange File Format

Audio Files

EPS file extension

Encapsulated PostScript File

Vector Image Files

FON file extension

Generic Font File

Font Files

GAM file extension

Saved Game File

Game Files

GIF file extension

Graphical Interchange Format File

Raster Image Files

ODT file extension

OpenDocument Text Document

Text Files

PDB file extension

Program Database

Database Files

PS file extension

PostScript File

Vector Image Files

PSPIMAGE file extension

PaintShop Pro Image

Raster Image Files

RM file extension

Real Media File

Video Files

SAV file extension

Saved Game

Game Files

SLN file extension

Visual Studio Solution File

Developer Files

SQL file extension

Structured Query Language Data File

Database Files

TEX file extension

LaTeX Source Document

Text Files

VCF file extension

vCard File

Data Files