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

CRDOWNLOAD file extension

Chrome Partially Downloaded File

Misc Files

DB file extension

Database File

Database Files

EXE file extension

Windows Executable File

Executable Files

GAM file extension

Saved Game File

Game Files

GED file extension

GEDCOM Genealogy Data File

Data Files

HTML file extension

Hypertext Markup Language File

Web Files

LNK file extension

Windows File Shortcut

System Files

LOG file extension

Log File

Text Files

PPTX file extension

PowerPoint Open XML Presentation

Data Files

PS file extension

PostScript File

Vector Image Files

SVG file extension

Scalable Vector Graphics File

Vector Image Files

SWF file extension

Shockwave Flash Movie

Video Files

TORRENT file extension

BitTorrent File

Misc Files

VB file extension

VBScript File

Executable Files