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What Is A File Extension

File extensions indicate a file's format by including a suffix after the file name with a period. Common extensions include .txt for plain text, .jpeg or .png for images, .doc or .pdf for documents, and .zip or .tar for compressed files. An operating system uses the file extension to determine which program to open the file with in order to properly display the file's contents based on its format. While file extensions provide a guideline, changing an extension does not actually change the file's underlying format.

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421 views

What Is A File Extension

File extensions indicate a file's format by including a suffix after the file name with a period. Common extensions include .txt for plain text, .jpeg or .png for images, .doc or .pdf for documents, and .zip or .tar for compressed files. An operating system uses the file extension to determine which program to open the file with in order to properly display the file's contents based on its format. While file extensions provide a guideline, changing an extension does not actually change the file's underlying format.

Uploaded by

hsejmal12345
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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What is a file extension (file format)?

In computing, a file extension is a suffix added to the name of a


file to indicate the file's layout, in terms of how the data within
the file is organized. A file's data must be organized in the
correct format to ensure that it can be accessed by
the software program associated with the specific file type. File
extensions also provide users with quick insight into the types
of files they're working with.

A file extension comes after the period in a filename and is


typically made upof three or four alphanumeric characters that
identify the file's format. For example, in a file
named testfile1.txt, the extension is txt, which indicates that the
underlying file is a plain text document. However, in a file
named testfile2.jpeg, the extension is jpeg, which indicates that
this is a graphic file that conforms to the Joint Photographic
Experts Group (JPEG) format.

A filename can include multiple periods, as in testfile.3.2.csv. In


most cases, the extension includes only the characters after the
final period. There are exceptions, however, such as the
extension tar.gz, which is used for a certain type of compressed
archive file. Sometimes, a file might appear to have a two-part
extension, as in testfile4.xlsx.exe, but this is often a ploy used
by hackers to send what appears to be a legitimate file that is
actually an executable file whose purpose is to damage or
infiltrate a system.

A file extension can be as short as one or two characters, or it can be


much longer than average, such as the .catproduct extension. Whatever
the extension, an operating system must be able to recognize it in order
to associate it with the correct program. If the OS cannot determine the
correct program, the user must specify which one to use.
Types of file extensions
The world of computing is full of file extensions, too many to list in a single
article. Each one attempts to telegraph the format of the underling file so
the OS knows how to handle that file. Here is just a small sampling of some
of the more common file extensions:

 Text and word processing files. doc, docx, odt, pages, rtf,
txt, wpd, wps.

 Spreadsheet files. csv, numbers, ods, xls, xlsx.


 Web-related files. asp, aspx, css, htm, html, jsp, php, xml.
 Image files. bmp, gif, ico, jpeg, jpg, png, raw, tif, tiff.
 Audio and video files. aif, mov, mp3, mp4, mpg, wav, wma,
wmv.

 Draw program files. afdesign, ai, cad, cdr, drw, dwg, eps,
odg, svg, vsdx.

 Page layout files. afpub, indd, pdf, pdfxml, pmd, pub, qxp.
 Programming files. c, cpp, cs, java, js, json, py, sql, swift, vb.
 Compression and archive files. 7z, rar, tar, tar.gz, zip.
 System files. bak, cfg, conf, ini, msi, sys, tmp.
 Executable program files. app, bat, bin, cmd, com, exe,
vbs, x86.

There are thousands of other file extensions as well. They're used for
databases, vector images, disk images, presentation software, email
programs, virtual environments, file encoding, GPS software and a variety of
other purposes.
There are also thousands of software programs, so it's not surprising that
some file extensions are associated with multiple file formats and
applications. For instance, the .prf extension might be used for Microsoft
Outlook.
Operating systems and file extensions

An operating system might rely solely on the file extension to


determine which application to use, or it might also rely on
file metadata. Each OS varies in terms of how it uses
extensions when matching files to applications and the degree
to which it uses them. Windows, for example, relies heavily on
file extensions and cannot open files without them. Linux relies
on extensions when they're available, but it can also use the
Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) identifier that is
associated with each file.

Regardless of how an OS handles file extensions, the


extensions themselves do nothing more than indicate what a
file's underlying format is supposed to be. An extension does
not guarantee a file's actual format, nor does changing the
extension affect that format. If the name of a PDF file contains
a .pdf extension, the OS will open that file in the default PDF
viewer. If the file's extension is then changed to .txt, the OS will
instead try to open the file in a text editor. Even if it succeeds,
however, most of the file's content will be displayed as
gibberish.

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