All the most used file extensions in

Windows

Ruben Velasco | Updated July 15, 2021 ■

https://www.softzone.es/programas/sistema/extensiones-archivos-windows/

Typically, the names of all files

Windows are divided into two parts. The first of them is its
identifying name. This helps us know what file it is at a glance.
And the second of the parts, separates the extension by a point.
This extension allows the operating system to know what type of
content the file has, what it is and what program it should open it
with by default when we double-click on it. While we can change
the name without problems, giving the wrong extension to a file
can make it unusable.
When we install a program on our computer, it will normally ask us if we want to
use it as the default program to open certain types of files. For example, if we
install AIMP Player it will allow us to open MP3s by default, while VLC will do the
same with videos.

In addition to automatic file associations, Windows allows us to choose with

which program we want to open each of the extensions.
files. If the extension is unknown, when double-clicking, a window like the following will appear
in which we can choose the program we want.

How to assign applications to certain extensions

in Windows
But that's not all, the Redmond operating system also allows us to manually assign file formats
to certain programs. We can achieve all this manually in order to customize the execution of files
as much as possible depending on our preferences. This is something that we are going to
achieve from the Settings application of Windows itself. To access it, we can do it through the
Win + I key combination.

In this way, once we are in Settings , in the window that appears we have to click on the section
called Applications. Thus, in the left panel we see a Default Applications section, where we click
to then select the Choose default applications by file type link. At that moment on screen
A huge list will appear with all the file types recognized by the operating system. This is what
will allow us to choose, one by one, the programs that we want to be used to open each file
according to its extension.

In this way we will only have to click on the type that interests us in this case, and then assign a
program with which it will open by default from this moment on. Perhaps the most complicated
thing is to locate exactly the format we want from among the many that we see here. It is
interesting to know therefore that they are placed in alphabetical order .

Setting

G Choose default apps by are type

Associate file types with specific applications

Name Default application

.001 PeaZip, file and archive manager

Split file

.032
Choose a default value
File 032

.123
OpenOffice.org Spreadsheet 1.1 LibreOffice

Choose a default value

Adobe Photoshop CC 2019

Ps

Adobe Photoshop CC 2019

Ps
.386
Virtual device driver

.3ds
Or Movies and TV

3DS file
VLC media player
.3fr
BFR file

,3g2
3G2 file Or Movies and TV

.3ga
3GA Audio File (VLC)

.3gp
3GP file
How to see the extension of any
Windows file
By default, Windows hides known file extensions. This allows Windows windows
to be a little more tidy, but at a security level it leaves a lot to be desired. since
we can easily fall into the deception of “ double extension ”.

Name Modification date Type Size

•SoftZone.soft 05/0272020 17:32 SOFT file

1KB

If we want to show file extensions in Windows, what we need to do is open a

File Explorer window, choose the "View" tab and make sure that the "File name
extensions" option is checked.

We can now see the real extensions of all the files we have on our computer.
But now comes the most important thing: knowing the most common ones and
with what programs we can run each of them.

File types by extension

Next, we are going to see what are the most common types of extensions that
we can find.

Document Extensions

Office automation is one of the most common tasks of any computer system.
Every day we work with Office, or other similar programs, to create documents,
spreadsheets, slide presentations, and more.

In addition, it is also very common to work with plain, unformatted text files.
• TXT: plain, unformatted text files.
• DOC: Word documents. This format is obsolete, as it belongs to old
versions of Office.

• DOCX: default format for Word documents. This format does not allow
macros to be executed.

• DOCM: same as DOCX, but with macros enabled.

• ODT: text document in OpenDocument format, ideal for use with
alternative suites like LibreOffice.

• PDF: Adobe Acrobat format. Protect the style and avoid modifications.
• RTF: Rich text format, perfect for sharing between different
operating systems.

• CSV: open format to represent any type of data in table form.

• XLS: Excel documents. This format is obsolete, as it belongs to old

versions of Office.

• XLSX: default format for Excel documents. This format does not allow
macros to be executed.

• XLSM: Same as XLSX, but with macros enabled.

• ODS: spreadsheet in OpenDocument format, ideal for use with
alternative office suites such as LibreOffice.

• PPS – PowerPoint slideshow set to always open in presentation mode.

This format is obsolete, as it belongs to old versions of Office.

• PPT – PowerPoint Slide Presentation. This format is obsolete, as it

belongs to old versions of Office.

• PPSX: PowerPoint default format to open the file in presentation mode.

This format does not allow macros to be executed.

• PPTX: PowerPoint default format. This format does not allow macros to
be executed.
• PPSM: same as PPSX, but with macros.
• PPTM: same as PPTX, but with macros.
• POTX: Microsoft PowerPoint template.

• ODP: OpenDocument slide presentation format, ideal for use with

alternative office suites such as LibreOffice.
If we are trying to open documents, the most common thing is to use word
processors, such as Word or LibreOffice Writer. In the case of spreadsheets, the
most common is to use Excel or Calc. And in the case of slide presentations we
have programs like PowerPoint and Impress.

For plain text files, Windows Notepad itself, or other editors such as Visual
Studio Code, will allow us to open them without problems.

Audio extensions
If we like to listen to music on our computer, or create our own music, we must
know the main audio formats that we will encounter in our daily lives:

• MP3: standard music codec with compression.

• WMA: Audio format developed by Microsoft with compression and

possible DRM.
• WAV: digital audio format with or without compression.
• FLAC: high-fidelity, lossless digital audio format.

• MIDI: protocol for data transfer, with sound information, 8 bits.

• OGG: free audio codec, very popular as an alternative to MP3.

• M3U: playlist.

Video extensions
Just as with audio, video clips also have their own default formats. Depending
on the codec used, and many other factors, we can find common video file
extensions such as:

• AVI: Audio and video container that can contain multiple streams of audio
and video data.

• DIVX: format used to store high definition and quality video files.

• MOV: format used by QuickTime.

• MP4: format capable of storing multimedia content such as audio, video
and subtitles.

• MPG: format with low quality loss compression.

• MKV: video container format that saves audio and video separately.
 • WMV: video format developed by Microsoft with compression and
possible DRM.

• WPL – Windows Media Player Playlist.

To open these files we will need a video player. VLC, for example, is one of the
best video players that we can find for this purpose.

Photo extensions
Just like audio and video, photos must also have their own multimedia format.
Depending on the type of photo, quality and compression we can find these
common file extensions:

• JPEG / JPG: format most used in digital images, with compression and
loss.

• PNG: graphic format with lossless compression. Supports transparencies.

• BMP: bitmap image.
• ICO: icon file.
• SVG: vector graphics image.
• WEBP: image format with compression developed by Google for the web.
• GIF: animated images.
• PSD: Adobe Photoshop project.
• HEIC: image format used by Apple in macOS and iOS.

• NEF/CRW: RAW image format, used by Nikon and Canon cameras.

• AI: Adobe Illustrator project.

• ID: Adobe InDesign project.

Depending on the type of photo, we can open them with one program or
another. For example, if it is a Photoshop project we will need Adobe software, if
we are opening a RAW image we will do it with software like Camera RAW, or if
they are normal photos with Windows' own photo viewer.

Windows extensions
Windows, of course, has its own file types. These are normally recognized and
used by the operating system itself, so we don't have to worry about them. The
most common ones that we can encounter daily are:
 • EXE: Windows executable.
• LNK: direct access.
• BATT:script for CMD.
• COM: MS-DOS application.
• PS1: PowerShell script.
• DLL: libraries with code necessary for programs to work.
• M: YES:installer.
• SYS: critical system files. It is not recommended to touch or delete them.
• TTF: TrueType font.
• OTF: OpenType font.
• INI: configuration file.
• SCR: screen protector.

INF: installation information.

• BIN: binary file.
• ANI: Animated Windows Cursor.
• BFC: briefcase.
• BKF: Windows backup.
• CER: digital certificate.
• THEME: theme for Windows 10.
• TMP: temporary file.
• CLASS: Java code file.
• C: C code file.
• CPP: C++ code file.
• JAVA: Java code file.
• VBS: Visual Basic code.

These files are usually associated with the system itself, so we will not need
additional software to open them.

Compressed file extensions

Compressing files is very useful since it allows us to group a large number of
files in the same package, reduce their size, and allow us to easily share them
with other people over the Internet. The most used formats for compressed files
are:

• ZIP: format developed by WinZIP.

• RAR: compression format developed by WinRAR that is more efficient

than ZIP.

• RAR5: renewed version of RAR with security and data recovery

improvements.
• 7Z: free format developed by the creator of 7-Zip.
• ACE: archive compressed with WinACE.
• R00, R01, etc: WinRAR archive divided into parts.
• GZ: GZIP compressed file, very common in Linux.
• tar.bz2 – Another Linux compressed file format.

WinRAR, PeaZip, 7-Zip or Bandizip are excellent programs for opening all types
of compressed formats.

CD or DVD image extensions

A disk image is a copy of all its contents and packaged within a container. The
most common extensions for disk image files are:

• ISO: image format par excellence.

• CUE: Disc data (such as audio tracks, titles, duration, etc.) is saved as
plain, ASCII text files. It contains instructions to read the BIN that
accompanies it.
• IMG: widely used, for example, to create literal copies of memory cards
or other drives.

Disc burners, such as Nero, or image mounting programs, such as Daemon

Tools, will allow us to work with these file types. In addition, we can also use the
previous compressors, which will allow us to access all the data within these
disk images.

Internet extensions
The Internet also has its own file extensions used primarily by web pages and
email services. The most common extensions are:
 • HTML: text file with code for a web page.
• XML: markup language file.
• URL: HTML document.
• CSS: style extension that accompanies HTML.
• JS: JavaScript script.
• PHP: PHP code.
• EML/MSG: email format.
• SWF/SPL: Flash Player file.

To open these common file extensions we will need a web browser, such as
Google Chrome, Edge or Firefox.
We can learn more information about the most common file types and
extensions in the following Microsoft link .

How to open a file of unknown format

Windows, by default, will not be able to open any file with an extension not
registered in the operating system. If we try, we will see a window like the
following one that will tell us that Windows does not know how to open the file.

How do you want to open this file?

Search for an app in the Microsoft Store

More applications

> Always use this application to open .sz files

Accept

We can try to search the Microsoft Store for the type of file we want to open, or
explore all the programs installed on the computer to choose the one we want.
But the best thing we can do is do a quick Google search to find out exactly
what type of file we are trying to open.

What extensions do viruses usually

have?
To avoid falling into the hands of hackers, one of the aspects in which we must
be more careful is with viruses. Viruses, or malware in general, are malicious
programs that make changes to the system to allow unauthorized users to
access our data, steal personal and confidential information from us, or hijack
our data. But what extensions do these malicious programs use?

As they are binary executables, the most common thing is that viruses, Trojans
and other threats come within an .exe executable. In addition, these executables
usually call .dll libraries that store the malware's instructions so that it can work
without problems. In some cases, these threats may also come in the form of
command programs, .cmd, or PowerShell scripts, .ps. In the past, viruses also
came in the form of Visual Basic scripts, such as .vbs.

As we can see, there is no ".virus" extension as such that allows us to easily

identify these threats.