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File Extensions

A guide to various types of File Extensions

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jamesgnolan1
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14 views3 pages

File Extensions

A guide to various types of File Extensions

Uploaded by

jamesgnolan1
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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File extensions

Below is a list of the most important file extensions for text, image, video, and various other
digital files.

What is a file extension?


A file extension (also known as a file type) is the last part of a file name. This element is
separated from the actual file name by a dot and typically consists of three to four characters.
The file extension can be used to identify the type of file format as well as which applications can
be used to open and edit the file.

For example, a PDF file is a Portable Document Format file which can be opened with programs
such as Adobe Reader. Since file extensions are not standardized, it is possible for one
extension to be used for different file types. Some operating systems hide file extensions so that
inexperienced users cannot accidentally modify them.

The most common file extensions in a list


In the following sections, we have provided tables summarizing the most important extensions
for various types of computer files such as images, text documents, videos, and system files.

File extensions for image files

Extension Description Format

.bmp BMP (also called bitmap) is a two-dimensional raster Graphics format


graphics format developed for Microsoft and IBM operating
systems.

.gif GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) is a special graphics Graphics format


format for images, animations, and short clips.

.jpg, .jpeg The JPEG format (Joint Photographic Experts Group) is Graphics format
one of the most common graphics formats. It has a
comparatively small file size while maintaining high image
quality.

.png PNG stands for Portable Network Graphics and is a Graphics format
commonly used graphics format with lossless data
compression.
File extensions for text files and other documents

Extension Description Format

.doc, .docx These are the two file extensions for Microsoft Word text Text file
documents. In addition to text, these files can also contain
images and graphics.

.pdf Adobe’s PDF file extension (Portable Document Document format


Format) is probably the most commonly used file format
across the Internet. PDFs can contain text, images,
graphics, videos, and audio.

.ppt, .pptx PPT and PPTX, which were introduced in 2007, are file Presentation file
extensions for editable files created in the popular Microsoft
presentation program PowerPoint.

.txt The TXT file extension identifies plain text Text file
documents that contain no formatting or images.

.xls, .xlsx XLS and XLSX identify files created in the Microsoft Spreadsheet file
spreadsheet program Excel.

Audio files

Extension Description Format

.mp3 MP3 (MPEG Audio Layer 3) is the best known and most Audio file
widely used format for audio files.

.wma WMA (Windows Media Audio) is a compressed audio Audio file


format.

.wav, .wave WAVE (Waveform Audio File Format) is a container Audio file
format for the lossless storage of audio files.

Video files

Extension Description Format

.avi AVI (Audio Video Interleave) is a video container format Video format
created by Microsoft.

.mov MOV is a file format developed for Apple’s QuickTime Video format
Player.

.mp4 MP4 is a modern video format designed for MPEG-4 Video format
content.
Compressed data files

Extension Description Format

.zip ZIP is probably the most popular file format Archive file
for compressing files.

Executable files

Extension Description Format

.bat BAT (batch file) is a script file containing a series of Batch file
executable commands.

.com The COM file extension (command) identifies executable Executable file
programs in MS-DOS.

.exe The EXE file extension identifies executable applications Executable file
in Windows-based systems.

File extensions for web file formats

Extension Description Format

.html HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) is a text-based Document format


markup language.

.xml XML (Extensible Markup Language) is a text-based Document format


markup language.

Email files

Extension Description Format

.msg MSG is the file extension for emails in Microsoft Outlook. Email file

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