A File Extension or filename extension is a suffix at the end of computer file. It comes after the period (dot) and is two, three or four character. File Extension are used by the operating system like Windows to open the particular file.
File Extension also indicates file type or file format. For Example file name is "home.docx". The "docs" file extension is associated with microsoft word or for the documents of your computer.
Importance of File Extension
File Identification:
It allows computer or users to quickly identify the nature of the file content. This provide simple method of keeping all the files of the same type together, making search through lists of files quickly.
Security:
It provide the user with a means of verifying the trustworthiness of a file. For example, an EXE file attached to an email from an unknown sender may indicate that the email is malicious. This ".exe" file extension indicates that the attachment is an executable file, rather than a normal attachment. On the other hand, an email with a TXT file, which only contains plain text, attached is not likely to harm the computer.
Applications:
Windows uses file extensions to determine how it opens different types of files. When a user double-clicks on a file to open it, Windows will open it with the application associated with that file's extension. The Windows system configuration maintains a list of applications and their associated file extensions. These are called "default programs." If a particular file extension is registered with a program, Windows will start that program whenever the user elects to open a file with that extension
Common Types of File Extension in Windows 10
Extension Format
aac, adt, adts Windows audio file
accdb Microsoft Access database file
accde Microsoft Access execute-only file
accdr Microsoft Access runtime database
accdt Microsoft Access database template
aif, aifc, aiff Audio Interchange File format file
aspx ASP.NET Active Server page
avi Audio Video Interleave movie or sound file
bat PC batch file
bin Binary compressed file
bmp Bitmap file
cab Windows Cabinet file
cda CD Audio Track
csv Comma-separated values file
dif Spreadsheet data interchange format file
dll Dynamic Link Library file
doc Microsoft Word document before Word 2007
docm Microsoft Word macro-enabled document
docx Microsoft Word document
dot Microsoft Word template before Word 2007
dotx Microsoft Word template
eml Email file created by Outlook Express, Windows Live Mail, and other programs
eps Encapsulated Postscript file
exe Executable program file
flv Flash-compatible video file
gif Graphical Interchange Format file
htm, html Hypertext markup language page
ini Windows initialization configuration file
iso ISO-9660 disc image
jar Java architecture file
jpg, jpeg Joint Photographic Experts Group photo file
m4a MPEG-4 audio file
mdb Microsoft Access database before Access 2007
mid, midi Musical Instrument Digital Interface file
mov Apple QuickTime movie file
mp3 MPEG layer 3 audio file
mp4 MPEG 4 video
mp4 MPEG 4 video
mpeg Moving Picture Experts Group movie file
mpg MPEG 1 system stream
msi Microsoft installer file
mui Multilingual User Interface file
pdf Portable Document Format file
png Portable Network Graphics file
ppt Microsoft PowerPoint template before PowerPoint 2007
potm Microsoft PowerPoint macro-enabled template
potx Microsoft PowerPoint template
ppam Microsoft PowerPoint add-in
pps Microsoft PowerPoint slideshow before PowerPoint 2007
ppsm Microsoft PowerPoint macro-enabled slideshow
ppsx Microsoft PowerPoint slideshow
ppt Microsoft PowerPoint format before PowerPoint 2007
pptm Microsoft PowerPoint macro-enabled presentation
pptx Microsoft PowerPoint presentation
psd Adobe Photoshop file
pst Outlook data store
pub Microsoft Publisher file
rar Roshal Archive compressed file
rtf Rich Text Format file
sldm Microsoft PowerPoint macro-enabled slide
sldx Microsoft PowerPoint slide
swf Shockwave Flash file
sys Microsoft DOS and Windows system settings and variables file
tif, tiff Tagged Image Format file
tmp Temporary data file
txt Unformatted text file
vob Video object file
vsd Microsoft Visio drawing before Visio 2013
vsdm Microsoft Visio macro-enabled drawing
vsdx Microsoft Visio drawing file
vss Microsoft Visio stencil before Visio 2013
vssm Microsoft Visio macro-enabled stencil
vst Microsoft Visio template before Visio 2013
vstm Microsoft Visio macro-enabled template
vstx Microsoft Visio template
wav Wave audio file
wbk Microsoft Word backup document
wks Microsoft Works file
wma Windows Media Audio file
wmd Windows Media Download file
wmv Windows Media Video file
wmz, wms Windows Media skins file
wpd, wp5 WordPerfect document
xla Microsoft Excel add-in or macro file
xlam Microsoft Excel add-in after Excel 2007
xll Microsoft Excel DLL-based add-in
xlm Microsoft Excel macro before Excel 2007
xls Microsoft Excel workbook before Excel 2007
xlsm Microsoft Excel macro-enabled workbook after Excel 2007
xlsx Microsoft Excel workbook after Excel 2007
xlt Microsoft Excel template before Excel 2007
xltm Microsoft Excel macro-enabled template after Excel 2007
xltx Microsoft Excel template after Excel 2007
xps XML-based document
zip Compressed file
Sofia Sondh
The Tech Platform