Question

file extensions at a glance

Answer 1

What exactly are file extensions?
The most common file extensions

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Do you have a file whose extension you do not know? Here you can find out what kind of file it is..

Some file extensions are very common, such as .pdf or .mp3. You know immediately that this is a PDF file and a music file. But what about .rar or .tif? If you don't know, that's not a problem. Because here you will find out everything you need to know about file extensions.

• What exactly are file extensions?
• The most common file extensions

What exactly are file extensions?

A file extension, or file name extension, is the last part of a file name. This is separated from the actual file name by a period. The extension of a file tells you what kind of file it is and which program you can use to open it.

There are tons of different file extensions. There are over 10 extensions for video files alone. You can't possibly remember them all. That is why we have listed the most common file extensions below.

The most common file extensions

We have summarized and explained the most important file extensions for you here:

Text files

file extension	Explanation	format
.asc	ASCII	Text file
.doc	Document	Microsoft Word Document
.odt	OpenDocument Text	OpenOffice text document
.pdf	Portable Document Format	Text format
.pps	PowerPoint show	PowerPoint file
.rtf	Rich Text Format	Text file
.txt	Pure text document without formatting	Text file
.xls	Excel Spreadsheet File	Spreadsheet file with Excel

file extension	Explanation	format
.asc	ASCII	Text file
.doc	Document	Microsoft Word Document
.odt	OpenDocument Text	OpenOffice text document
.pdf	Portable Document Format	Text format
.pps	PowerPoint show	PowerPoint file
.rtf	Rich Text Format	Text file
.txt	Pure text document without formatting	Text file
.xls	Excel Spreadsheet File	Spreadsheet file with Excel

Audio, image and video files

file extension	Explanation	format
.avi	Audio video interleave	Video file
.bmp	Bitmap Image File	Graphic format
.dss	Digital soup sound	Voice recording file
.gif	Graphics Interchange Format	Graphic format
.jpeg	Joint Photographic Experts Group	Graphic format
.mov	Movie	Video file
.mp3	Motion Picture Experts Group-3	Music file
.mp4	Motion Picture Experts Group-4	Video file
.png	Portable Network Graphics	Graphic format
.R.A.M	REAL Audio Media	Streaming audio file
.rmvb	RealMedia variable bit rate	Video file
.tif	Tagged Image File	Graphic format
.wav	Wave audio	Audio file
.wmf	Windows Meta File	Clipart graphic file

file extension	Explanation	format
.avi	Audio video interleave	Video file
.bmp	Bitmap Image File	Graphic format
.dss	Digital soup sound	Voice recording file
.gif	Graphics Interchange Format	Graphic format
.jpeg	Joint Photographic Experts Group	Graphic format
.mov	Movie	Video file
.mp3	Motion Picture Experts Group-3	Music file
.mp4	Motion Picture Experts Group-4	Videodatei
.png	Portable Network Graphics	Grafikformat
.ram	REAL Audio Media	Streaming-Audiodatei
.rmvb	RealMedia Variable Bitrate	Videodatei
.tif	Tagged Image File	Grafikformat
.wav	Wave Audio	Audiodatei
.wmf	Windows Meta File	Clipart-Grafikdatei

Compressed files

file extension	Explanation	format
.am	Binary	Compression program files
.rar	Roshal Archives	packed RAR archive
.zip	Zone Information Protocol	packed ZIP archive

Dateiendung	Erklärung	Format
.bin	Binary	Komprimierungsprogramm-Dateien
.rar	Roshal Archive	gepacktes RAR-Archiv
.zip	Zone Information Protocol	gepacktes ZIP-Archiv

System files

file extension	Explanation	format
.ani	Animated cursor	Windows cursor file format
.bkp	Backup	Backup file
.dat	Data	Information file for programs
.drv	Driver	Driver file
.exe	Executable	Executable program file
.ini	Initialization	Initialization file of a program
.lnk	link	Link from or to a program
.scr	Screensaver	Screensaver
.tmp	Temporary	Temporary data

Dateiendung	Erklärung	Format
.ani	Animated Cursor	Dateiformat für Windows-Cursor
.bkp	Backup	Backup-Datei
.dat	Data	Informationsdatei für Programme
.drv	Driver	Treiber-Datei
.exe	Executable	Ausführbare Programmdatei
.ini	Initialization	Initialisierungsdatei eines Programms
.lnk	Link	Verknüpfung von oder zu einem Programm
.scr	Screensaver	Bildschirmschoner
.tmp	Temporary	Temporäre Dateien

Other file extensions

file extension	Explanation	format
.def	definition	Definition file
.dll	Dynamic Link Library	compiled library
.html	Hypertext Markup Language	Format for internet pages
.js	Javascript	Javascript code file
.mdb	Microsoft Access Database	Access database
.php	Hypertext preprocessor	Script file for dynamic websites
.reg	Registration	Registration file
.ttf	True-type fonts	optimized fonts
.vbs	Virtual Basic Script	VBScript code file
.vma	Proxmox Virtual Machine Archive	Disk image file

Dateiendung	Erklärung	Format
.def	Definition	Definitionsdatei
.dll	Dynamic Link Library	zusammengestellte Bibliothek
.html	Hypertext Markup Language	Format für Internetseiten
.js	Javascript	Javascript-Codedatei
.mdb	Microsoft Access Database	Access-Datenbank
.php	Hypertext Preprocessor	Script-Datei für dynamische Webseiten
.reg	Registration	Registrierungsdatei
.ttf	True-Type Fonts	optimierte Schriftarten
.vbs	Virtual Basic Script	VBScript-Codedatei
.vma	Proxmox Virtual Machine Archive	Disk Image-Datei

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