Friday, June 30, 2023

File Extensions Types

File Extensions are the letters associated with different files that are saved on your devices. File extensions indicate the type of file or format that you are using. They can be broken down into a couple key categories such as Text and Data, Audio and Video, Image and Web, Executable and other. They help both usres and computer systems understand how to handle or interpret the different file types. 


Text and Data file type formats are based on the nature or purpose of the specified text/data. 

  • Text files (.txt) are plain text files that contains text without any styling or formatting. These files are usually opened in basic text editors such as Notepad, Notepad++, etc.

  • Word Processing Document (.doc or .docx) are files that are created using Microsoft Word. They are commonly used for creating and editing text documents with varios formatting options. 

  • Rich Text Format (.rtf) are files that allow for a vast representation of formatted text documents. Commonly used to exchange documents between different word processing  applications while keeping the formatting and basic text structure. 

  • Excel Spreadsheet (.xls or xlsx) are used for Microsoft Excel. Excel spreadsheets store and manipulate structured data in a tabular format like formulas, charts and various data analysis features. 

  • PowerPoint Presentation (.ppt or .pptx) are presentations of digital slide show or other presentation software. Used widely for creating visually appealing and interactive presentations

  • Comma Separated Values (.csv) is a plain text file that stores tabular data, each row represents a row of data that is separated by commas. 


Audio/Video file formats come in various formats each with a specific intent of use. 

  • MPEG Audio Layer (.mp3) are widely used audio format used for storing and playing music and other audio recordings. MP3’s is a compressed audio file

  • Advanced Audio Config (.aac) are compressed audio file that offers higher performances than MP3. 

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

  • Flash Video (.flv) flash component video used on websites like YouTube

  • MPEG-4 (.mp4) are compressed movie or video clips that can store both audio and video streams. 

  • WIndows Media Video (.wmv) is a video based on Microsoft’s Advanced Systems Format. Provides good compression and is used for streaming and downloading video content online

  • Waveform Audio File (.wav) are uncompressed audio files that store audio data in a raw and lossless format. 


Image file formats are used to store and represent digital images. The different file types change compression, color depth, transparency and various other features. 

  • Graphical Interchangeable Format (.gif)uses lossless compression and support animations and transparency. It is limited to a color palette of 256 colors good for graphics, animations logos. 

  • Joint Photographic Experts Group  (.jpg or .jpeg) are compressed to reduce file size while maintaining image quality. Used for photographs and web and digital camera images

  • Portable Network Graphic (.png) are used for web graphics for better quality than GIFs. 

  • Tagged Image File (.tif) are high quality images saved uncompressed

  • Adobe Illustrator File (.ai) are image files created with graphic editing software like Adobe Illustrator

  • Adobe Photoshop File (.psd) are image files created with image editing software like Adobe Photoshop


Web, Executable, and other file formats

  • Hypertext Markup Language (.html) are files used for creating websites

  • Cascading Style Sheet (.css) are used for controlling the layout and appearance of web pages

  • Windows Executable (.exe) are files that run programs on Windows computers

  • DOS Command (.com) refer to a command that is commonly used is the Disk Operating System (DOS) which are command line interface to perform various tasks

  • Zipped (.zip) is a compressed file format that is used to compress one or more files into a single file. The purpose of creating these files is to reduce the file size and make it more manageable for storage and sharing

  • Portable Document Format (.pdf) is a file format used to present documents in a manner that is independent of hardware, software and operating systems. Widely used for sharing and distributing electronic documents

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