File Extensions

File Extensions are the tags that every data file present inside a computer database has. To be able to identify a file of a particular type, you will require knowing its extension. Similarly, there are several types of files that are generated during a computational operation. A file extension or a file name is the end letters of a filename that are used to identify the type of data file.

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Need For An Extension

The files inside a computer have their specific reasons. There are files that are intended to be used by the computer itself or in other words what are known as the system files. There are text files, data files, audios, videos, archives and compressed files. All of these need to be handled separately and thus there is a need to identify these different files or file systems both by the user and the computer. Here we will list the important file systems and their file extensions. Let us begin.

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Text Files

These contain data in the form of written text. The extensions that have been reserved for these data files are:

.doc: Read as “dot doc” is an extension in which saves all Microsoft Word Document files. More recent extensions include .docx which is a Microsoft Word Open XML Document.

.log: These are the log files generated by the computer. They register the user logins. These files are also known as Log File

.wpd: This is the WordPerfect Document file extension.

.pages:  The extension is used by the Pages Document files.

.odt:  OpenDocument Text Document

.txtPlain:  The extension to the Text File.

.tex:  The files created by the LaTeX Source Document

.wps:  Files saved in the Microsoft Works Word Processor Document

.msg:  Documents created in the Outlook Mail Message

.rtfRich: The extension for the Text Format File

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Archive & Compressed Files

These are the files that are used to store large data over a long time.  Also, large files are “compressed” to reduce their size. Thus, the archives or the compressed files are generated. Following are the most popular extensions of such files:

.gzip or .gz: Used for the Compressed files.

.ZIP: Used by the Winzip and other such programs that compress large files and reduce their size.

.APK: Used on the Android platform for compressed files that are used to install applications.

.AAC: This stands for Advanced Audio Coding. It is an extension used for the audio files.

.BIN:  Compressed Archive files are saved with this extension.

.jar: These are java files that have been compressed.

.RAR or Rar Archive: Most of you must have seen these files. These are super compressed files that can be extracted later by suitable software like the windrar platform.

Audio Files

.aif: This stands for Audio Interchange File.

.ra:  Extension used for the Real Audio Files.

.mpa: Used for the MPEG-2 (Moving Picture Experts Group) Audio Files.

.iff: The extension for the Interchange File Format

.wav: The extension for the WAVE Audio File

.wma: This is the extension for the Windows Media Audio File

.mp3: Used for the MP3 Audio Files.

Video Files

Most of the video files are saved in the following formats:

.avi: Stands for the Audio Video Interleave File.

.3gp3: GPP (Generation Power Project) Multimedia File.

.flv: The extension for the Flash Video Files.

.mpg: These are the extension for the MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) Video Files.

.vob: The DVD (Digital Video Disk)  This extension represents the Video Object Files

.mp4:  The MPEG-4 Video File

.wmv:  Windows Media Video Files are saved in this format.

Expected Questions

Based on what you have learnt, answer these following questions in detail:

Q 1: A user decides to delete all the personal data files from his computer. Which of these following files does he not delete:    A) 123.mp3              B) 123.avi                 C) 123.wps         D) 123.log

Answer: The option A is an audio file which is a personal data file. A personal data file is the one which is not a system file. Similarly, the .avi and .wps are files that are not system files. However, .log is a file system that is used by the system to make a chart or note various events (logins) that happen during an event. Thus the option here will be D) 123.log.

Q 2: Out of the following given options, one of the options doesn’t belong to the group. Select the odd one:

A) .iff         B) .ra  C) .aif D) .avi

Answer: Here you may have guessed, the first three options represent an audio file while as the last file extension represents a video file. Therefore the correct option to pick here would be D .avi.

Other Formats

Some other famous extensions are :

.tar: is a Consolidated Unix File Archive file.

.xml: is a  XML file.

.gif: is a  Graphics Interchange Format file.

.xls: is a Excel Spreadsheet file.

.dbf: is a Database file.

.sql: is a Structured Query Language Data file.

.exe: is a Windows Executable file.

.html: is a Hypertext Markup Language file.

.asp: is a Active server page file.

.css: is a cascading style sheet file.

.tmp: is a temporary file.

.bak: is a backup file.

.odt: is a OpenDocument Text Document file.

.dat: is a Data file.

.pps: is a PowerPoint Slide Show file.

.ppt: is a PowerPoint Presentation file.

.pptx: is a PowerPoint Open XML Presentation file.

.flv: is a Flash Video file.

.CDR: is a CorelDRAW file

.INDD: is a Adobe InDesign file

.PSD: is a Adobe Photoshop file

.PDF: is a Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader file

.PMD: is a Adobe PageMaker file

.PUB: is a Microsoft Publisher file

Practice Questions

Q 1: The following represent an Adobe file system as:

1. A) .INDD              B) .PUB C) .asp       D) Both A) and C).

Ans: A).INDD

Q 2: Complete the following grouping of words given below:

.pps: PowerPoint. , .exe: Windows Executable File, .PMD: ________

A) The Adobe Acrobat           B) Adobe PageMaker                    C) The Adobe Photoshop             D) Microsoft Publisher

Ans: B) Adobe PageMaker