File Extensions
Overview
This article is a quick guide to file extensions. It covers what file extensions are, some important and common file extensions, and little definitions of them all.
File Extensions |
What Are File Extensions?
File extensions are an indication of the format or type of a file. These are mentioned after the name of a file, separated with a dot '.', for example, "Filename.txt". File extensions are usually three or four characters long, and in rare cases, two characters long. These are used by the operating system to determine the program in which a file is to be opened when the user clicks on it.
Some Common File Extensions
Document File Extensions
.txt
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Text File
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Simple text file with no special formatting.
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.doc
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Microsoft Word File
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Microsoft Word document.
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.xls
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Microsoft Excel File
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Microsoft Excel document, spreadsheet file.
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.ppt
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Microsoft PowerPoint File
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Microsoft PowerPoint document, presentation file.
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.pub
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Microsoft Publisher File
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Microsoft Publisher document, slightly different from word. In Publisher, the importance is given to page layout and design rather than text composition.
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.wps
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Microsoft Works File
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Microsoft Works document, Works being the outdated alternative of Microsoft Word.
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.wpd
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WordPerfect File
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WordPerfect document, WordPerfect being a word processor, which was extremely popular in the 80s.
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.pdf
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PDF File
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PDF stands for Portable Document File, PDF was developed by Adobe in 1992 and its speciality is to present documents with consistency across various platforms.
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.rtf
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RTF File
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RTF stands for Rich Text Format, it is used to create formatted text files, unlike the basic text file.
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Video File Extensions
.mov
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MOV/Apple QuickTime Movie File
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MOV file is a common multimedia file format which was developed by Apple and is compatible with both Macintosh and Windows.
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.mkv
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MKV/Matroska Multimedia Container
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MKV file is a video file stored in Matroska multimedia container format.
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.mp4
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MP4/MPEG-4 Video File
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MP4 stands for MPEG 4 Part 14, it is a file that is commonly used to store videos, however, it may also contain images or subtitles.
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.m4v
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M4V/Apple MP4 Video File
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M4V is an MPEG 4 file that is used to store videos downloaded from Apple iTunes store.
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.mpg or .mpeg
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MPG/MPEG Video File
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An MPG file is a video file that uses a digital video format set by MPEG(Moving Picture Experts Group).
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.avi
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AVI/Audio Video Interleave File
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An AVI file is a video file saved in the Audio Video Interleave multimedia container format. This format was created by Microsoft and stores audio and video data in a variety of codecs.
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.flv
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FLV/Flash Video File
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FLV is a file format developed by Adobe. An FLV file is a flash compatible video file, it can be exported by the Flash Video Exporter or any other program with FLV file support.
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.rm
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RM/RealMedia File
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An RM file is a multimedia file that is saved in the RealMedia multimedia container format, this format was developed by RealNetworks. An RM file can be used to store either audio in RealAudio format or video in RealVideo format, as well as both. These files are mainly used for streaming purposes.
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.wmv
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WMV/Windows Media Video File
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A WMV file is a video file that is based on ASF(Advanced Systems Format), developed by Microsoft.
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.vob
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DVD VOB/Video Object File
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A VOB file is a movie data file from a disc, it contains the majority of data on the disk, including video, audio, subtitles, DVD menus, etc.
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.3gp
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3GP Multimedia File
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A 3GP file is a multimedia file stored in a video and audio container format, this format was developed by 3GPP(3rd Generation Partnership Project).
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Audio File Extensions
.mp3
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MP3 Audio File
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MP3 stands for MPEG Audio Layer-3, it is a compressed audio file format developed by MPEG(Moving Picture Experts Group). The speciality of MP3 is that it keeps the sound quality of an original recording but is significantly smaller.
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.m4a
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M4A/MPEG 4 Audio File
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M4A is MPEG 4 audio file, it is a format that stores both compressed audio and video data.
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.mpa
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MPA/MPEG 2 Audio File
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MPA is MPEG 2 audio file, this means that it is compressed with MPEG layer 2 compressions. It reduces the file size while slightly affecting the overall sound quality.
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.aif
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Audio Interchange Audio FIle
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An AIF(Audio Interchange File) is created using AIFF(Audio Interchange File Format) and contains uncompressed CD quality audio.
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.cda
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CDA/CD Audio Track Shortcut File
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CDA file is a shortcut to a track on an audio CD, it plays the referenced track on the CD when opened. Therefore it only works correctly when the CD is inside the CD drive.
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.wma
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WMA/Windows Media Audio File
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A WMA(Windows Media Audio) file is a file that is saved in ASF(Advanced Systems Format), which is a proprietary format developed by Microsoft.
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.wpl
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WPL/Windows Media Player Playlist
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A WPL(Windows Media Player Playlist) file is simply a playlist of songs or videos that can be played in Windows Media Player.
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.ram
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RAM/Real Audio Metadata File
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A RAM(Real Audio Metadata) file is a link file used by RealPlayer, which is a program used for streaming audio and video on the internet.
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.mid or .midi
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MIDI Audio File
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MIDI stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface, it is used by music authoring and mixing programs, and MIDI hardware devices.
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.wav
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WAV/WAVE Audio File
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A WAV file is simply a file saved in WAVE format. WAVE format is a standard digital audio file format that stores waveform data.
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Executable File Extensions
.exe
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Windows EXE/Executable File
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An EXE file contains an executable program for Windows, it is the standard file extension used by Windows programs.
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.com
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COM/MS DOS Command File
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A COM file is similar to an EXE file, it contains an executable program that can be run by MS DOS and Windows. It differs from an EXE file in terms of size, it has a maximum size of 64KB, and has no header or metadata.
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.jar
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JAR/Java Archive File
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JAR files are used by JRE(Java Runtime Environment), which is a platform for executing Java programs.
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.py
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PY/Python File
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A PY file is a program file or script written in Python, it can be created or edited with a text editor, but requires a Python interpreter to run.
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.bat
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DOS BAT/Batch File
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A BAT file is a DOS batch file used to execute commands with Command Prompt.
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.bin
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BIN/Binary File
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A BIN file stores data in binary format.
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.wsf
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WSF/Windows Script File
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A WSF file is an executable script for Windows, it can include JScript and VBScript, and may also include XML features.
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.apk
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APK/Android Package File
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An APK file is an app developed for the Android OS.
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Graphics File Extensions
.jpg or .jpeg
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JPEG Image
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A JPG file is an image saved in a compressed image format normalized by JPEG(Joint Photographic Experts Group). It is commonly used by digital cameras to store photos.
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.gif
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GIF/Graphical Interchange Format Image
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A GIF file is an image file saved in Graphical Interchange Format and it maintains the quality of an image while compressing it.
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.png
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PNG/Portable Network Graphic Image
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A PNG file is an image file saved in Portable Network Graphic format, it provides lossless compression, similar to a GIF file. PNG files are most commonly used to store web graphics and images with a transparent background.
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.psd
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Adobe PSD/Photoshop Document Image
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A PSD file is an image file created by Adobe Photoshop, which is a photo editing software. These files may include some Photoshop specific elements such as image layers, layer mask, annotations, etc.
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.ai
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Adobe Illustrator File
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An AI file is a drawing file created with Adobe Illustrator, which is a vector graphics editing software. These files are normally used for logos and print media.
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.bmp
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BMP/Bitmap Image File
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A BMP file is an uncompressed raster image that consists of a rectangular grid of pixels.
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.ico
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Icon File
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An ICO file contains an icon, which can be used for a windows program, a file or a folder.
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.max
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MAX/3ds Max Scene File
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A MAX file is a 3D file created by 3ds Max. 3ds Max is a 3D modeling, animation and rendering software.
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.obj
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OBJ/Wavefront Object File
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An OBJ file is a standard 3D image format file that can be run by several 3D image editing programs.
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.ps
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PS/PostScript File
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A PS file is an image saved in PostScript page description language and it can contain vector graphics, raster graphics, and text.
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.tif or .tiff
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TIFF image
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TIF stands for Tagged Image File, it is an image saved in TIFF(Tagged Image File Format), which is a high quality graphics format.
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System File Extensions
.sys
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SYS/Windows System File
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A SYS file is a system file used by DOS and Windows OS, SYS files contain functions, system settings and variables.
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.tmp
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TMP/Temporary File
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A TMP file is a temporary file that is created automatically by a program, this file is used as a backup or a cache file.
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.msi
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MSI/Windows Installer Package
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An MSI file is a package file that contains installation related information for an installer to access.
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.bak
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BAK/Backup File
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A BAK file is a backup file of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox bookmarks file. This file can be used in case the original bookmarks file is lost or corrupt.
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.cab
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CAB/Windows Cabinet File
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A CAB file is a Windows Cabinet file stored in an archive format, it contains compressed data, which is used for installations.
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.cpl
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CPL/Windows Control Panel File
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A CPL file is an module in the Windows Control panel, such as Displays, Mouse, Sound, etc.
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.dll
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DLL/Dynamic Link Library File
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A DLL file is a library that contains a set of procedures and/or drivers that are used by a Windows program.
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.dmp
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DMP/Windows Dump File
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A DMP file contains data that is dumped from a program’s memory. It is created when a program has an error or crashes.
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.drv
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DRV/Device Driver File
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A DRV file is a driver file that contains commands and procedures for a hardware device to communicate with the operating system.
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.cur
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CUR/Windows Cursor File
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A CUR file contains a cursor image or animation for the mouse pointer.
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.icns
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ICNS/macOS X Icon Resource File
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An ICNS file is an icon file that is used by macOS.
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.ini
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INI/Initialization File
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An INI file is a file that contains configuration for a Windows program to initialize the program settings.
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.lnk
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LNK/Windows Shortcut File
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An LNK file is simply a shortcut used by Windows, for an original file.
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Web File Extensions
.htm and .html
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HTM/HTML File
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HTML stands for Hypertext Markup Language, an HTM or HTML file is a webpage used by web browsers.
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..xhtml
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XHTML File
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An XHTML file is a web page written in XHTML(Extensible Hypertext Markup Language), which is an xml centric version of HTML.
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.js
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JS/JavaScript File
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A JS file is a text file that contains a JavaScript code, which is used to run JavaScript instructions in web pages.
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.php
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PHP Source Code File
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A PHP file is a web page that contains PHP code, PHP is a Hypertext Processor, which can include PHP functions to process online forms and access data from a database.
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.cer
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CER/Internet Security Certificate
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A CER file is a file that verifies the authenticity of a website and is provided by a Certificate Authority, such as VeriSign.
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.asp and .aspx
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ASP File
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ASP stands for Active Server Page, an ASP file is a web page that stays on a web server and is parsed and then sent to the client's browser. An ASP file can contain scripts written in VBScript and JavaScript.
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.css
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CSS/Cascading Style Sheet File
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A CSS or cascading style sheet file is a file that is used to format the contents of a web page.
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.jsp
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JSP/Java Server Page File
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A JSP file is a server generated web page, similar to an ASP or a PHP file, but it contains Java code.
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.rss
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RSS/Rich Site Summary File
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An RSS or Rich Site Summary file is a file saved in an XML based syndication format, it contains web content and metadata, such as author’s name and publishing date. It is a text only format and is commonly used by websites for distributing information.
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.part
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PART/Partially Downloadable File
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A PART file is a file that is partially downloaded from the internet and is used for downloads that are in progress or stopped. Some of these files can later be resumed with the same program that first downloaded them.
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.cfm
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CFM File
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A CFM file is a web page that contains ColdFusion or CFML(ColdFusion Markup Language) code, it is actively run by a ColdFusion web server.
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.cgi
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CGI/Common Gateway Interface
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A CGI file is a Common Gateway Interface script that is executed by a web server to create active pages. It is written in Perl or C, which are both programming languages.
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