What is a File Extension?
A file extension, also called a filename extension, is the suffix at the end of a filename, which indicates what kind of file it is. For example, you can tell that the file “computer.jpg” is a JPEG image file, based on the “.jpg” file extension. Similarly, you can tell that “readme.txt” is a text document and “document.doc” is a Microsoft Word document. Knowing what extensions common file types use can be helpful. While most file extensions consist of three characters, some have fewer (.h, .ps) while others have more (.tiff, .gadget). When you double-click a file, your computer uses the file’s extension to determine what program should open it. It is possible to change file’s extension, which may also change the program your computer uses to open the file. Therefore, you should be careful when changing a file’s extension, since your computer may be unable to open the file. For example, if you change a file with a .txt extension to a .doc extension, Microsoft Word should open it. Howeve
A file extension is the suffix at the end of a filename that tells a computer, and the computer user, which program is needed to open the file. Also called a filename extension, this suffix preceded by at least one period, is generally one to five characters long but the norm is usually three characters in length. Considering that there are thousands upon thousands of software programs available, and each one has a file extension if its own, it wouldn’t be possible to learn each one. You will, however, find yourself remembering extensions to more commonly used programs. It is a good idea to familiarize yourself with those used most frequently so that you can accurately recognize the files. Some of the ones you may come across more often are .DOC, which is usually for Microsoft Word documents, .TXT for text documents, .JPG for JPEG image files and .EXE for executable files, or files that run a program. If you come across a file extension that you don’t recognize, a quick Internet search
A file extension is an abbreviation appended to a filename that tells you the format of that file. For example, text files use the extension .txt; Microsoft Word documents use .doc. Images in the JPEG format have an extension .jpg or .jpeg. File extensions allow your computer’s operating system to recognize a file’s format and to automatically open the file using the correct program. By convention, most file extensions contain only three letters. A few, such as .jpeg or .html, are four letters long.
A file extension is nothing more than the last characters after the period in the name of a file. For a detailed explanation, examples, and a method of setting your system so that it shows file extensions please see this FAQ. If you are looking for a CODEC because an audio or video file won’t play, please see this FAQ.
A file extension is usually a set of three to four alphanumeric characters, preceded by a period, that are appended to the end of a filename to help you and your operating system determine what kind of data is stored in the file (E.g. .txt is a text file and .jpg is an image file). Once the type of data has been determined, your operating system will select the relevant software to read the file. Sometimes however, you may find that your operating system chooses the wrong software or worse still – your operating system does not recognise the file type. That’s where dotwhat.net can help! We try to provide as much help as possible for every file extension, detailing any software that is required. How do I use this website?
