This is a list of file formats organized by type, seen on computers. Filename extensions are usually noted in parenthesis if they differ from the format name or abbreviation.
=Sound and music=
==Audio data compression#Lossless Compression audio==
Uncompressed
AIFF
au file format
CDDA
Interchange File Format
Interchange File Format
RAW (raw samples without any header or sync)
WAV - Microsoft Wave
Compressed
FLAC (libre lossless codec of the Ogg project)
Lossless Audio (.la)
LPAC (.pac)
Apple Lossless (M4A)
Monkey s Audio (APE)
[http://losslessaudiocompression.com/ OptimFROG] (.ofr)
[http://rksoft.virtualave.net/rkau.html RKAU] (.rka)
Shorten (SHN)
TTA free lossless audio codec (True Audio)
WavPack (.wv)
Windows Media Audio 9 Lossless (WMA)
==Audio data compression#Lossy Compression audio==
MP2 (MPEG Layer 2)
MP3 (MPEG Layer 3)
Speex (Ogg project, specialized for voice, low bitrates)
Vorbis (Ogg project, free and similar in principle to MP3)
GSM (GSM Full Rate, originally developed for use in mobile phones)
Windows Media Audio (.WMA)
Advanced Audio Coding (.m4a, .mp4, .m4p, .aac) - Advanced Audio Coding (usually in an MPEG4 container)
MPC (audio compression format) - Musepack
VQF - Yamaha TwinVQ
Real Audio (RA, RM)
SWA - Macromedia_Shockwave Audio (Same compression as MP3 with additional header information specific to Macromedia Director - see [http://www.macromedia.com/cfusion/knowledgebase/index.cfmid=tn_14680 What is the difference between MP3 and SWA files])
==Other music formats==
MID (standard MIDI file; most often just notes and controls but occasionally also sample dumps)
Nintendo Entertainment System/NSF (bytecode program to play NES music)
MOD (file format) (Soundtracker and Protracker sample and melody modules)
ScreamTracker (ScreamTracker 3 module, with a few more effects and a dedicated volume column)
XM (FastTracker module, adding instrument envelopes)
IT (Impulse Tracker module, adding compressed samples, note-release actions, and more effects including a resonant filter)
MT2 (MadTracker 2 module. It could be resumed as being XM and IT combined with more features like track effects and automation.)
MNG (BGM for the Creatures game series, starting from Creatures 2; a [http://mngedit.sourceforge.net/ free editor and player] is available)
PlayStation Sound Format PlayStation sound format.
SPC700 sound format Super Nintendo Entertainment System sound file format.
STF StudioFactory project file. It contains all necessary patches, samples, tracks and settings to play the file.
SYN SynFactory project file. It contains all necessary patches, samples, tracks and settings to play the file.
NIFF
MusicXML
YM (Atari ST/Amstrad CPC YM2149 sound chip format)
CUST ([http://www.deliplayer.com/ DeliPlayer] custom sound file format)
==Playlist formats==
Advanced Stream Redirector (.asx)
M3U
PLS (file format)
Real Audio Metafile For Real Audio files only.
=Computer-aided design=
DXF, or ASCII Drawing Interchange file format
GERBER, or Gerber file
EXCELLON, or Excellon file
IGES
Intergraph s Intergraph Standard File Formats
Softimage s DotXSI
==Electronic design automation==
*GDSII
*OASIS, Open Artwork System Interchange Standard
*OpenAccess
*SPICE netlist format (see SPICE, netlist)
*LEF/DEF
=Document=
These files store formatted text.
ASCII, Unicode (.txt, .utx (for Unicode))
Amigaguide
AWW - Ability Write
CWK - ClarisWorks / AppleWorks document
HTML (.html, .htm) and XHTML (.xhtml, .xht, .xml)
LWP - Lotus Word Pro
Radix-64
Rich Text Format - Rich Text Format
SXW - StarOffice/OpenOffice.org Word Processor format
TeX (.tex)
Texinfo (.info)
Troff
DOC (computing) - Microsoft Word
WPD - WordPerfect
WPS - Microsoft Works
WRF - ThinkFree Write
WRI - Microsoft Write
PAGES - Apple Pages Presentation
PAP - Papyrus word processor document
=Spreadsheet=
123 - Lotus 1-2-3
AWS - Ability Office Spreadsheet
CLF - ThinkFree Office Calc
CSV - Comma-separated values
gnumeric - Linux Gnumeric spreadsheet, Gziped XML file
QPW - Quattro Pro
SXC - StarOffice/OpenOffice.org Spreadsheet
TAB - tab delimited columns; also TSV (Tab-separated values)
XLS - Microsoft Excel worksheets
WK - Lotus 1-2-3
WKS - Microsoft Works
=Database=
DBF - DBase, DBase III/IV/V, Microsoft FoxPro
MDB - Microsoft Database (Microsoft Access)
NSF - Lotus Notes database
NTF - Lotus Notes database design template
SQL - bundled SQL queries
WDB - Microsoft Works Database
FP - Filemaker
DB - Paradox (database)
=Presentation=
PPS - Microsoft PowerPoint Show
PPT - Microsoft PowerPoint
PRZ - Lotus Freelance Graphics
SHF - ThinkFree Show
KEY - Apple Keynote Presentation
=Webpage=
*Static
**HTML (.html, .htm) - HyperText Markup Language
**XHTML (.xhtml, .xht) - eXtensible HyperText Markup Language
**XML (.xml)
**MHTML (.mht, .mhtml) - Archived HTML, store all data on one web page (text, images, etc) in one big file
*Dynamically generated
**Active Server Pages (.asp) - Microsoft Active Server Page
**ASPX (.aspx) - Microsoft Active Server Page.NET
**ADP - AOLserver Dynamic Page
**Better Markup Language (.bml) - Better Markup Language (templating)
**CFM (.cfm) - ColdFusion
**Common Gateway Interface (.cgi)
**Perl (.pl)
**PHP (.php, .php, .phtml) - is version number
**SSI (.shtml) - HTML with Server Side Includes
=Script=
*HTML Applications (.hta)
*ICI programming language (.ici)
*JavaScript (.js)
*MIRC script (.mrc)
*PHP (.php, .php) - is version number
*Perl (.pl)
*Python programming language (.py)
*Ruby programming language (.rb)
*Shell script (.sh)
*Tcl (.tcl)
*Visual Basic Script (.vbs)
*BlitzBasic (.bb)
*BlitzBasic (.bmax)
=Graphics=
: Main article: graphics file formats .
==Raster graphics==
These files store images as a group of Pixels.
ART image file format - America Online proprietary format.
Windows bitmap
CUT - Dr. Halo image file
DjVu - DjVu for scanned documents
Exif - Exchangeable image file format (Exif) is a specification for the image file format used by digital cameras.
GIF - CompuServe s Graphics Interchange Format
MNG - Multiple Network Graphics, the animated version of PNG.
MSP - a file format used by old versions of Microsoft Paint. Replaced with BMP in Microsoft Windows 3.0.
ICO (icon image file format) - a file format used for icon (computing) in Microsoft Windows. Contains small bitmap images at multiple resolutions and sizes.
IFF (.iff, .ilbm, .lbm) - ILBM
JNG - a single-frame MNG using JPEG compression and possibly an alpha (computer graphics).
JPEG, JFIF (.jpg or .jpeg) - a lossy image format widely used to display photographic images.
JPEG 2000 - JPEG2000
LBM - Deluxe Paint image file
MAX - ScanSoft PaperPort document
MIFF - ImageMagick s native file format
NITF (National Imagery Transmission Format) - A US Government standard commonly used in Intelligence (information_gathering) systems
PBM - Portable BitMap
PCX - an lossless format used by ZSoft s PC Paint, popular at one time on MS-DOS systems.
PGM - Portable Graymap
PICT - Apple Macintosh PICT image
PNG - Portable Network Graphic (lossless, recommended for display and edition of graphic images)
Portable Pixmap File Format - Portable Pixmap
PSD - Adobe Photoshop Drawing
Paint Shop Pro - Jasc Paint Shop Pro image
QFX - QuickLink Fax image
Run-length encoding - a run-length encoding image.
SGI - Silicon Graphics image
Truevision TGA - Truevision TGA image file
TIFF (.tif or .tiff) Tagged Image File Format (usually lossless, but many variants exist, including lossy ones.)
XBM - X Window System Bitmap
XPM (image format) - X Window System Pixmap
==Vector graphics==
Vector graphics use geometrical primitives such as points, lines, curves, and polygons to represent images.
AWG - Ability Draw
AI - Adobe Illustrator Document
Encapsulated Postscript - Encapsulated Postscript
Computer Graphics Metafile - Computer Graphics Metafile an ISO Standard
CMX - Corel Draw vector image
AutoCAD DXF - ASCII Drawing Interchange file format, used in AutoCAD
Scalable Vector Graphics - Scalable Vector Graphics, employs XML
*Scene description language (3D vector image formats)
MOVIE.BYU
RenderMan
VRML - Virtual Reality Modeling Language
X3D
==3D graphics==
3D computer graphics are 3D models that allow you to build models in real-time 3D rendering.
*3D Studio Max (.max, .3ds)
*BlitzBasic (.b3d)
*DirectX 3D Model (.x)
*OBJ (.obj)
=Signal data formats (non-audio)=
[http://www.dpmi.tu-graz.ac.at/~schloegl/matlab/eeg/#ACQ ACQ] - AcqKnowledge File Format for Windows/PC from Biopac
[http://www.dpmi.tu-graz.ac.at/~schloegl/matlab/eeg/bkr.html BKR] - The EEG data format developed at the University of Technology Graz
[http://www.dpmi.tu-graz.ac.at/~schloegl/matlab/eeg/#BDF BDF] - BioSemo data format - similar to EDF but 24bit
[http://www.dpmi.tu-graz.ac.at/~schloegl/matlab/eeg/#ADICHT CFWB] - Chart Data File Format from ADInstruments
[http://www.hsr.nl/edf/ EDF] - European data format
FEF - File Exchange Format for Vital signs
General Data Format for Biomedical Signals - General data formats for biomedical signals
MFER - Medical waveform Format Encoding Rules
SCP-ECG - Standard Communication Protocol for Computer assisted electrocardiography
[http://www.dpmi.tu-graz.ac.at/%7Eschloegl/matlab/eeg/#SIGIF SIGIF]- SIGnal Interchange Format
and many others [http://www.dpmi.tugraz.at/~schloegl/matlab/eeg]
=Object code=
a.out classic UNIX object format, now often superseded by ELF
COM files, used in DOS
Executable and Linkable Format
EXE (.exe; used in DOS)
XPI (which is a PKZIP archive that can be run by Mozilla web browsers to install software) (.xpi)
Mach-O (Mach kernel based systems, notably native format of Mac OS X)
Portable Executable (.EXE, .DLL ; used in Microsoft Windows and some other systems)
Preferred Executable Format (Mac OS versions 9 and under; compatible with Mac OS X via the Classic_%28Mac_OS_X%29 emulator)
ZXE - Executable that is generated by the Z Plus Plus compiler.
=Function library=
*DLL - Microsoft Dynamic Link Libraries
*.so - Shared object (Unix/Linux)
*.dylib - Apple Macintosh Dynamic Library
*.tlb - Windows Type Library
Object Extensions
:*VBX - Visual Basic Extensions
:*OCX - Object Control Extensions
=Page description language=
DVI (TeX)
Metro
Printer Control Language
Portable Document Format
PostScript (.ps, .ps.gz)
XSL-FO (Formatting Objects)
Configurations, Metadata
Cascading Style Sheets
XSLT (.xslt) - XML Style Sheet
= Scientific data formats (data exchange) =
Analyze (.img/.hdr)
CDF Common data format [http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/cdf/cdf_home.html]
FITS Flexible Image Transport format - Standard data format for astronomy [http://fits.gsfc.nasa.gov/]
NetCDF Network common data format [http://my.unidata.ucar.edu/content/software/netcdf/docs.html]
HDF Hirarchical Data Format [http://hdf.ncsa.uiuc.edu/]
SDXF (Structured Data Exchange Format)
=Tabulated data=
tab
Comma-separated values (CSV)
data interchange format (accessible by many spreadsheet applications)
=Archive and compressed=
: Main article: List of archive formats
*7z
*ACE (file format)
*arj
*Bzip2 (.bz2)
*Cabinet (file format) - Microsoft Cabinet
*deb (file format)
*Gzip (.gz)
*Jar (file format)
*LHA (file format) (.lzh)
*lzo
*lzx
*Parchive (.par, .par2)
*RAR
*Stuffit - Stuffit (Apple Macintosh)
*Tar (file format)
*TGZ (gzipped tar file)
*zoo (file format)
*ZIP (file format)
=Video=
: Main article: video file formats .
*AAF (mostly intended to hold edit decisions and rendering information, but can also contain compressed media essence)
*Animated GIF (simple animation; often avoided because of patent problems)
*ASF (ASF is a shell, which enables any form of video compression to be used; MPEG-4 is common. Video in ASF-containers is also called Windows Media Video (WMV))
*AVI (AVI is a shell, which enables any form of compression to be used; MPEG-1 and a variant of MPEG-4 are common)
*Macromedia Flash (.SWF for viewing, .fla for producing) (complex vector-based animation with sound and interactivity)
*Matroska (*.mkv) (Matroska is a container format, which enables any video format such as MPEG-4 or XviD to be used along with other content such as subtitles and detailed meta information)
*MediaForge (*.wrap)
*MNG (mainly simple animation containing PNG and JPEG objects, often somewhat more complex than animated GIF)
*MPEG
*MXF
*Nullsoft Streaming Video Nullsoft Streaming Video is a media container designed for streaming video content over the internet.
*Tarkin (Ogg project, all Tarkin files are Ogg files)
*Theora (Ogg project, all Theora files are Ogg files)
*OGM (OGM is a container format created so that Ogg Vorbis could be used for the audio of a video as this could not be done with AVI)
*MOV (QuickTime, a container format, which enables any form of compression to be used; Sorenson codec is the most common)
*RealMedia
*XviD
=Geographic information system=
*GPX (XML-based interchange format)
*APR (ESRI ArcView 3.3 and earlier project file)
*MXD (ESRI ArcGIS project file, 8.0 and higher)
*SHP (ESRI shape file)
*DEM (USGS) (US Geo Survey terrestrial elevation data)
*World TIFF (Geographically located raster data: text file giving corner coordinate, raster cells per unit, and rotation)
*GeoTIFF (Geographically located raster data)
*E00 (ARC/INFO interchange file format)
=Video game ROMs=
List of the most common filename extensions used when the ROM image is copied from the original Read-only memory devide to an external memory such as hard disk for back up purposes or for making the game playable with an emulator. If the platform specific extension is not used then usually filename extensions .rom or .bin are used to clarify that the file contains a copy of a content of a ROM. When the data is in the original ROM such as Cartridge (electronics) it is not a single file and does not have a file entension.
*Atari Jaguar (.jag, .j64)
*Game Boy (.gb) (this applies to the original Game Boy and the Game Boy Color)
:*Game Boy Color (.gbc)
*Game Boy Advance (.gba)
:*Game Boy Advance Saved Data Files (.sav)
:*Visual Boy Advance Save States (.sgm)
*Nintendo 64 (.n64, .v64)
:*Project 64 Save States (.pj)
*Nintendo Entertainment System (.nes)
*Sega Game Gear (.gg)
*Sega Master System (.sms)
*Sega Mega Drive/Sega Genesis (.smd)
*Super NES (.smc, or .078) (.078 is for split roms, which are rare)
:*Super Famicom (Japanese releases are rarely .fig, above extensions are more common)
:*Super NES Saved Data Files (.srm)
:*ZSNES Save States (.zst, .zs1-.zs9)
*TurboGrafx 16/PC Engine (.pce)
= Font file =
TTF - TrueType Font
OTF - OpenType Font
PostScript Font - Type 1, Type 2
=External links=
Listings of common filename extensions: [http://www.filext.com] (includes MIME types), [http://www.cryer.co.uk/filetypes], [http://whatis.techtarget.com/fileFormatA/], [http://www.dpmi.tu-graz.ac.at/~schloegl/matlab/eeg/] (scientific computing-related)
[http://www.dotwhat.net/ Dot What] Information on file extensions and the programs that use them.
[http://www.wotsit.org/ Wotsit s] collection of file format references for programmers.
[http://www.sharpened.net/helpcenter/extensions.php File Extensions Reference] File formats defined and explained.
