A Guide to Filename Extensions
Here's a guide to some of the most commonly used filename extensions. Software utility programs exist for most platforms that will let you use and convert between different file formats.
- aif, aiff- Audio Interchange Format - A type a sound file
- au - Sound file
- bin- MacBinary - This extension is used to show that a file is encoded using MacBinary, which is for Macintosh files. You probably won't see this very often.
- eps - Encapsulated Postscript -
- gif - A type of compression used for pictures and images.
- gz - GZip - A compression method. This is my favored compression method because it works very well. Macintosh users can get MacGzip, and Windows users can use WinZip to uncompress these files.
- hqx - Binhex - Converts binary files into a text representation like UUencoding, but used almost solely on Macintoshes. By converting files into text, it makes it very easy to mail files and programs via email.
- html, htm - Hypertext Markup Language - You'll find these extensions for the documents that make up much of the World Wide Web. They are plain text files, with special 'tags' that control the format and layout of the pages as they appear on yur web browser.
- jpg - Another type of compression used for images.
- mid - MIDI Files - This extension is sometimes used to denote a file as being a MIDI file.
- mov - Quicktime Movie - Used to show that a file is a quicktime movie, generally used on a Macintosh. Sometimes the extension qt is used instead.
- mpg - MPEG Compression - A type of compression used for motion pictures.
- ps - Postscript - Postscript is used to create files that can be reproduced indepently of what platform was used to create it. It is a text representation of a file that can have both text and graphics. Postscript files are generally large, at least compared to an equivelant plain text file.
- qt - Quicktime Movie - This extension is sometimes used to denote Quicktime movie files, used on Macintoshes.
- rtf - Rich Text Format - A type of text file that also contains information about fonts and letter size. These files can be opened with most word processing programs.
- sea - Self Extracting Archive - This extension is used with a file that actually contains a program that extracts the files out of the archvie, so that you don't need to have aontehr specific program on your computer.
- sit - Stuffed - Stuff-it compressed files, used primarily on Macintosh computers. Both individual files and folders can be stuffed.
- tar - Tape Archive - This is not a compression method, but rather a method to group files and directories into a single file, used comonly on Unix. This single file can then be saved onto a tape backup, or simply used to distribute a directory of files easily (usually with some type of compression).
- tgz - TARed and GZIPped - This extension is sometime used to represent a tape archive file that has been compressed with GZIP.
- txt - Plain Text - This extension is commonly used extension to designate a file as plain text, which can be read in any simple text editor.
- uu, uue - UUEncoded - UUencoding is a method for converting binary information into a plain text, which can then be transferred using email. You will often find UUencoded files on USENET newsgroups, such as the MIDI files posted to alt.binaries.sounds.midi, but the .uu extension is not always used.
- wav - Another sound file format, most commanly used on PCs
- Z - Compress - Another compression method generally used on Unix systems.
- zip - A compression mehtod, used predominantly on PCs, that can be used on a simgle file, or on an entire directory.