File Folder Extension Types

File extensions indicate a file's format.There are many different file extensions associated with many types of files. File extensions indicate the format of a file, which is typically associated with a particular codec, or program that encoded the file. Some of these formats are proprietary and some are open source, though most quality software is compatible with a good number of both proprietary and open-source formats.OfficeJust about any piece of software you might use for normal office tasks is going to have a preferred file extension it likes to use. If you save a text document in Microsoft Word, for example, it will typically be saved in .doc or .docx format. On the other hand, when you save a spreadsheet in Microsoft Excel, it will typically be saved in .xls format. These are proprietary file extensions, designed to only work with the software that created them. Other text-based file extensions are more flexible, such as .txt or .csv, which can be used for text documents and spreadsheets, respectively.AudioOne audio file extension that almost everyone is familiar with is .mp3. Like .doc and other Microsoft Office formats, .mp3 is also proprietary. This makes it difficult to work with on some audio editors. A more flexible file extension that does a job similar to that of the .mp3 is .ogg, which is open source and works on most portable music players. These audio formats are often referred to as "lossy," because most of the audio information contained in the original CD is discarded to achieve the extreme compression that makes these formats useful. "Lossless" formats, by contrast, manage to compress audio a little bit without sacrificing any audio data. Such formats include .flac, .ape and .shn.VideoVideo formats must contain audio and video data for simultaneous playback, which can make them rather intimidating to work with. DVD video, for example, is broken up into several .vob files. One major video-file extension type is .avi, which is a "container" file extension that is not associated with any particular codec. As a result, you may be able to play one .avi file while not being able to play another, because it was originally encoded using a codec that is not installed on your computer. Many videos that are shared on the internet are in .mpg or .mp4 format; .mpg is typically encoded using the MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 codec, while .mp4 is encoded using the MPEG-4 codec.CompressionWhen you have a folder full of documents that you wish to send over the Internet, you can use a compression program to turn the folder into its own file. That way, you're dealing with one compressed file rather than a folder full of different files. You've probably seen the .zip file format before, and if you've used WinRAR you've seen the .rar format. Mac users are familiar with the .pkg format for application installers, and Linux users typically download new programs as .deb or .tar.gz files (AKA "tarballs"). References FileInfo: Common File Types