File types “Cheat Sheet”
Documents & Text
- .docx / .doc: Microsoft Word documents.
- .pdf: Portable Document Format (viewable on any system).
- .xlsx / .xls: Microsoft Excel spreadsheets.
- .pptx / .ppt: Microsoft PowerPoint presentations.
- .txt: Plain text files.
- .csv: Comma-separated values (used for data).
- .rtf: Rich Text Format.
Images & Graphics
- .jpg / .jpeg: Compressed image files (photos).
- .png: Portable Network Graphics (supports transparency).
- .gif: Graphics Interchange Format (supports animation).
- .bmp: Bitmap image files.
- .svg: Scalable Vector Graphics.
Audio & Video
- .mp4: Video files.
- .mp3: Audio files.
- .wav: Windows audio files.
- .wmv / .wma: Windows Media video/audio.
- .avi: Audio Video Interleaved.
- .mkv: Matroska multimedia files.
System, Executable & Compressed Files
- .exe: Executable application files.
- .zip: Compressed (archived) files.
- .msi: Windows Installer package.
- .bat: Batch file.
Web Files
- .html / .htm: HyperText Markup Language (web pages).
- .xml: Extensible Markup Language.
Comprehensive Audio File Types
Audio formats are generally divided into uncompressed (highest quality), lossless compressed (high quality, smaller size), and lossy compressed (smallest size, reduced quality)
- .mp3: The universal standard for lossy compressed audio.
- .wav: Standard Windows uncompressed audio format; ideal for editing and studio work.
- .aac / .m4a: Advanced Audio Coding; often used by Apple and streaming services for better quality than MP3 at similar bitrates.
- .flac: Free Lossless Audio Codec; popular for high-quality music archiving.
- .wma: Windows Media Audio; Microsoft’s proprietary format with DRM support.
- .ogg / .oga: Open-source container often using the Vorbis codec; common in gaming and podcasts.
- .aiff / .aif: Audio Interchange File Format; high-quality uncompressed format originally from Apple but common in Windows.
- .mid / .midi: Musical Instrument Digital Interface; contains musical notes and instructions rather than actual sound waves.
- .opus: High-efficiency lossy format ideal for real-time applications like VoIP and gaming.
- .alac: Apple Lossless Audio Codec; high-fidelity audio often found in .m4a containers
Comprehensive Video File Types
- .mp4 / .m4v: The most widely compatible format for web, mobile, and desktop use.
- .mkv: Matroska Multimedia Container; highly versatile, open-source format that can hold multiple audio tracks and subtitles.
- .mov: Apple QuickTime Movie format; commonly used in professional video editing.
- .avi: Audio Video Interleave; one of the oldest Windows video formats, known for high quality but large file sizes.
- .wmv: Windows Media Video; optimized for streaming on Windows-based systems.
- .webm: Royalty-free format specifically designed for high-quality video on the web.
- .flv / .swf: Adobe Flash formats; formerly used for web streaming but largely replaced by HTML5 formats.
- .mpg / .mpeg: Standard formats for DVDs and older digital video.
- .m2ts / .mts: Used for high-definition video on Blu-ray discs and AVCHD camcorders.
- .ogv: Ogg Video; the open-source video counterpart to
Web Application & Development File Types
These files are used by browsers or servers to build and run web applications
- .html / .htm: The foundational language for all web pages.
- .css: Cascading Style Sheets; used to define the look and layout of web applications.
- .js / .mjs: JavaScript and JavaScript Modules; the primary programming language for web interactivity.
- .php: Server-side script used to build dynamic web applications.
- .aspx / .asp: Active Server Pages; Microsoft’s framework for building web applications on Windows servers.
- .jsp: Java Server Pages; used for creating dynamic web content based on HTML or XML.
- .json: JavaScript Object Notation; a lightweight data format used to exchange information between web apps and servers.
- .xml: Extensible Markup Language; used for storing and transporting data in a readable format.
- .py / .rb / .pl: Source files for Python, Ruby, and Perl, which are often used as backend languages for web apps.
- .webmanifest: Provides information about a web application (like its name and icons) in a JSON text file