List of Most Used File Extensions in Windows

Normally, the names of all Windows files are divided into two parts. The first one is the name of the same. This helps us know what file it is with the naked eye. And the second of the parts, separated by a point, the extension. This extension allows the operating system to know what type of content the file has, what it is and with what program it should open it by default when we double-click on it. While the name can be changed without problems, giving a wrong extension to a file can make it unusable.

When we install a program on our computer, it will usually ask us if we want to use it as the default program to open certain types of files. For example, if we install AIMP Player this will allow us to open the MP3 by default, while VLC will do the same with the videos.

In addition to automatic file associations, Windows allows us to choose with which program we want to open each of the file extensions. If the extension is unknown, double clicking on a window will appear like the one in which we can choose the program we want.

And, in addition, from the configuration menu, in the section Applications> Default applications> choose default applications by file type we can choose, one by one, the programs that we want to be used to open each file according to its extension.

How to view the extension of any Windows file

By default, Windows hides the extensions of known files. This allows Windows windows to be a bit more orderly, but at the security level it leaves much to be desired. since we can easily fall into the ” double extension ” deception.

If we want to show the file extensions in Windows, what we have to do is open a File Explorer window, choose the “Vista” tab and make sure that the “File name extensions” option is checked.

We can already see the real extensions of all the files we have on our computer. But now the most important thing comes: to know the most common and with what programs we can execute each one of them.

Document Extensions

Office automation is one of the most common tasks of any computer system. Every day we work with Office, or other similar programs, to create documents, spreadsheets, slide shows and more. In addition, it is also very common to work with plain text files, without formatting.

TXT: plain text files, without formatting.
DOC: Word documents. This format is obsolete, since it belongs to the old versions of Office.
DOCX: default format of Word documents. This format does not allow macros to run.
DOCM: same as DOCX, but with macros enabled.
ODT: text document in OpenDocument format, ideal for use with alternative suites such as LibreOffice.
PDF: Adobe Acrobat format. Protect the style and avoid modifications.
RTF: rich text format, perfect for sharing between different operating systems.
CSV: open format to represent any type of data in the form of a table.
XLS: Excel documents. This format is obsolete, since it belongs to the old versions of Office.
XLSX: default format of Excel documents. This format does not allow macros to run.
XLSM: same as XLSX, but with macros enabled.
ODS: spreadsheet in OpenDocument format, ideal for use with alternative office suites such as LibreOffice.
PPS: PowerPoint slide show set to always open in presentation mode. This format is obsolete, since it belongs to the old versions of Office.
PPT: PowerPoint slide show. This format is obsolete, since it belongs to the old versions of Office.
PPSX: PowerPoint default format to open the file in presentation mode. This format does not allow macros to run.
PPTX: PowerPoint default format. This format does not allow macros to run.
PPSM: same as PPSX, but with macros.
PPTM: same as PPTX, but with macros.
POTX: Microsoft PowerPoint template.
ODP: OpenDocument format for slide show, ideal for use with alternative office suites such as LibreOffice.

If we are trying to open documents, the most common is to use word processors, such as Word or LibreOffice Writer. In the case of spreadsheets, the most common is to use Excel or Calc. And in the case of slide shows we have programs such as PowerPoint and Impress.

For plain text files, the same Windows Notepad, or other editors such as Visual Studio Code, will allow us to open them without problems.

Audio extensions

If we like to listen to music on our computer, or create our own music, we must know the main audio formats that we will find in our day to day:

MP3: standard music codec with compression.
WMA: audio format developed by Microsoft with compression and possible DRM.
WAV: digital audio format with or without compression.
FLAC: high fidelity and lossless digital audio format.
MIDI: protocol for data transfer, with sound information, 8 bits.
OGG: free audio codec, very popular as an alternative to MP3.

To play these files we need a music player. AIMP, for example, is one of the best options we can find today.

Video extensions

In the same way as with audio, video clips also have their own default formats. Depending on the codec used, and many other factors, we can find common video file extensions such as:

AVI: audio and video container that can contain several audio and video data streams.
DIVX: format used to store high definition and quality video files.
MOV: format used by QuickTime.
MP4: format capable of storing multimedia content such as audio, video and subtitles.
MPG: format with low quality loss compression.
WMV: video format developed by Microsoft with compression and possible DRM.

To open these files we will need a video player. VLC, for example, is one of the best video players that we can find for this purpose.

Photo Extensions

Like audio and video, photos also have to have their own multimedia format. Depending on the type of photo, quality and compression we can find these common file extensions:

JPEG / JPG: format most used in digital images, with compression and loss.
PNG: graphic format with lossless compression. Supports transparencies.
BMP: bitmap image.
ICO: icon file.
SVG: vector graphics image.
WEBP: compression image format developed by Google for web.
GIF: animated images.
PSD: Adobe Photoshop project.
HEIC: Image format used by Apple on macOS and iOS.
NEF / CRW: Raw image format, raw, used by Nikon and Canon cameras.
AI: Adobe Ilustrator project.
ID: Adobe InDesign project.

Depending on the type of photo we can open them with some programs or others. For example, if it is a Photoshop project we will need Adobe software, if we are opening a RAW image we will do it with software such as Camera RAW, or if they are normal photos with the Windows photo viewer itself.

Windows extensions

Windows, of course, has its own types of files. These are normally recognized and used by the operating system itself, so we don’t have to worry about them. The most common we can meet daily are:

EXE: Windows executable.
LNK: direct access.
BAT: script for CMD.
COM: MS-DOS application.
PS1: PowerShell script.
DLL: libraries with code necessary for the programs to work.
MSI: installer.
SYS: critical system files. It is not recommended to touch or erase them.
TTF: TrueType font.
OTF: OpenType font.
INI: configuration file.
SCR: screen protector.
INF: installation information.
BIN: binary file.

These files are usually associated with the system itself, so we will not need additional software to open them.

Compressed File Extensions

Compressing files is very useful because it allows us to group a large number of files in the same package, reduce their size, and allow us to easily share them with other people over the Internet. The most used formats for compressed files are:

ZIP: format developed by WinZIP.
RAR: compression format developed by WinRAR more efficient than ZIP.
RAR5: Renewed version of RAR with security improvements and data recovery.
7Z: free format developed by the creator of 7-Zip.

WinRAR, PeaZip, 7-Zip or Bandizip are excellent programs to open all types of compressed formats.

CD or DVD image extensions

An image of a disk is a copy of all its contents and packaged inside a container. The most common extensions for disk image files are:

ISO: image format par excellence.
CUE: disc data (such as audio tracks, titles, duration, etc.) is saved as plain text files in ASCII. It contains the instructions to read the accompanying BIN.
IMG: widely used, for example, to create literal copies of memory cards or other units.

Disc recorders, such as Nero, or image editing programs, such as Daemon Tools, will allow us to work with these types of files. In addition, we can also use the previous compressors, which will allow us to access all the data within these disk images.