Tip of the Week: The Common File Types and How to Use Them

Do you ever see the little letters after a file and wonder what they stand for? While you might intuitively know from the thumbnail what kind of file you’re looking at, these letters, called file extensions, help to differentiate them from one another. Let’s go over some of the common file types you might encounter during your day-to-day work.

Everyday Documents

.DOCX / .DOC

This file type is given to files opened or created in a word processing program, like Microsoft Word, Google Docs, or Apple Pages.

.PDF

This file type, which stands for Portable Document Format, is an accessible (yet unchangeable) format that preserves the formatting of the initial document. It’s usually reserved for final versions of documents that aren’t supposed to be edited, like invoices, forms, and contracts. Most modern web browsers can open these documents, but you can also use Adobe Acrobat Reader.

.XLSX / .XLS

This file type is reserved for spreadsheets that include rows and columns of data. You use them in software like Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets for tasks like tracking the budget, making lists, or building charts.

.PPTX / .PPT

These files are slide decks for use in Microsoft PowerPoint or Google Slides, and they power most presentations you’ll experience or share.

Image Files

.JPEG / .JPG

These file types are the most common image format, typically used for colorful and complex photos or images. They can work in any browser, editor, or image viewing application.

.PNG

If you’ve seen images with transparent backgrounds, they are this file type. PNGs are perfect for images that shouldn’t have a border or background, such as a logo or an icon. The same applications that open other image file types should be able to open these ones, too.

Compressed Files

.ZIP

A ZIP file is a great way to share many files and folders at once. They make for convenient archives and can help you send data by compressing it to make it smaller. You can easily access this data, too, as modern computers have the ability to extract files without a dedicated app. All you have to do is double-click to view the content, right-click the file, and select Extract All… to create a new folder with all the files.

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