Computer File Formats Full Framework

Computer file formats are standardized ways of encoding data for storage and exchange. From the initial images (.bmp or .gif) or postscript (.ps) formats, the industry introduced plethora of proprietary and non-proprietary formats. The the 10 most used currently being:

• Text Files (.txt): plain text files containing unformatted text, widely used for notes, code, and configuration settings as an exchange file when no formatting is required.
• Portable Document Format (.pdf): a versatile format for documents, preserving fonts, images, and layouts across platforms.
• Microsoft Word Documents (.doc, .docx): proprietary formats for word processing documents, commonly used for reports and letters.
• JPEG Image Files (.jpg, .jpeg): compressed image format commonly used for photographs and web images.
• PNG Image Files (.png): lossless image format supporting transparency, often used for graphics and web images.
• ZIP Archive Files (.zip): compressed file format used to bundle multiple files or folders into a single archive, facilitating storage and transfer.
• HTML Files (.html, .htm): standard markup language files for creating web pages, structuring content with tags and elements.
• CSV Files (.csv): comma-separated values files used for storing tabular data, easily opened with spreadsheet applications. It is mostly used to exchange a lot of information between non-compatible software.
• MP3 Audio Files (.mp3): compressed audio format commonly used for music and podcasts.
• MP4 Video Files (.mp4): compressed video format widely used for streaming and storing videos with high quality and manageable file sizes.

Find bellow an extensive list of applicable standards or de-facto standards or specifications for most computer file types:

Note: this tree is partially automatically generated and is intended for a first global approach. Do double-check the requirements and completeness (exemple of mistake: listing the rare earth metals standard for an MRI is not appropriate. An MRI has no real magnet.)

Refer to the standards official organisations listed in our tool directory.