The Most Common Document File Extensions

File extensions
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File extensions are those last characters you see on the downloaded document. For example, if you named your document Document1, eventually it’ll show up like Document1.txt. It means that this file is a text document. But don’t be mistaken. Not only TXT extension means that it’s a text document. We used TXT example to set a difference between the file name and file extension.

If you are someone who works a lot with the documents, you might already know what these extensions are. But for a common user (a regular user) this article might be informative in many ways.

DOC and DOCX

DOC and DOCX are the native formats of Microsoft Word. There is no difference between these two, it just depends which Microsoft Office version you are using. They contain text, images, tables, and other components, making them one of the most popular and preferred file formats for different industries and purposes.

DOC or DOCX are great for writing essays, presenting graphic-rich text, etc. And they allow users to edit them after the work is done.

TXT

TXT is a file extension we used to give an example above. It’s a raw text-filled document that can be created with all of the word-processing programs.

They are popular, but they are not as flexible as DOC or DOCX. They don’t contain images, graphs, tables, and other objects. They store text and only text. It gives users a possibility to securely store the data, share it and transfer the information across the platforms.

PDF

Another gem of the document format field is PDF file format. Almost everyone has encountered a PDF format, and everyone has worked on it. Adobe designed this extension to make the documents more presentable and rich. PDF can contain images, graphs, tables, 3D drawings, and other objects.

Although it seems impossible, you can edit PDF file with online and offline tools like Sodapdf. Adobe also designed Adobe Acrobat for this job, but the internet is full of free options, so why not? You can create, merge, compress, and edit your PDF and be done with it.

HTM and HTML

Don’t be scared because HTML is associated with web pages and web addresses. You can also save documents in this format. Almost every word processing system is able to format text in HTM or HTML extension. You can open such files with any browser and view them as a regular website.

PPT and PPTX

We are ending with one of Microsoft’s creations. PowerPoint is a famous tool around the students, lecturers, and those who need to conduct a presentation with slideshows.

These formats include text, images, graphs, tables, even animations, and video-audio files. Slideshows created in PowerPoint have ending of .ppt, and they can be opened by any other program, but the structure and layout may differ from the original.

These are the most common document file extensions you might come across when you start working in the office. And if you already do, educate yourself more about these gems to understand what you are doing and how you can edit your finished product in the future.

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