File Type Definition A file type is a name given to a specific kind of file. For example, a Microsoft Word document and an Adobe Photoshop document are two different file types. While these file types are associated with individual applications, other file types, such as rich text RTF files and MP3 audio files are standard file types that can be opened by multiple programs. The terms "file type" and "file format" are often used interchangeably. However, a file format technically describes th...

.DOCX File Extension What is a DOCX file? A DOCX file is a document created by Microsoft Word or another word processing program, such as OpenOffice Writer or Apple Pages. It contains formatted text but may also include images, drawn objects, and other document elements. DOCX files are widely used in home, academic, and business environments for drafting letters, resumes, invitations, newsletters, and other documents. More Information DOCX file open in Microsoft Word 2019 ...

.DOC File Extension What is a DOC file? A DOC file is a word processing document created by Microsoft Word, or another word processing program, such as OpenOffice Writer or Apple Pages. It may contain formatted text, images, tables, graphs, charts, page formatting, and print settings. More Information DOC file open in Microsoft Word 2019 DOC files are used to create a variety of documents including letters, resumes, essays, and invitations. When you create a document in ...

.ZIP File Extension What is a ZIP file? A ZIP file is an archive that contains one or more files compressed or "zipped" using Zip compression. It stores files separately from each other allowing the files to be compressed using different methods and extracted without compressing or decompressing the entire archive. More Information The Zip format was created in 1989 by Phil Katz and was used in the PKZIP utility developed by PKWARE, Inc. The format grew in popularity and is now s...

.SITX File Extension What is a SITX file? A SITX file is a compressed file saved in the Stuffit X archive format, the default format used by StuffIt 7.0 and later. It features Smith Micro's exclusive ATOM compression technology and offers up to 20% more compression than standard Stuffit (.SIT) archives. More Information The SITX format supports long filenames, preservation of UNIX (i.e. OS X) and Windows file permissions, and error correction, which fixes data transmission errors...

JPEG Definition Stands for "Joint Photographic Experts Group." JPEG is a popular image file format. It is commonly used by digital cameras to store photos since it supports 224 or 16,777,216 colors. The format also supports varying levels of compression, which makes it ideal for web graphics. The 16 million possible colors in a JPEG image are produced by using 8 bits for each color (red, green, and blue) in the RGB color space. This provides 28 or 256 values for each of the three colors, w...

AIFC File .AIFCFile Extension What is a AIFC file? Compressed .AIFF audio file used by media players and gaming consoles; contains CD-quality audio; similar to a .WAV file, but uses audio compression to reduce file size; may incorporate ULAW, ALAW, or G722 compression; commonly referred to as an AIFF-C file.  

AIFF File .AIFFFile Extension What is a AIFF file? High-quality audio file created using the (AIFF) file format; contains CD-quality audio stored in a non-compressed, lossless format, similar .WAV files; commonly used to burn audio CDs. More Information The AIFF file format is based on the Electronic Arts .IFF format and was originally developed by Apple Computer. Standard CD audio AIFF files are sampled at 44.1KHz, are 16-bit, and have two channels for stereo sound. AIFF fil...

AIF File .AIFFile Extension What is a AIF file? An AIF file is an audio file created using the Audio Interchange File Format (AIFF). It contains uncompressed CD-quality audio similar to a .WAV file and is commonly used to store standard CD audio. More Information Apple Computer developed the AIFF format, basing it on Electronic Arts' .IFF format. Standard AIFF files use a sampling rate of 44.1KHz, are 16-bit, and have two channels for stereo sound. NOTE: AIFF files also use t...

M4A File .M4A File Extension What is an M4A file? An M4A file is an audio file saved in the MPEG-4 format and encoded with either the Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) codec or the Apple Lossless Audio Codec (ALAC). It may store various types of audio content, such as songs, podcasts, and audiobooks. More Information M4A file open in Adobe Audition CC 2019 MPEG-4 is a multimedia container format used to store both compressed audio and video data. The format is used by .MP4 fi...