Common Internet File Formats

Compiled by Eric Perlman and Ian Kallen for Internet Literacy Consultants.

Last update: 19 December 1995
This file is http://www.matisse.net/files/formats.html
See also: Our Glossary of Internet Terms, our Webgen web publishing software,
and the work we did for Macworld Online

You must use a tables-friendly browser (like Netscape)to read this document.

Find the file type you are looking for quickly in the INDEX

Note: This list is mainly intended for use on Macintosh computers and PC's running MS-Windows. This is only a partial list of what really is out there but for these common platforms, the majority of the file types encountered on-line can handled with the tools herein. For an additional collection of related information focused on PC users check out Multimedia File Formats on The Internet by Allison Zhang, and the Cross-Platform Page by Eric Bennett. For compression info for all platforms check the comp.compression FAQ (126Kb).

Various File Formats
File Suffix Format Description & Type How to deal with it

.arj PC format common to European sites.
Binary
Use unArjMac or DeArj, however the resulting file will probably not be usable on a mac.

Use WinZIP to view and extract archives.

Use WinZIP to view and extract archives.

.au .au is the most common sound format found on the web.
Binary
Use Sound Player to play it

Use Waveform Hold and Modify to play it

Use Waveform Hold and Modify to play it

.aiff .aiff is also a semi-common sound format.
Binary
Use Sound Player to play it

Use Waveform Hold and Modify to play it

Use Waveform Hold and Modify to play it

.bin Macbinary II Encoded File. Make sure to download as MacBinary or Binary. Use Stuffit Expander to turn back into a usable Macintosh file if it isn't already.

N/A

N/A

.doc May be a DOS/Windows program or a DOS/Windows Self Extracting Archive
Binary
Use MS-Word

Use WordView to quickly display MS-Word documents

Use WordView to quickly display MS-Word documents

.exe May be a DOS/Windows program or a DOS/Windows Self Extracting Archive
Binary
N/A

Download and launch it in its own temporary directory, it may spawn a number of files and directories. Self Extracting

Download and launch it in its own temporary directory, it may spawn a number of files and directories. Self Extracting

.gif GIF (Graphical Interchange Format), though not the most economical, is the most common graphics format found on the Internet. Use GIFConverter or JPEG View

Use Lview Pro to view these graphics

Use PolyView to view these graphics

.gz .gz is the Gnu version of zip. It is a compression method developed for use on UNIX systems.
Binary
Use macgzip to view and extract archives.

Use WinZIP to view and extract archives.

Use WinZIP to view and extract archives.

.html
.htm HTML (Hypertext Markup Language), the code the web is written in. Plain text file. Use Netscape for MacIntosh to view the file

Use Netscape for Windows 3.1x to view the file

Use Netscape for Windows95 and Windows NT to view the file

.hqx BinHex 4.0 - Encodes a Macintosh file into 7-bit text so it can be safely transfered. Most Mac files appear in .hqx Use Stuffit Expander

Use BinHex13 in a DOS window to un-binhex it

Use BinHex13 in a DOS window to un-binhex it

.image Macintosh Disk Image, most commonly found on Apple's FTP sites.
Binary
Use Shrink Wrap to mount the disk image, and deal with it like you would a floppy

N/A

N/A

.jpg
.jpeg
.jfif JPEG/JFIF, a 24 bit graphic format
Binary
Use JPEG View

Use Lview Pro to view these graphics

Use PolyView to view these graphics

.mpg
.mpeg MPEG, the standard movie platform for the 'net.
Binary
Use sparkle to play them, or to convert them to QuickTime.

Use VMPEG with win32s to play MPEGs

Use VMPEG or Ladybug to play MPEGs

.mov
.qt
.movie
.moov QuickTime Movie, Apple Macintosh native movie platform
Binary
Use Sparkle, FastPlayer, MoviePlayer, SimpleText, MicrosoftWord...and many others. If the movie appears totaly white, you may need to use the Apple Quicktime VR Player to see them.

Use QuickTime for Windows

Use QuickTime for Windows

.pdf Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format, download as Binary Use Adobe Acrobat Reader or Adobe Acrobat

Use Adobe Acrobat Reader or Adobe Acrobat

Use Adobe Acrobat Reader or Adobe Acrobat

.ps Postscript file. Plain text file, but not really human-readable. Send to a Postscipt printer with Laserwriter Font Utility or view it onscreen using Ghostscript

View it onscreen using Ghostscript

View it onscreen using Ghostscript

.sit Stuffit Archive - Binary Download as MacBinary, and use Stuffit Expander

Use UnSit in a DOS window

Use UnSit in a DOS window

.sea Macintosh Self Extracting Archive Download as MacBinary, and launch it. Self Extracting

N/A

N/A

.tar UNIX tar program takes seperate files and turns them into one file. Often also compressed. Extensions such .tar.Z, .tar.gz and .tgz (latter two are equivalent) requires decompression first, then un-tar. Some UNIX ftp servers will un-tar a file if you request it without the ".tar" extention.
Binary
Download and use Tar

Use WinZIP to view and extract archives.

Use WinZIP to view and extract archives.

.tiff
.tif TIFF is a very large high quality image format.
Binary
Use JPEGView

Use Lview Pro to view these graphics

Use PolyView to view these graphics

.txt A plain boring old Text File Use Microsoft Word, Simple Text, BBEdit, whatever!

Use the 16 bit version of Programmer's File Editor

Use the 32 bit version of Programmer's File Editor

.uu
.uue A uuencoded file. Typically this is done on a UNIX command line:
uuencode OriginalFileName SecondFilename > EncodedFile.uu
Then, after running:
uudecode EncodedFile.uu
One gets a file generated named:
SecondFileName
Using .uu as the extension is not required but is considered politely explanatory for what type of file it is. Increasing numbers of desktop mail and newsreading programs will handle this type of encoding on the fly.
Use UU Undo to uudecode it

Use WinCode to uudecode it

Use ESS-Code to uudecode it

.wav Windows Wave format sound file
Binary
You can use SoundApp to play .wav files

Use Waveform Hold and Modify to play it

Use Waveform Hold and Modify to play it

.Z Unix Compressed File
Binary
If you are downloading via ftp most ftp servers will uncompress for you if you drop the ".Z". Otherwise use Stuffit Expander w/EE.

Use WinZIP to view and extract archives.

Use WinZIP to view and extract archives.

.zip pkzip, a common DOS/Windows compression format
Binary
Use ZipIt, Stuffit Expander w/ EE, or MacUnZip

Use WinZIP to view and extract archives.

Use WinZIP to view and extract archives.

Various File Formats
File Suffix	Format Description & Type	How to deal with it
.arj	PC format common to European sites. Binary	Use unArjMac or DeArj, however the resulting file will probably not be usable on a mac.
Use WinZIP to view and extract archives.
Use WinZIP to view and extract archives.
.au	.au is the most common sound format found on the web. Binary	Use Sound Player to play it
Use Waveform Hold and Modify to play it
Use Waveform Hold and Modify to play it
.aiff	.aiff is also a semi-common sound format. Binary	Use Sound Player to play it
Use Waveform Hold and Modify to play it
Use Waveform Hold and Modify to play it
.bin	Macbinary II Encoded File. Make sure to download as MacBinary or Binary.	Use Stuffit Expander to turn back into a usable Macintosh file if it isn't already.
N/A
N/A
.doc	May be a DOS/Windows program or a DOS/Windows Self Extracting Archive Binary	Use MS-Word
Use WordView to quickly display MS-Word documents
Use WordView to quickly display MS-Word documents
.exe	May be a DOS/Windows program or a DOS/Windows Self Extracting Archive Binary	N/A
Download and launch it in its own temporary directory, it may spawn a number of files and directories. Self Extracting
Download and launch it in its own temporary directory, it may spawn a number of files and directories. Self Extracting
.gif	GIF (Graphical Interchange Format), though not the most economical, is the most common graphics format found on the Internet.	Use GIFConverter or JPEG View
Use Lview Pro to view these graphics
Use PolyView to view these graphics
.gz	.gz is the Gnu version of zip. It is a compression method developed for use on UNIX systems. Binary	Use macgzip to view and extract archives.
Use WinZIP to view and extract archives.
Use WinZIP to view and extract archives.
.html .htm	HTML (Hypertext Markup Language), the code the web is written in. Plain text file.	Use Netscape for MacIntosh to view the file
Use Netscape for Windows 3.1x to view the file
Use Netscape for Windows95 and Windows NT to view the file
.hqx	BinHex 4.0 - Encodes a Macintosh file into 7-bit text so it can be safely transfered. Most Mac files appear in .hqx	Use Stuffit Expander
Use BinHex13 in a DOS window to un-binhex it
Use BinHex13 in a DOS window to un-binhex it
.image	Macintosh Disk Image, most commonly found on Apple's FTP sites. Binary	Use Shrink Wrap to mount the disk image, and deal with it like you would a floppy
N/A
N/A
.jpg .jpeg .jfif	JPEG/JFIF, a 24 bit graphic format Binary	Use JPEG View
Use Lview Pro to view these graphics
Use PolyView to view these graphics
.mpg .mpeg	MPEG, the standard movie platform for the 'net. Binary	Use sparkle to play them, or to convert them to QuickTime.
Use VMPEG with win32s to play MPEGs
Use VMPEG or Ladybug to play MPEGs
.mov .qt .movie .moov	QuickTime Movie, Apple Macintosh native movie platform Binary	Use Sparkle, FastPlayer, MoviePlayer, SimpleText, MicrosoftWord...and many others. If the movie appears totaly white, you may need to use the Apple Quicktime VR Player to see them.
Use QuickTime for Windows
Use QuickTime for Windows
.pdf	Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format, download as Binary	Use Adobe Acrobat Reader or Adobe Acrobat
Use Adobe Acrobat Reader or Adobe Acrobat
Use Adobe Acrobat Reader or Adobe Acrobat
.ps	Postscript file. Plain text file, but not really human-readable.	Send to a Postscipt printer with Laserwriter Font Utility or view it onscreen using Ghostscript
View it onscreen using Ghostscript
View it onscreen using Ghostscript
.sit	Stuffit Archive - Binary	Download as MacBinary, and use Stuffit Expander
Use UnSit in a DOS window
Use UnSit in a DOS window
.sea	Macintosh Self Extracting Archive	Download as MacBinary, and launch it. Self Extracting
N/A
N/A
.tar	UNIX tar program takes seperate files and turns them into one file. Often also compressed. Extensions such .tar.Z, .tar.gz and .tgz (latter two are equivalent) requires decompression first, then un-tar. Some UNIX ftp servers will un-tar a file if you request it without the ".tar" extention. Binary	Download and use Tar
Use WinZIP to view and extract archives.
Use WinZIP to view and extract archives.
.tiff .tif	TIFF is a very large high quality image format. Binary	Use JPEGView
Use Lview Pro to view these graphics
Use PolyView to view these graphics
.txt	A plain boring old Text File	Use Microsoft Word, Simple Text, BBEdit, whatever!
Use the 16 bit version of Programmer's File Editor
Use the 32 bit version of Programmer's File Editor
.uu .uue	A uuencoded file. Typically this is done on a UNIX command line: uuencode OriginalFileName SecondFilename > EncodedFile.uu Then, after running: uudecode EncodedFile.uu One gets a file generated named: SecondFileName Using .uu as the extension is not required but is considered politely explanatory for what type of file it is. Increasing numbers of desktop mail and newsreading programs will handle this type of encoding on the fly.	Use UU Undo to uudecode it
Use WinCode to uudecode it
Use ESS-Code to uudecode it
.wav	Windows Wave format sound file Binary	You can use SoundApp to play .wav files
Use Waveform Hold and Modify to play it
Use Waveform Hold and Modify to play it
.Z	Unix Compressed File Binary	If you are downloading via ftp most ftp servers will uncompress for you if you drop the ".Z". Otherwise use Stuffit Expander w/EE.
Use WinZIP to view and extract archives.
Use WinZIP to view and extract archives.
.zip	pkzip, a common DOS/Windows compression format Binary	Use ZipIt, Stuffit Expander w/ EE, or MacUnZip
Use WinZIP to view and extract archives.
Use WinZIP to view and extract archives.

Where to get the Software packages

Adobe Acrobat Reader

Freeware program from Adobe to read Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format files.
Source site: http://www.adobe.com/Software/Acrobat/

BinHex13

Use this in a DOS window to get the original file.
ftp://oak.oakland.edu/simtel/msdos/mac/

ESS-Code

A Windows 32 bit program. Allows drag and drop uuencoding/decoding and MIME support. Look for tile name like ecdXXw95.zip where XX is a version number
ftp://ftp.cica.indiana.edu/pub/pc/win95/txtutil/

Ghostscript

Freeware program for viewing Postscript files on screen, saving to PICT format, etc. The program requires that you install a large (~6 MB) collection of files though. It also crashes alot.
Macintosh source site: http://www.glyphic.com/glyphic/projects/macgs.html
To run Aladdin Ghostscript on a PC you need gs###ini.zip, gs###fn1.zip and one of gs###dos.zip, gs###os2.zip, gs###win.zip or gs###w32.zip. Be sure to read the README and Index files in this directory.
ftp://ftp.cs.wisc.edu/ghost/aladdin/

GIFConverter

Shareware program (~$30) for viewing and converting between GIF, PICT, TIFF, RLE, JPEG (JFIF), EPSF, RIFF, Macpaint, StartupScreen and "Scan Image" formats. Some primitive file editing can be done such as cropping and re-sizing (scale-by-percent) and adjusting file resolution and dither pattern. GIFConverter will save GIFs in Interlaced format if you choose, but cannot handle transparent colors.
The main site: http://www.kamit.com/gifconverter.html
Alternate: http://www.macworld.com/cgi-bin/software.pl/Graphics/Software.32.html
In Japan: http://www.commerce.or.jp/free/d/gifconverter2.3.7.html

JPEGView

JPEGView is a freeware graphic program to read GIF, JPEG, TIFF, and PICT files. Runs fast and will dither nicely to any size of screen/color palette.
Source Site: http://www.med.cornell.edu/jpegview.html
Via FTP: ftp://ftp.med.cornell.edu/pub/aarong/jpegview/

Ladybug

The Ladybug 1.00 for Windows95/NT can only play MPEG files less than 800KB but it looks promising, watch for updates.
ftp://ftp.cica.indiana.edu/pub/pc/win95/desktop/

Laserwriter Font Utility

This comes with your Macintosh. It's on the Printing Tools disk, or it may already be installed in your Utilities folder. If you need to download it from Apple, you can.
Source site: http://www.support.apple.com/

Lview Pro

Lviewpro provides support for a variety of graphics formats including GIF '89 (transparent backgrounds), conversion between different formats and image editing functions.
Pick it up at ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/simtel/win3/graphics/

Netscape

Netscape is by far the fastest and most powerfull World Wide Web browser.
http://home.mcom.com/comprod/mirror/index.html

PolyView

PolyView is a Windows NT/95 program that displays GIF, JPEG, TIFF, and photo-cd graphics files and converts between these file formats.
ftp://ftp.cica.indiana.edu/pub/pc/win95/desktop/

Programmer's File Editor

Programmer's File Editor is a large-capacity multi-file programming oriented editor for Windows 3.1x, Windows NT on Intel and PowerPC platforms, and Windows 95. Get the 16 bit version (pfeXXXX.zip) at ftp://ftp.cica.indiana.edu/pub/pc/win3/util/
Get the 32 bit version (pfeXXXXX.zip) at ftp://ftp.cica.indiana.edu/pub/pc/win3/util/

QuickTime

QuickTime is Apple's video format. Players for Macintosh and Windows are available.
http://quicktime.apple.com/

Quicktime VR Player

This is a QuickTime moview player that will aslo play QuickTine VR movies
Source Site: http://qtvr.quicktime.apple.com/InMac.htm
More Information: http://qtvr.quicktime.apple.com/

Shrinkwrap

Shrinkwrap is a free Mac utility that allows you to mount and use disk image files as if they were a mounted floppy disk. You can also copy disk images to floppies with Shrinkwrap by simply dragging the floppy icon onto Shrinkwrap.
http://wwwhost.ots.utexas.edu/mac/pub-mac-compression.html#shrinkwrap-142

Sound Player

Sound Player is a multipurpose sound program that can record and play back .au and aiff format sounds.
ftp://romulus.ucs.uoknor.edu:/.disks/6f/mac/sound/soundutil/soundmachine2.1.cpt.hqx
ftp://gatekeeper.dec.com:/.3/net/infosys/gopher/Macintosh-TurboGopher/helper-applications/SoundMachine21.cpt.hqx
http://wwwhost.ots.utexas.edu/mac/pub-mac-sound.html

SoundApp

SoundApp is a small featureless program that will play most audio files you may find
http://wwwhost.ots.utexas.edu/mac/pub-mac-sound.html

Sparkle

Sparkle is the best MPEG player for the mac. You can play and convert between Quicktime and MPEG.
Sumex: ftp://sumex-aim.stanford.edu/info-mac/grf/util
Or try ftp://ftp.utexas.edu/pub/mac/graphics/sparkle-241-fat.hqx

Stuffit Expander with Expander Enchancer

Stuffit Expander is the decompression program for the mac. With Expander Enchancer (It is installed when you install DropStuff) you can expand a LOT of formats!
get both Stuff Expander and Drop Stuff w/ EE from Aladdin at ftp://ftp.aladdinsys.com/Pub/

Tar

Tar 4.0 will read and write tar files.
gopher://gopher.archive.umich.edu:7055/40/mac/util/compression/tar4.0b.sit.hqx

UNSIT

UNSIT is a simple utility for PC users to extract files from a StuffIt file.
ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/simtel/msdos/mac/

UU Undo

UU Undo is a simple program to decode uu encoded files on the mac.
http://www.med.cornell.edu/~giles/projects.html#uuundo

VMPEG

VMPEG can play MPEG system layer streams containing both video and audio. This is a win32s program.
ftp://ftp.cica.indiana.edu/pub/pc/win3/desktop/

Waveform Hold and Modify (WHAM)

WHAM provides support for a variety of formats, conversion between them and file editing functions.
Pick it up from ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/cica/win3/sounds/

WinCode

Wincode is a Windows 3.x program which converts 8-bit BINARY (EXE, COM,GIF, etc) files to 7-bit ASCII (Text) files (and vice versa) through a process known as bit-shifting. Wincode currently supports UU/XX and Base64 (MIME 1.0 conformant) coding.
To be had from ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/cica/win3/util/

WinZip

WinZip is an essential tool for it's excellent handling of many different archiving and compression formats. Downloads as a self-extracting archive.
Get the 16 bit version (winzipXX.exe) at ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/cica/win3/util/
Get the 32 bit version (wzntXX.exe) at ftp://ftp.cica.indiana.edu/pub/pc/win3/nt/

WordView

For MS-Windows users, displaying Microsoft Word documents without having to allocate the memory resources required to fire up MS-Word is very handy. Get yours at ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/Softlib/MSLFILES/

ZipIt

A fast program for the Macintosh to extract and create Zip archives.
Home Site: http://www.awa.com/softlock/zipit/zipit.html

INDEX

A .arj .au .aiff Acrobat

B .bin BinHex13

C

D .doc

E .exe ESS-Code

F

G .gz GhostScript

H .htm .html .hqx

I .image

J .jpg .jpeg .jfif JPEGView

K

L Laser Font Utility Ladybug Lview Pro

M .mpg .mpeg .mov .movie

N Netscape

O

P .pdf .ps PolyView Programmer's File Editor

Q .qt QuickTime QuickTime VR

R

S .sea .sit Shrinkwrap Sound Player SoundApp Sparkle Stuffit Expander

T .tar .tgz .tif .tiff .txt TAR

U .uu UNSIT UU Undo

V VMPEG

W .wav WHAM WinCode WinZip WordView

X

Y

Z .Z .zip ZipIt

C
A	.arj .au .aiff Acrobat
B	.bin BinHex13
D	.doc
E	.exe ESS-Code
F
G	.gz GhostScript
H	.htm .html .hqx
I	.image
J	.jpg .jpeg .jfif JPEGView
K
L	Laser Font Utility Ladybug Lview Pro
M	.mpg .mpeg .mov .movie
N	Netscape
O
P	.pdf .ps PolyView Programmer's File Editor
Q	.qt QuickTime QuickTime VR
R
S	.sea .sit Shrinkwrap Sound Player SoundApp Sparkle Stuffit Expander
T	.tar .tgz .tif .tiff .txt TAR
U	.uu UNSIT UU Undo
V	VMPEG
W	.wav WHAM WinCode WinZip WordView
X
Y
Z	.Z .zip ZipIt