---
title: "Everyday File Formats Cheatsheet | FindUtils"
description: "Compare document, spreadsheet, image, archive, audio, and video formats. Check conversion limits and choose a format for sharing or editing."
url: https://findutils.com/cheatsheets/everyday-file-formats/
---

# Everyday File Formats Cheatsheet

Compare document, spreadsheet, image, archive, audio, and video formats. Check conversion limits and choose a format for sharing or editing. 38 shortcuts in 7 sections, filed under [Shortcuts & Productivity](https://findutils.com/cheatsheets/shortcuts/).

## Choose a format before you save

- `Renaming is not conversion`: Changing a file extension does not change its encoded content
- `Keep an editable original`: Export a separate copy when another format drops features
- `Check the receiving app`: A file extension alone does not guarantee compatibility
- `Lossy versus lossless`: Lossy encoding discards detail; lossless preserves encoded data

## Text and documents

- `.txt`: Plain text without document layout or styled text
- `.md`: Plain text with Markdown notation for formatting
- `.pdf`: A document format that preserves page layout for sharing
- `.docx`: An editable Word document format with text and layout
- `.html`: Web page markup; a browser can also load scripts and external content

## Spreadsheets and structured data

- `.xlsx`: An Excel workbook format with cells, formulas, and multiple sheets
- `.csv`: Delimited text records; formatting and multiple sheets do not survive
- `.tsv`: Text records that use tabs between fields
- `.json`: Structured data with objects, arrays, and typed values
- `CSV import settings`: Check encoding, separators, dates, and leading zeros
- `CSV quoting`: Quote fields that contain commas, line breaks, or double quotes

## Images

- `.jpg / .jpeg`: Lossy raster images often used for photographs
- `.png`: Lossless raster images with support for transparency
- `.webp`: Raster images with lossy or lossless encoding and transparency
- `.avif`: Raster images with lossy or lossless encoding and transparency
- `.gif`: Animation support with up to 256 colors per frame palette
- `.svg`: Vector graphics that scale; untrusted files can contain active content

## Archives and attachments

- `.zip`: An archive that groups files and can compress their contents
- `.gz`: A compressed data stream, often used around one file
- `.tar`: An archive container; compression is a separate step
- `.tar.gz`: A tar archive compressed with gzip
- `Compressed does not mean encrypted`: Check the archive settings before sharing private data

## Audio and video

- `.mp3`: Lossy compressed audio
- `.wav`: An audio container often used for uncompressed PCM
- `.flac`: Lossless compressed audio
- `.mp4`: A media container; playback also depends on the contained codecs
- `.webm`: A web media container with specific permitted codecs
- `Container versus codec`: The container holds streams; the codec encodes each stream

## Sources and related references

- `https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/experience/storage-filemanagement/common-file-name-extensions-in-windows`: Check common file extensions and renaming limits
- `https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/excel/get-started/import-or-export-text-txt-or-csv-files`: Check CSV export and import limitations
- `https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/Media/Guides/Formats/Image_types`: Compare image formats and their capabilities
- `https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/Media/Guides/Formats/Containers`: Check audio and video container definitions
- `/cheatsheets/spreadsheet-formulas/`: Keep formulas in an editable workbook
- `/cheatsheets/markdown-syntax/`: Write a Markdown document

## Related

- Cheatsheet: [Spreadsheet Formulas](https://findutils.com/cheatsheets/spreadsheet-formulas/)
- Cheatsheet: [Windows 11 Keyboard Shortcuts](https://findutils.com/cheatsheets/windows-shortcuts/)
- Cheatsheet: [Mac Keyboard Shortcuts](https://findutils.com/cheatsheets/mac-shortcuts/)
- Guide: [Add Page Numbers to a PDF, Including the Title Page Case](https://findutils.com/guides/pdf-page-numbers/)
- Guide: [Add a Watermark to a PDF, and What It Does Not Protect](https://findutils.com/guides/pdf-watermark/)
- Guide: [Convert JPG and PNG Images to a Single PDF](https://findutils.com/guides/images-to-pdf/)
- Tool: [JSON to PDF Renderer](https://findutils.com/developers/json-to-pdf-renderer/)
- Tool: [PDF Text Extractor](https://findutils.com/pdf/pdf-text-extractor/)
- Tool: [CSV to SQL](https://findutils.com/convert/csv-to-sql/)