FTP File Types

In addition to text (ASCII) files, you may also have also encountered GIF and JPEG files. These are two common image file types. Any file type that is not an ASCII files, such as word processing files, spreadsheet files and image files, and executable files are called binary files.

Binary files are often contained in folders labeled "bin" and the names of these files will end in various extensions. Many of these files will be compressed files, that have been reduced in size to increase their transmission speed over the Internet. See also How do I use FTP for more information on using FTP in your browser.

FILE TYPE OR EXTENSION USAGE
.gif, .tif or .tiff, .bmp, .jpeg image (picture) files
.au, .wav, .aiff, .ra(m) sound files
.mpeg,.mov video (motion picture) files
.zip, .lzh, .arc Compressed archive files, most likely for a DOS or Windows-based computer
.exe As we commonly know it, this is an executable file for a program. In this context, this is usually a self-extracting compressed archive file

These file types and extensions are presented here to familiarize you, in case your browser doesn't recognize them. This situation doesn't mean you can't download and/or save these files, it means you will need to take a few more steps as talked about in the Related Topics sections below.

Related Topics