QL FILENAME EXTENSIONS by Dilwyn Jones and Jochen Merz In response to a request received from a reader, the following list of filename extensions has been compiled. No doubt there are others and we will gladly publish any additions to this list. The use of filename extensions is not as 'formal' or rigid in QDOS/SMSQ as in some other operating system. We use these for convenience, in order to recognise certain file types, e.g. files with filenames ending in _doc are generally document files, usually Quill files. But this is not the end of the story. Many QL programs will recognise files with different extensions if the files themselves are in the correct format. For example, if you save a file from Quill with the filename FLP1_EXAMPLE_doc or FLP1_EXAMPLE_PER, it will manage to reload either one. It is generally wise to stick with the 'standard' extensions for a particular program's files. One example of the use of these extensions is the FileInfo program used in conjunction with QPAC2. Properly installed and with the correct definitions entered, you can hit a filename in QPAC2 files menu, then use the EXEC command to execute that file. But since a text file, for example, is not an executable program, FileInfo ensures that instead of trying to execute the text file, what gets executed is the program associated with the filename extension. So instead of executing EXAMPLE_TXT as a text file, you can execute your favourite text file editor and tell it to load that file automatically. FileInfo is available from Thierry Godefroy's website and from the usual sources of free QL software. Following publication of this article originally, we received a number of further suggestions for inclusion, including a number of extensions for non-QL files which it was felt may well become more common in the QL community in the future as we 'borrow' other formats and convert files from other systems to our formats - these are included here to help us avoid using common extensions used on other computers where it is felt this may be appropriate. _aba Abacus spreadsheet _a A C compiler file (C68 library) _a87 Text 87 font list files _ai Adobe Illustrator graphics file, suitable for import to Line Design _aiff Audio Interchange File Format, usually files transferred from Macs _alt Altkey definition file _app Application menu or (in Easyptr) an Appendix Manager file _arc ARC compressed file _arj ARJ compressed archive _asm Assembler files _asp Active Server Page - Microsoft solution to multi-tasking cgi _au basic AUdio file _avi Audio Video Interleave, a Windows video format _awk AWK source code script _bak Backup file _bas SuperBASIC or SBASIC BASIC program _bin Binary file, machine code output from assemblers, or BASIC extensions _blb Pointer environment Blob file _bmp Bitmapped graphics files _boot Usually a BASIC or command file, used for startup purposes _box List of MIDI files to be played in MidiPlayer 3 _byt Bytes file, or basic extension or pure code file _bz BZIPped file _c C source file _c87 Text 87 configuration file _c91 Text 87 configuration file _cde Code files, e.g. machine code or extensions files _cdk Cuedark screen saver file _cfg A configuration file, used by several programs _cgi Common Gateway Interface - application that runs on a web server processing data (e.g. from an HTML form) and returns an HTML document. _cgm Computer Graphics Metafile - a vector graphics format _cmd A command file, used by several programs _code as _cde _com A compressed file - usually graphics _cpt File encrypted or processed with CRYPT utility, or Corel Paint graphics _crf Assembler cross reference files _css Cascaded Style Sheets in HTML documents _ctl Control files for JMS Thing And EPROM Manager _cue Cuedark and Cueshell files _cut Page Designer 2 and 3 _dbf Archive database _def Definition files used as configuration files for example. _dia Diagram definition file _dic Dictionary files used by Solvit Plus 2 and 3 _dmo Demonstration file _doc Quill or Perfection document file _dat Many uses - used for printer data files by the Psion programs, and general data files by many other programs _ddf Data Design database file _ddi Data Design Index file _ddm Data Design _def Definition or setup file _dev Device application file _dic Dictionary file (e.g. a QTYP dictionary) _dm5 Disk Mate 5 file _dmp Screen dump file _dtp Used for some Digital Precision Desktop Publisher files _ebf Easybase database files _eng Used for help files etc to denote English language files _eps Encapsulated Postscript file _exp Export file, used by many programs, generally either comma separated exported data files or exported in text format _err Error report file _exc As _exec _exe As _exec _exec Executable programs for the QL _exf QSpread export filter _ext SuperBASIC or SBASIC extensions _fax Fax page file _f87 Text 87 font file _fmt Format information file, used by several programs _fnt A screen font file, used by many graphics programs _font A screen font file, used by many graphics programs _frm Format definition file _gen Code generation files from compilers, or PTR_GEN pointer environment file _gif Graphic Interchange Format _grf Easel graphic file _gz Gzipped file _h A C compiler file (header file) _har HAR archived file _hdf High Definition Font file, used by Professional Publisher and Page Designer 3 _hlp A help file _hob Help Object file, used by Psion programs such as Quill _hrq HRQ compressed file _htm HTML (web page) file _html As _htm _i C68 intermediate file, or an Intercal source file _idx Index file _imf QSpread import filter _img Image or graphics file _in assembler INCLUDE file (GST Macro Assembler/Quanta QMAC) _inc as _in _inv Inverted video graphics _job Job file (executable program) _jpeg JPG compressed graphics files _jpg JPG compressed graphics files _js Javascript file _l Flex input file _ldp Line Design page, or LDump (JMS) file _ldr Loader file _lha LHA archived file _lhq An archiver file format _lhz An archiver file format _lib Library file (used by C compilers and assemblers) _lift Page Designer 1 _lis Listing files _ljs Lonely Joker game save file _lnk File to be linked, usually generated by an assembler as SROFF file _log Log file, used by BBS systems to log callers etc _lst Listing file, as _lis _lzh LZH compressed file _m91 Text 87 Macros file _mac Assembler macro file _man Manual files, or Unix Man pages _map Map files, used by adventure games, midi, graphics etc programs _men Menu file used by EasyPtr _mgr Manager file, used by various device manager programs _mid Standard MIDI File used by Al Boehm's QL MidiPlayer _midi As _mid _mime Mime encoded file _mov Quicktime movie _mp3 Compressed music file on other computers (Multimedia Protocol v.3) _mpeg As _mpg _mpg Motion Picture experts Group - a video format _mrg A file to be merged with another file _msg Message files from some BBS systems _o Object file from C68 compiler, ready for linking _obj QLiberator compiled BASIC program, or assembled file for linking _out Output file _ovl QLiberator overlay files _pad Notepad file _page Page Designer 1, 2 and 3 page file _p87 Text 87 printer driver _pas A Pascal file _pat Pattern files, used by Page Designer 2 and 3 and The Painter _pcx a graphics file format widely used on PCs _pdf Portable Document Format - Adobe Acrobat or Ghostscript file _pfd Proforma Driver - a printer file used in Proforma from PROGS _pff Profroma fonts (e.g. used by Line Design and Prowess) _pic A picture or pointer environment area save file _pic0 4 colour _pic file (Mode 0) _pic4 4 colour _pic file _pic8 8 colour _pic file _pict Macintosh bitmap graphics format. _pkt Packet files for some BBS systems _pl Perl source file _png Portable Network Graphics (internet format) _prc Process defintion file _prg Archive program file (ASCII listing) _prl Perl script files _pro Archive program file in object/tokenised format _prt Print files or printer driver files _pws Prowess file _qed QED editor file _qlq QLQ rext file (JMS) font file (NLQ printing program) _qpp A Quick Posters page file _rc A configuration file used by programs such as Qascade _rel Relocatable file (e.g. used for S-ROFF type files) _rex REXX source file _rext Runtime extensions or BASIC extensions _rexx As _rex _rom ROM image file _rpm Resident Procedure Managerfile, for the QEPIII Eprom programmer _rtf Rich Text Format - word processor formatted text _rtm (1) a runtimes file (compiler extensions) (2) a QLiberator compiled program with compiler runtimes attached to the program _run Runtimes, e.g. used by compilers _s C68 assembler file _saf Safety files - backups created by some programs _sav BASIC program saved in tokenised format, used by SBASIC and by Liberation Software's QLOAD utilities, and by QLiberator _scn A screen graphics file _scr A screen graphics file _sed SED source code script _seq Sequence data file for Vision Mixer program _sfx Self extracting file, e.g. as created from QDOS Info-zip _snl Vision Mixer screen names list _spr Sprite file, used by Easyptr and QPTR _t87 Text 87 text files _t91 More recent Text 87 _tab QSpread table file _tar Tape Archive file _tar_gz gzipped _tar (Tape Archive) file _task Turbo compiled task (a compiled BASIC program) _tex From the TEX DTP system _tgz As _tar_gz _tif Tagged Image File graphics format _tmp Temporary files or work files created by some programs (e.g. Quill) _txt Plain text files _typ Type definition file _ub Unsigned Byte audio format, as used on Q40 for example. _ue UU Encoded file _uu UU encoded file _wav Windows wave sound file _win Hard disk file, typically used in QXL.WIN files for SMSQ and SMSQ/E _wmf Windows Meta File, a vector graphics format _wrk Work file, used by QLiberator _xbm portable Bitmap - another graphics format _xml eXtensible Markup Lanuage - extended HTML document _xrf Cross Reference files, used by BASIC syntax checkers etc _y Yacc/Bison source file _zip Zipped (compressed/archived file) used by the Zip program _zoo ZOO compressed file