Saturday, December 8, 2012

The post of 12/7/2012 discussed three types of email catagories. These were personal, introductive and emotive. This post will include three additional catagories; informative, commentary and appreciative. As usual, any questions or requests may be directed as comments. 

       4)     Informative - Emails of this ilk are sometimes personal but more often of a professional nature.  Again, an informative subject line and direct, to the point statement of objective, are critical to insure a message is read.  Replies should be encouraged and asked for.  If the message is in response to a question having been previously asked, it should be posited, “does this answer your question?”

        Many informative messages are solicitations for products, services, contributions or other items.  When these are legitimate in terms of requests, such as applications for newsletters, and will be of a repetitive nature, an option to unsubscribe is essential.  When a message is a solicitation or response to one, the reason for the communication should necessarily be provided.

 5)     Commentary - These emails are among those which require the maximum Netiquette.  Some of the primary reasons for this are that commentary emails might be of a political context or similarly any statement having potential for heated debate.

        A commentary message many also possess the quality of something similar to a review such as a service or product.  Certainly all are entitled to their subjective opinions but this should be done within the rules of Netiquette.  Remember “emails are like diamonds, they last forever.”   Points of view can be expressed with proper language and decorum with equal or more comprehensive effect. 

6)     Appreciative - Messages which offer appreciation are usually very welcome and some of the easiest to write.  Nonetheless, there are emails of appreciation which are challenging and demand Netiquette compliance.  Among these categories are subjects related to concession, personally unpopular decisions or somewhat disappointing results.  If a message of congratulation is given after a loss, it should be one with facts and brevity.  Negative tone or innuendo defeat the purpose and spirit of concessionary messages and forever might be remembered as sour grapes.

Note: The next post will discuss more email categories. Stay tuned. It is scheduled for 12/9/2012.

Friday, December 7, 2012

Writing effective and proper emails, utilizing good Netiquette, necessitate an understanding of what type of email one is writing. The following represent several of these. The remainder will be sent in the next blog.

          Every email can be categorized into arguably, at least ten unique types.  All of these share common Netiquette principles.  Additionally, there are unique attributes and particulars which are specific to each category.  As such, insuring proper adherence and optimizing best practices within each mail type insures the best possible results.  There are obvious differences, attributes and nuances for each and these will be discussed in this section.

1)            Personal – Clearly this type of email allows for the greatest flexibility, particularly with immediate family.  Moreover, this type of email tolerates the greatest range of Netiquette interpretation.  Despite allowing for exceptions these should not go so far as to affect and carry over into authoring other more formal and structured compositions.  Remember the rule of “composing emails consistently.”  The composer of personal emails should, at a minimum, keep within the basic rules of Netiquette. In a personal email, the salutation, body, closing and signature can accommodate the most flexibility.


2)           Introductory – This category of email can be a personal, business or solicitation form.  By its very name, the usual common thread is that it is a first time message and might very well be one that is not expected by the recipient.  Therefore, special attention must be given to the subject line and first paragraph in order to a) be opened; b) be read; and c) be effective.


In terms of the subject line, an attention producing or recognizable description is very important, particularly if the sendee has no reason to open the communication from seeing the user’s name, organization or cc receipts.  For example, if the message is referral precipitated, the person should be mentioned in the subject line such as:

        “John Brown suggested I contact you”

        “Our mutual friend John Brown”

If there is not a common thread, a short and pertinent subject title is very important.

        The first paragraph of an introductory message should get straight to the issue.  If there is a referral, the party should be mentioned right away:

        “My name is Sam Smith. We have not previously met and the reason for this email is Jane Brown suggested I contact you."  Any amenities can be done later.  Keep the overall email short and purposeful.  State a next step or action and specifically give the recipient a convenient way to reply.


        3)     Emotive - These types of email express some sort of emotion ranging from congratulatory to ones of sympathy.  These can be personal, business or informative.  They might be addressed to a single individual or to an entire company.  Similar to the introductory email, these should be brief and provide for an explanation or purpose of the email in the first sentence or paragraph.  Any niceties or supplemental information can be added after this.  Keeping the message on key is usually the most appropriate and most adherent to Netiquette.  Requests for replies are usually not appropriate.

If any reader would like to see examples, kindly post the request.

Thursday, December 6, 2012

The following post is another short set of suggestions for basic email rules. Future posts will have more detailed rules and scenarios.

Simple Format Rules:


1)   Try to limit emails to one page.

2)   Keep paragraphs brief but avoid having many short sentences.

3)   Separate the closing.

4)   Avoid multiple font changes, color changes, font size changes, and style changes particularly in the middle of sentences.

In general, avoid parenthesis characters, unnecessary abbreviations (they save very little time). For example, pls rather than Please. Another would be tnx rather than Thank You.  Contractions “don’t” save much time (don’t or do not, can’t or cannot). Without contractions, the rendering of your text improves considerably.

Basic Content

        Basic email text is not usually the vehicle for formal documents such as proposals, legal documents, bills and so forth.  These are conveyed as attachments by the vehicle of the email itself.  When the exclusive purpose of the email is indeed the attachments, special care should be given to provide a description of what the document(s) is, the purpose of it being delivered and any other appropriate information.  Additionally any instructions, time-sensitive information or content characteristics should be noted in the text of the email.  Avoid using email for severance, bad news or salary freezes.

“The better it sounds the more it is trusted.”
Paul Babicki

        Email has significantly changed not only the ways we communicate, but it has changed some basic proclivities as well. The need, real or perceived, to compose or reply quickly to email has reduced much of the structure which defined written communication in the past.  Most senders will utilize at some point as little as one word or even an abbreviation (“FYI”, “OK”, “as discussed”) as the entire content of an email.

        In order to communicate clearly and effectively, some basic rules should apply to email sentences.  Make sure that all sentences include the necessary parts of speech.  All sentences should have at least a noun and a verb.  Instead of “OK” say, “That is good” or “I will”.  Better still use an adjective or adverb to better define a sentence.  And even better, have a direct object for your sentences when appropriate.  Notice the difference for answering a request to read a proposal:



        I will

        I will definitely read.

        I will read it. (pronoun)

And best of all use a noun “I will read the proposal.” 
Using articles also enhances your communication.  One of the most abandoned aspects of writing and grammar is the use of the article:  “Please read attached” is written better when you say “please read the attached.”

Unacceptable short emails:

1.       Sure.

2.       You bet.

3.       You're wrong.

4.       No way.

5.       Sorry.

6.       Forget it.                         

7.       Any stand alone emoticon  

8.       Nope.

9.       A single word abbreviation, ASAP, etc.

10.    Common acronyms USPS, etc.


Wednesday, December 5, 2012

This post is a follow up to the post of 12/4/2013. These are some more basic items to address in email.

Common Fonts

        Ten to twelve point sizes are generally best to ensure optimal page fit and esthetics.  Changes from one style, size or attribute should be kept to a minimum.

Font Attributes

        Every computer user is familiar with bold, italic and underscore.  In order to be effective, utilizing these should occur only to add emphasis, distinction or the need for separation.  If overused, these attributes lose their effectiveness and can cause the reader to misunderstand the author’s intent.

        Legibility is a key to emails not only being considered to read but also being read through to completion.  Emails are not the vehicle for creative and, especially, pseudo creative pages.  There are three popular types of email formatting: 

1)   Plain text – this is still the most popular format for email, although less and less.  As the name connotes, plain text provides virtually no formatting.  Font color and bold type face are not capabilities.  Graphics page formats (such as columns), imbedded programs and multimedia are also not capabilities.  In essence, plain text can be compared to a page composed on a typewriter.

2)   HTML (Hypertext mark-up language) is a page description language where virtually any type of format or multimedia capability can be implemented.  Full definitions and in-depth books, articles and programming guides are plentiful and readily available.  Many emails are written in this format.

3)   “Enriched Text” FFC1341 or Rich Text Format (RTF) – this format is from Microsoft and roughly provides MSWord type of capabilities to an email message.  Microsoft owns and maintains the specifications.  This format is widely used by MS Outlook users and provides interoperability among MS applications.


    When selecting a format to send an email, the audience should be considered on an initial communication.  If the email is outside of an organization, then plain text is the sensible selection.  HTML format might be selected as marketing, promotional or special occasion communication.  Rich Text format should only be used when it is certain that the recipient uses Outlook or products which can read this format, then RTF is acceptable.  Some users compose a message in either RTF or HTML format and add a plain text format attachment.  This method is acceptable but may result in having a message rejected by anti-spam software or by security concerns.

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

"Make everything as simple as possible but  not  simpler."

- Albert Einstein

            The purpose of an email is to communicate information of some kind whether the content is positive or negative, casual or informal. Providing content in an effective manner is essential to insure that the original intent is met.  In order to fulfill this objective, basic content must be clear as possible.

        Many items contribute to clarity and successful communication.  Among these are appearance, grammar, vocabulary, structure and choice of words.  One spelling error can change the entire tone or perception of a message.  Similarly the visual presentation or order of facts can contribute to having a document marginally read or ignored. 

        Writing begins with fonts (text styles), spacing,  paragraph structure and essentially anything that makes up the view of an email.  Fonts should be chosen with legibility being the key consideration.  Type size should be appropriate to accommodate normal screens and not stylized so as to  distract the recipient(s).

The author of this bolg welcomes any questions regarding Netiquette. Simply put these in as a comment. When applicable, an excerpt from his upcoming book, "NetiquetteIQ - A Comprenesive Guide to Improve, Enhance and Add Power to Your Email" will be posted with the reply/answer.

Monday, December 3, 2012

The author of this bolg will soon be publishing a book, NetiquetteIQ - A Comprehensive Guide to Improve, Enhance and Add Power to Your Email. Kindly check back regularly to this blog for a release date and information.

Today's post is the introduction to the book.


          "I get email:  therefore I am"

 - Scott Adams

          The art and practice of letter writing goes back more than 7,500 years!  Civilizations from both the East and West have left many documents to posterity from the Sumerian ages to Egyptian hieroglyphics to the adages of Confucius through the psalms and biblical epistles up to the Declaration of Independence. 

The first known letter is from 5,000 B.C. regarding the purchase of a field in the city of UR (Iraq) owned by a person called Annini.
Canberra Times 5/23/1928

        The introduction of the Internet has profoundly revolutionized not only the speed and delivery of mail but the very nature of letter writing and communications.  Few question the obvious benefits.  However many lament and miss the lack of style, personalization and ability to impact.  Personal letters have been supplanted by smiley faces, wild blends of fonts and multi-media attachments.  Who can forget a lock of hair, whiff of perfume or memento included in the contents of a letter or the excitement of seeing a friend or loved one's handwriting on a newly arrived envelope?


        Although we cannot (as yet) deliver the qualities over email that letters have provided over the millennia, we can maximize the impact that our electronic correspondences deliver in our personal and professional communications.  The intent of this book is to provide all of us who rely on electronic content to maximize its benefits and to utilize the power of our modern language without losing the impact of the past.

        Today, email is an integral component of business and personal communications.  It's often the vehicle for requesting meetings (business and personal), staying informed at work or sending prospective employers one's resume.  The list is endless.  When people sit down to write an email, they want it to be read.  We want it responded to.  They want action.  Like many things in life all can learn better ways of doing them and using email etiquette (Netiquette) and dramatically improve the likelihood of senders getting the response desired from their emails.


        One day, a few years ago, the author of this book was in a stationary store picking up supplies for his daughters.  Glancing around, he noticed a spiral notebook which had a cover with a matrix of what he presumed was the Periodic Table of Elements.  It seemed reasonable that this would be a more educational item than a plain cover, so he purchased several.

        Upon arriving home he was ready to pass the notebooks along when suddenly he noticed that the cover was not what he thought but rather a matrix of internet abbreviations for email and texting.  This proved to be disconcerting and was another example of the way electronic communications is affecting so many aspects of everyday routine and changing emphasis on what were common things just a few years ago.

        This situation was hardly earth moving but, among other things, it pointed to something more troubling.  Many aspects of education, human interaction and information are now dependent upon electronic communication and media.  Although this has many positive effects, there are many negative ones as well.  This brings us to the major catalyst for this book.  The author has been affected by email in many ways which are disconcerting . . . the proliferation of email, the confusion which can result by misuse and this list goes on.  One of the areas where the author felt profound change was email etiquette (Netiquette) compared to letter, phone and direct etiquette standards of the past.  So started the idea for this work.  It is intended to reduce the abuse, lack of reasonable standards and to maximize the positive power of email.

Language and vocabulary trends with email

         Email has proliferated at a rate few could have foreseen. One hundred seven trillion (107,000,000,000,000) emails were sent in 2011 and the count is growing significantly year by year. Despite all of the tools and capabilities technology has contributed to provide better content and communication, proper Netiquette and its requisites have declined as quickly as volume and technology have proliferated.  Even more alarming is that a huge amount of acronyms, abbreviations and English (or native language) shortcuts are becoming standardized in even the most formal communications.

         Websites, dictionaries and lists which focus on these new terms are also growing and competing with traditional reference work websites.  Seemingly many users are more interested in learning new acronyms, terms, and phrases.  With the lack of standards committees, words are spelled numerous ways, others take on new meaning or characteristics and still others are alternately presented in upper and lower case.  Even spell checkers can be different in their spelling of certain words.


        At best, the application of email slang does not help writing in traditional English with correct grammar, structure or Netiquette.  A single error in an email can ruin highly stylized content or highly structured tone, or other considerations. 

 Email Netiquette - Why the care?

        The capabilities technology has given to email and electronic messaging have dynamically changed how people compose, read and reply to communications.  The most obvious of these is the sheer volume of emails sent which are dynamically growing.  Many users experience an average of 199 (Osterman Research from "Network World", 1-24-2011) emails a day, more than 40,000 per year.  It is important for a sender to understand that even the opening of an email might be questionable.  Once an addressee reads (or scans) the mail, will that person reply?  Will the same recipient open a subsequent message? Consciously or not, starting with the inbox, each email user begins to rate the quality (essentially Netiquette) of each sender.  It is of course, the goal of any sender to successfully deliver their purpose or intent in the emails they send.  By employing, consistently, proper care, consideration and Netiquette, this goal is maximized. 

 How many emails are bad?

        With the billions of emails being sent every day, 88% to 92% of these are abusive.  (MAAWG) Of those remaining, 50% are misunderstood by the recipient even though 90% of the users believe they are sending clear, properly interpreted communications.  (Nicholas Epleiy and Justin Kruger) So less than 5% of all messages deliver the bare essentials of any accurate content.  Combined with the probability that another 50% of these contain bad Netiquette and/or multiple mistakes, the final number of "bad" emails approaches 98%  If a sender places themselves into this 2% - 4% tier of well executed correspondences, their productivity, success and even prestige will be effectively increased. As email continues to proliferate, the need to present well executed messages will become even more essential.

        The trend by many email/text senders has become one where, instead of looking to improve grammar, lucidity, or proper tone, the writer seeks ways to be "fashionably" incorrect.  This process of chic incorrectness implies that the sender may know how to write a message properly but, in fact, he/she is regressing into permanent habits which will be more counterproductive in the desired results.

Good Netiquette


·         Gives you an edge over others

·         Empowers job interview results and resumes

·         Fosters traditional letter writing quality and effectiveness.  See the Gettysburg Address then and now (on the following pages)

·         A means to incorporate a sense of process to your communications.

Netiquette Last Stand Resisters

        There are those who resist, some arrogantly, Netiquette.  It is beneath them; they have no time; it's inconvenient, un-cool, they know best.

(Not so) Personal Letters

        As briefly mentioned in this book's introduction, the esthetic and emotional impact of personal letters is virtually eliminated by electronic mail.  Additionally, many people compromise privacy by utilizing work mail to send and receive correspondence.  Many users of their job mail systems are unaware that most businesses have provisions for storage of all messages.

          "The art of letters will come to an end before A.D. 2000.  I shall survive as a curiosity" 

- Ezra Pound
How would famous letters of the past look today?  Here is one scenario:

Original Text
The Gettysburg Address



- Abraham Lincoln
2012 Version
The Gettysburg Address
TO:                   The U. S. Congress
FROM:              POTUS
CC:                   US Army
RE:                   The battle of G'burg
                        87 years ago the USA  was born, so we all would be free.  Now we're at war. We just had a big battle and I wanted 2 pay tribute 2 the dead and wounded, of course.
                        The sacrifices speak 4 themselves and will be remembered.  We need 2 make sure we finish the job ASAP. In this we'll free.
                        God Bless the US.
                        A. L.

                Although the rewritten Gettysburg Address may seem overly simplified and a bit comical, emails of today produce results similar or even worse.  This book is committed to assist all of its readers to take advantage of today's technologies combining them with the positive attributes of traditional communication.  By achieving this end, the reader will contribute to their own and others successes.

Sunday, December 2, 2012

As comitted to in our post of November 27th, the following is a list of common file extensions used in commericail email. The blog of the 11/27/2012 mentions that an email receipent should never open an attachment from unknown sources. This is doubaly true when a file format is not recognized. If the sender is known and the attachment format is not known or cannot be opened, then the sender should be notified and an adjustment made to accomodate having the intended content delivered via different means. Commonly this would be sending the file in a format the sendee can read.

List of File Extensions

        File extensions are based on utilizing possible combinations of English characters.  Three alpha characters allow for a combination of close to 20,000 possibilities.  If numbers or additional letters are added, far more combinations are possible.  There are a number of categories for file extensions.  Among these are compression data archive, media archiving, computer aided design, database, fonts, graphs (vector, 3D), object code, source code and music.  There are more categories for scientific, video, games, medical and more.  The following list shows most of the formats used in common email.


3DS       3D Studio
 8BF      Adobe Photoshop
 AAC      Advanced Audio Coding (Mac)
 APP      Apple Executable
 AFM      Adobe font metrics (Type 1)
 AI        Adobe Illustrator graphics,
 AIF       Digital audio (Mac)
 AIFC     Digital audio (Mac)
 AJAX     Asynchronous JavaScript And XML
 ALB      JASC Image Commander
 ANI      Animated cursor
 ANN     Windows help annotations
 ANS      ANSI text
 ARC      ARC, ARC+ compressed archive
 ASA      ASP info
 ASAX    ASP.NET file
 ASC      ASCII file
 ASCX    ASP.NET file
 ASD      Word temporary document
 ASMX    ASP.NET file
 ASP      Active Server Page
 ASPX    ASP.NET file
 ATT      AT&T Group IV fax
 AU        Digital audio (Sun)
 AVI       Microsoft movie format
 BAK      Backup
 BAS      BASIC source code
 BAT      DOS, OS/2 batch file
 BIN      Driver, overlay
 BML      Bookmark library (SyncURL)
 BMP      Windows & OS/2 bitmap
 BMK     Windows help bookmarks
 C         C source code
 CAB      Microsoft compressed format for distribution
 CAL      Windows calendar,
 CCB      Visual Basic animated button
 CDA      CD audio track
 CDX      FoxPro and Clipper index
 CFG      Configuration
 CGM     CGM vector graphics
 CHK      DOS/Windows corrupted file (Chkdsk)
 CIT       Intergraph scanned image
 COB      COBOL source code,
 COB      Truespace 3-D file
 CLP      Windows clipboard
 CLS      Visual Basic class module
 CMP      JPEG bitmap, LEAD bitmap
 CMP      RichLink composed format
 CNT      Windows help contents
 COM     Executable program
 CPD      Fax cover document
 CPE      Fax cover document
 CPI       DOS code page
 CPL      Windows control panel applets
 CPP      C++ source code
 CPR      Knowledge Access bitmap
 CRD      Cardfile file
 CSV      Comma delimited
 CUR      Cursor
 CUT      Dr. Halo bitmap
 CV5      Canvas 5 vector/bitmap
 DAT      Data
 DB       Paradox table
 DBF      dBASE database
 DBT      dBASE text
 DCA      IBM text
 DCM     DICOM medical image
 DCS      Color separated EPS format
 DCX      Intel fax image
 DCT      Dictionary
 DEF      Definition
 DIB      Windows DIB bitmap
 DIC      Dictionary
 DIF       Spreadsheet
 DISCO   Publishing and Discovering Web Services
 DLG      Dialogue script
 DLL      Dynamic link library
 DOC     Microsoft Word Document (2003-2007)
 DOCX    Microsoft Word Document (2008-)
 DOT      Microsoft Word template
 DPI       Pointline bitmap
 DRV      Driver
 DWG     AutoCAD vector format
 DX       Autotrol document imaging
 DXF      AutoCAD vector format
 ED5      EDMICS bitmap (DOD)
 EMF      Enhanced Windows metafile
 EPS      Encapsulated PostScript
 EXE      Executable program
 FAX      Various fax formats
 FLC      Autodesk animation
 FLI       Autodesk animation
 FLT       Graphics conversion filter
 FMT      dBASE Screen format
 FMV      FrameMaker raster & vector graphics
 FNT      Windows font
 FOG      Fontographer font
 FON      Windows bitmapped font,
 FON      Telephone file
 FOR      FORTRAN source code
 FOT      Windows TrueType font info.
 FPX      FlashPix bitmap
 FRM      dBASE report layout
 FTG      Windows help file links
 FTS      Windows help text search index
 GDF      GDDM format
 GED      Arts & Letters graphics
 GEM     GEM vector graphics
 GID      Windows help global index
 GIF       CompuServe bitmap
 GP4      CALS Group IV - ITU Group IV
 GRA      Microsoft graph
 GRP      Windows ProgMan Group
 GZ       UNIX Gzip
 H         C header
 HED      HighEdit document
 HGL      HP Graphics language
 HLP      Help text
 HPJ       Visual Basic help project
 HPP      C++ program header
 HPL      HP Graphics language
 HT        HyperTerminal
 HTM      HTML document (Web page)
 HTML    HTML document (Web page)
 HTX      HTML extension file
 ICA       IBM MO:DCA - IOCA bitmap
 ICO      Windows icon
 IDC      Internet Database Connector
 IDD      MIDI instrument definition
 IDE       Development environment configuration
 IMG      Macintosh image file
 IMG      GEM Paint bitmap
 INF       Setup information
 INI       Initialization
 JAR      JAVA data

 JFF       JPEG bitmap
 JIF       JPEG bitmap
 JPG      JPEG bitmap
 JS        JavaScript file
 JT        JT Fax
 JTF       JPEG bitmap
 KDC      Kodak Photo bitmap
 KFX      Kofax Group IV fax
 LBL       dBASE label
 LEG      Legacy text
 LIB       Function library
 LIT       Microsoft Reader file
 LOG      Log file
 LQT      Liquid Audio
 LSN      Topic list (CDE)
 LST      List
 LV        LaserView Group IV
 M1V      MPEG file
 M3U      MPEG file
 MAC     MacPaint bitmap
 MAK     Visual Basic/MS C++ project
 MAP      Link editor map
 MBX     Mailbox (e-mail)
 MCS     MathCAD format
 MCW     Word for Macintosh document
 MDB     Access database
 MDF     Mircrosoft SQL server database

 MET      OS/2 Metafile
 MEU      Menu items
 MDX     dBASE IV multi-index
 MID      MIDI sound file
 MME     MIME-encoded file
 MMF     Microsoft mail file
 MMM     Macromind animation format
 MOD     Eudora script file
 MOV     QuickTime movie
 MPA      MPEG file
 MP2      MPEG file
 MP2V    MPEG file
 MP3      MPEG-1 Layer 3 audio
 MPE      MPEG file
 MPEG    MPEG file
 MPG     MPEG file
 MPP      Microsoft Project
 MSG     Message file
 MSP      Microsoft Paint bitmap
 MUS     Music
 MVB     Microsoft Multimedia Viewer
 MYD     MYSQL table data

 MYI      MYSAM table index

 M1V      MPEG file
 NAP      NAPLPS format
 NDX     dBASE index
 NDX     CDE index
 NG       Norton Guides text
 NLM      NetWare NLM program
 O         UNIX machine language
 OAZ      OAZ Fax
 OBD     Microsoft Office binder
 OBJ      Machine language,
 OBJ      Wavefront 3-D file
 OBZ      Microsoft Office wizard
 OEB      Open eBook publication
 OPF      Open package file
 ORG     Organizer file
 OTF      OpenType font
 OVL      Overlay module
 OVR      Overlay module
 OUT      Encyclopedia definitions
 P10      Tektronic Plot 10
 PAL      Windows palette
 PAS      Pascal source code
 PBD      PowerBuilder dynamic library
 PBK      Microsoft Phonebook
 PBM      Portable Bitmap
 PCL      HP LaserJet series
 PCD      Photo CD bitmap
 PCM      LaserJet cartridge information
 PCS      PICS animation
 PCT      PC Paint bitmap,
 PCT      Macintosh PICT bitmap & vector graphics
 PCW     PC Write document
 PCX      PC Paintbrush bitmap
 PDF      Portable Document Format (Acrobat),
 PDV      PC Paintbrush printer driver
 PFA      Type 1 font (ASCII)
 PFB      Type 1 font
 PFM      Windows Type 1 font metrics
 PIC       Vector formats
 PIC       Mac PICT format
 PIC       IBM Storyboard bitmap
 PIF       Windows info. for DOS programs,
 PIF       IBM Picture Interchange
 PL        Perl script
 PLT       AutoCAD plotter file
 PLT       HPGL plotter file
 PNG      PNG bitmap
 POV      POV-Ray ray tracing
 PPD      PostScript printer description
 PPM      Portable Pixelmap
 PPS      PowerPoint Slideshow
 PPT      PowerPoint
 PRD      Microsoft Word printer driver
 PRG      dBASE source code
 PRN      Temporary print file
 PRT      Formatted text
 PS        PostScript page description
 PSD      Photoshop native format
 PST      Microsoft Outlook file

 PUB      Microsoft Publisher publication,
 PUZ      Crossword puzzle
 PVK      Private Key
 PWL      Windows password list
 QBW     QuickBooks
 QLB      Quick programming library
 QT        QuickTime movie
 QTM     QuickTime movie
 RA        Real Audio file
 RAM     Real Audio file
 RAS      Sun bitmap
 RAW     3-D file (open standard)
 RC        Resource script
 REC      Recorder file
 REG      Registration file
 RFT      DCA/RFT document
 RIA       Alpharel Group IV bitmap
 RLE      Compressed

 RM       Real Media file
 RMI      MIDI music
 RMM     Real Media file
 RNL      GTX Runlength bitmap
 RTF      Rich-text format (Microsoft)
 RV        Real Video file
 SAT      ACIS 3-D model
 SAV      Saved file
 SBP      IBM Storyboard graphics/Superbase text
 SC2      Microsoft Schedule+ 7
 SCD      Microsoft Schedule+ 7
 SCH      Microsoft Schedule+ 1
 SCM     ScreenCam movie
 SCP      Dial-up Networking script
 SCR      Windows screen saver
 SCR      Fax image
 SCR      dBASE screen layout,
 SET      Setup parameters
 SLD      AutoCAD slide
 SND     Digital audio
 SWF     Shockwave file
 SYS      DOS, OS/2 driver
 TAL      Adobe Type Align shaped text
 TAR      Tape archive
 TAX      TurboTax

 TAZ      UNIX Gzip archive
 TGZ      UNIX Gzip archive
 TIF       TIFF bitmap
 TLB      OLE type library
 TMP      Temporary
 TOC      Table of contents
 TRM      Terminal file
 TTC      TrueType font compressed
 TTF      TrueType font
 TXT      ASCII text
 VCF      vCard file
 VOC      Sound Blaster sound
 VOX      Voxware compressed audio
 VSD      Visio drawing
 VUE      dBASE relational view
 WAV     Digital Audio (Windows)
 WAX     WMA metafile (location of WMA file)
 WBK     Microsoft Word backup
 WBT     WinBatch file
 WDB     Microsoft works data file
 WIF      Wavelet image
 WIZ      Microsoft Word wizard
 WMA     Windows Media Audio (ASF file)
 WMF     Windows Metafile
 WMV     Windows Media video (ASF file)
 WPS     Microsoft Works document
 WRI      Windows Write document
 WRL     VRML page
 WSH     Windows Scrip Host properties
 WVL     Wavelet compressed file
 WVX     WMV metafile (location of WMV file)
 XBM     X Window bitmap
 XFX      JetFax
 XLA      Excel add-in
 XLB      Excel toolbar
 XLC      Excel chart
 XLD      Excel dialogue
 XLK      Excel backup
 XLM      Excel macro
 XLS      Excel spreadsheet
 XLT      Excel template
 XLW     Excel project
 XML      XML file
 XPM      X Window pixelmap
 XSD      XML schema
 XWD     X Window dump
 Z         UNIX Gzip archive
 ZIP       PKZIP compressed
 $$$      Temporary