Here are some file kinds / types that I like, and ones I have some dirt on.
Was always intrigued by these files. Used for describing contents of archives and directories.
Google Chrome extensions. The 'shop' doesn't let you just download them, so the only working solution I found was using the Chrome Extension Downloader website to grab them.
In Firefox at least, bookmarks are exported and imported via HTML files with a NETSCAPE-Bookmark-file-1 doctype. They still look like they're from the Netscape era, capitalised elements and all, and they're based around definition lists. This used to also be the way bookmarks were stored by the browser, but they now live in a database.
If you just want to import a basic list of links you can use a simplified version like:
<!DOCTYPE NETSCAPE-Bookmark-file-1> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"> <dl> <dt><a href="[URL1]"></a></dt> <dt><a href="[URL2]"></a></dt> </dl>
On import these will be plopped into the top level of the 'Bookmarks Menu'. If you want to organise them a bit with folders you add a <dt> with an <h3> inside, and a sub <dl>.
<!DOCTYPE NETSCAPE-Bookmark-file-1> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"> <dl> <dt><h3>[folder]</h3></dt> <dl> <dt><a href="[URL]"></a></dt> </dl> </dl>
You can give your links titles, add tags (href attribute tags=“[tag1], [tag2]” and other stuff if you want to get fancy.
Desktop files are used to organise programs in the window manager's applications menu and/or launcher (in my case Rofi). They're basically the Linux equivalent of Windows' shortcuts.
In PCManFM you can use .desktop files to define Custom Actions.
Software should provide one, but if you need t ocreate your own, or customise one you can put them in ~/.local/share/applications.
I have an example one in my /Templates directory that looks like this:
[Desktop Entry] Type=Application Version=1.0 Name=Template GenericName=Desktop template Comment= Path=/path/to/software/ Exec=executable.x86 Icon=/path/to/icon.ico Terminal=false MimeType= Categories=Game;Utility;
There some notes on making ones for stuff you run through Wine on its page.
I've written a bit about messing with .M3U files on the Plaintext page.
Reaper uses standard .TXT files for saving and loading note names: 'MIDI note/CC name map'. Eg this one I made for the Korg ER-1:
# MIDI note/CC name map 49 Crash 46 Hi-Hat Open 45 Audio In 2 43 Audio In 1 42 Hi-Hat Close 41 Percussion Synth 4 40 Percussion Synth 3 39 H.Clap 38 Percussion Synth 2 36 Percussion Synth 1
It can load 'Instrument bank/program definition' files in the formats .REABANK and .INS, both are plaintext.
.INS is used in other DAWs too, and looks like an .INI file.
.REABANK is… very plain, syntax wise.
File for standardising preferences across text editors, things such as tab length, character format. Also handy for formatting on Github ;)
see §.gitignore in the page for Git.
Firefox still lets you add your own style rules, though I kinda suspect they'll ditch it one day :(
It lives at ~/.mozilla/[profile name]/chrome/userContent.css, though you might have to manually create the chrome directory, and the .css file yourself.
Mostly I use it to hide results from shit websites in DuckDuckGo searches, for example:
@-moz-document domain(duckduckgo.com) { /* Hide reults from particular domains */ .result[data-domain="gamesradar.com"], /* anti-adblocker */ .result[data-domain="www.w3schools.com"], /* shifty, low quality */ .result[data-domain="slant.co"], /* low quality */ .result[data-domain="www.gamesradar.com"] /* anti-adblocker */ { display:none; } }
Otherwise I'm just blocking a few pesky ads., and making basic, Web1.0-like pages a bit easier to read with different colours and line heights.