“Can I use the photo emailed to me by our field office in our next newsletter?” “Which of the logo files on our office server should I use on our Web site?” “Why can’t I open on my office PC the files our printer used to print our brochure?” Knowing how to read file extensions is a big help in answering everyday questions like these. An extension is a suffix at the end of a computer file name — such as .doc, for example — that provides important information about how a file was created, and/or how it may be used. Below is an alphabetized list for easy identification of the most common file extensions encountered in print and digital communications. In the adjacent story, and in upcoming editions of The Scout, Next Year’s News will provide more details on how and when various file formats are used in the production of marketing communications projects like yours. .ai >> Adobe Illustrator Document .doc >> Document Text File, generally created in Microsoft Word .eps >> Encapsulated Postscript File, a file format designed to be embedded in another document (i.e., a photo file to be placed into a page layout program) .fh >> Macromedia Freehand Document* .gif >> Graphics Interchange Format, a compressed image file format used primarily on the World Wide Web If you are planning to reproduce an image in printed materials — whether it’s a logo, a photo, or an illustration — high resolution is a must. The following are guidelines for choosing originals that will give you optimum results in print. For logos and line-art illustrations — BEST • .ai (Adobe Illustrator) or .fh (Freehand) files Illustrator and Freehand are the two programs most frequently used to create logos and line-art illustrations. .ai and .fh files are vector files, a format that allows virtually unlimited enlargement or reduction of your original art. • .eps files Logo and illustration files in the .eps format are usually exported from Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, or Freehand, and can be opened or placed in these and other programs. USABLE • .tif files • .psd files • a CLEAN, previously printed image (the larger the better) to be scanned • camera-ready positive artwork (the cleaner the better) to be scanned The usability of all the above options depends on the size of the original and the size of the reproduction. With these, it is generally true that the greater the percentage of enlargement, the poorer the quality of the reproduction. • Adobe Acrobat  • Adobe Illustrator  • Adobe Photoshop • Quark Xpress    • Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Powerpoint) Next Year's News also supports a variety of software for multimedia development, including Digidesign, Adobe and Macromedia products.