There are a number of different file formats available for download on Local Government websites and also this site. All downloads should feature the name of the format and often the file size.
You can tell the format of a file from the last part of the name.
e.g. document.pdf is a pdf file. The last part of the name is know as the extension.
PDF files are often highlighted by the use of an icon the same or similar to this one 
File formats
Common file formats/extensions are
pdf - Adobe Acrobat files - Portable Document Format
doc - Microsoft Word Documents
xsl - Microsoft Excel Spreadsheets
ppt - Microsoft PowerPoint Presentations
odt - OpenOffice word processor files
zip - a compressed format that contains one or more files of various format.
csv - Comma Separated Value files
rtf - a word processing format that most Word Processors are able to read.
You can download free viewers for each of the downloadable formats in the links below.
Adobe Acrobat
PDF files - created using Adobe Acrobat - retain the formatting of the printed version of a document in an easy to download, single file. To view PDF files you need the Adobe Acrobat Reader, the latest version can be freely downloaded.
Visit http://www.adobe.com/uk/products/acrobat/readstep2.html
Viewers with visual difficulties may also find it useful to investigate services provided to improve the accessibility of Acrobat documents.
Word
For Windows users who don't have Microsoft Word, the Word Viewer 2003 allows them to view MS Word files.
You can also download OpenOffice which is a free package that will read all the Microsoft Office formats
Visit http://www.openoffice.org
Excel
For Windows users who don't have Microsoft Excel, the Excel Viewer 2003 allows them to view Excel files.
PowerPoint
For users who don't have Microsoft PowerPoint, the PowerPoint Viewer 2003 allows them to view PowerPoint files.
OpenOffice
OpenOffice is a free package that will read and write, Word, Excel and PowerPoint files. It is a good alternative to uuing Microsoft Office.
Visit http://www.openoffice.org
Zip
A zip file is a compressed (or "zipped") store of either a single document or a collection of files, making it easy to group files together for transporting, copying and saving disk space.
You need a zip-compatible decompression program to "unzip" the files. WinZip is a commercial application available for a trial period after which a small fee is charged.
CSV (Comma Separated Values)
A CSV file is the simplest way in which tabular data can be saved for importing spreadsheet applications such as Excel or database applications such as Access. No special reader is required for this format.
RTF (Rich Text Format)
A RTF file is a format that lets you exchange text files between different word processors in different operating systems, for example, a document created in Word 97 on Windows 95, saved as an RTF file, can be opened using WordPerfect 6.0 on Windows.
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