### Uniform Type Identifiers

Uniform Type Identifiers were introduced by Apple in Mac OS 10.4 (Tiger) as a modern replacement to traditional means for identifying the type of data contained within byte streams such as disk files and the clipboard.

On the Macintosh, 4-character codes known as file types have been used traditionally for this purpose, while filename extensions were (and are still) used on platforms such as Windows and Unix. In adittion to file types and filename extensions, the Internet has introduced mime types for identifying streams of data delivered through the network.

Example: here are some traditional ways for identifying a JPEG image:

- by file type 'JPEG'
- by filename extensions ".jpg" and ".jpeg"
- by mime type "image/jpeg"

In the UTI universe, all these are replaced by a single string: "public.jpeg".

UTIs are plain strings, commonly formed in reverse-DNS notation:

- public.html
- com.adobe.pdf
- com.compuserve.gif
- public.folder
- com.microsoft.word.doc

UTIs also provide a mechanism for the classification of data types. For example, the "public.jpeg" UTI conforms to the "public.image" UTI. This mechanism can be used by applications on Mac OS X for specifying classes of accepted data types in cases such as the file selection dialogs, the pasteboard, and drag-and-drop.

The QDrop plug-in area fully supports this classification mechanism. For example, suppose that a QDrop plug-in area has to be configured to accept drops of image files. Instead of specifying a list of all image UTIs ("public.jpeg", "public.tiff", and so on), the "public.image" UTI can be used and the plug-in area will accept any data type that conforms to the "public.image" UTI.

The tables below contain the majority of UTIs defined by Mac OS X. Note that this list is not exhaustive; third party applications may define UTIs for their own private use and data formats. For example, 4D defines "com.4d.private.text.native" and a few others for use with its pasteboard related commands.

- Abstract base types
- Concrete base types
- Text types
- Composite content types
- Image content types
- Audiovisual content types
- Directory types
- Application types
- Contact types
- Archive content types
- MS Office types
- Office Open XML types
- OASIS Open Document Format types

##### Abstract base types

UTI | Description | Conforms to
--- | --- | ---
public.item | generic base type for most things (files, directories) |
public.content | base type for anything containing user-viewable document content (documents, pasteboard data, and document packages) |
public.composite-content | base type for content formats supporting mixed embedded content (i.e., compound documents) | public.content
com.apple.application | base type for Mac OS X applications, launchable items |
public.message | base type for messages (email, IM, etc.) |
public.contact | contact information, e.g. for a person, group, organization |
public.archive | an archive of files and directories |
public.disk-image | a data item mountable as a volume | public.archive

##### Concrete base types

UTI | Description | Conforms to
--- | --- | ---
public.data | base type for any sort of simple byte stream, including files and in-memory data | public.item
public.directory | file system directory (includes packages AND folders) | public.item
com.apple.resolvable | anything the Alias Manager can resolve |
public.symlink | a symbolic link | public.item, com.apple.resolvable
com.apple.mount-point | a volume mount point (resolvable, resolves to the root dir of a volume) | public.item, com.apple.resolvable
com.apple.alias-file | a fully-formed alias file | public.data, com.apple.resolvable
public.url | The bytes of a URL | public.data
public.file-url | The text of a "file:" URL | public.url

##### Text types

UTI | Description | Conforms to
--- | --- | ---
public.text | base type for all text-encoded data, including text with markup (HTML, RTF, etc.) | public.data, public.content
public.plain-text | text with no markup, unspecified encoding | public.text
public.utf8-plain-text | plain text, UTF-8 encoding | public.plain-text
public.utf16-external-plain-text | plain text, UTF-16 encoding, with BOM, or if BOM is not present, has "external representation" byte order (big-endian) | public.plain-text
public.utf16-plain-text | plain text, UTF-16 encoding, native byte order, no BOM | public.plain-text
public.rtf | Rich Text Format | public.text
public.html | HTML, any version | public.text
public.xml | generic XML | public.text
public.xhtml | XHTML | public.xml

##### Composite content types

UTI | Description | Conforms to
--- | --- | ---
com.adobe.pdf | Adobe PDF | public.data, public.composite-content
com.apple.rtfd | Rich Text Format Directory (RTF with content embedding, on-disk format) | com.apple.package, public.composite-content
com.apple.flat-rtfd | Flattened RTFD (pasteboard format) | public.data, public.composite-content
com.apple.webarchive | The WebKit webarchive format | public.data, public.composite-content
com.adobe.postscript | PostScript | public.data, public.composite-content
com.adobe.encapsulated-postscript | Encapsulated PostScript | com.adobe.postscript
public.presentation | presentation | public.composite-content

##### Image content types

UTI | Description | Conforms to
--- | --- | ---
public.image | abstract image data | public.data, public.content
public.jpeg | JPEG image | public.image
public.jpeg-2000 | JPEG-2000 image | public.image
public.tiff | TIFF image | public.image
com.apple.pict | Quickdraw PICT format | public.image
com.compuserve.gif | GIF image | public.image
public.png | PNG image | public.image
com.apple.quicktime-image | QuickTime image format | public.image
com.apple.icns | Apple icon data | public.image
com.microsoft.bmp | Windows bitmap | public.image
com.microsoft.ico | Windows icon data | public.image
public.fax | fax | public.image, public.message
com.apple.macpaint-image | MacPaint image | public.image
public.svg-image | scalable vector graphics (SVG) | public.image
public.xbitmap-image | X bitmap image | public.image
public.camera-raw-image | camera raw image | public.image
com.adobe.photoshop-image | Adobe Photoshop document | public.image
com.adobe.illustrator.ai-image | Adobe Illustrator document | public.image
com.truevision.tga-image | TGA image | public.image
com.sgi.sgi-image | Silicon Graphics image | public.image
com.ilm.openexr-image | OpenEXR image | public.image
com.kodak.flashpix-image | FlashPix image | public.image
com.adobe.raw-image | Adobe raw image | public.camera-raw-image
com.canon.crw-raw-image | Canon CRW raw image | public.camera-raw-image
com.canon.cr2-raw-image | Canon CR2 raw image | public.camera-raw-image
com.canon.tif-raw-image | Canon TIF raw image | public.camera-raw-image
com.nikon.raw-image | Nikon raw image | public.camera-raw-image
com.olympus.raw-image | Olympus raw image | public.camera-raw-image
com.fuji.raw-image | Fuji raw image | public.camera-raw-image
com.sony.raw-image | Sony raw image | public.camera-raw-image
com.sony.arw-raw-image | Sony ARW raw image | public.camera-raw-image
com.konicaminolta.raw-image | Minolta raw image | public.camera-raw-image
com.kodak.raw-image | Kodak raw image | public.camera-raw-image
com.panasonic.raw-image | Panasonic raw image | public.camera-raw-image
com.pentax.raw-image | Pentax raw image | public.camera-raw-image
com.leafamerica.raw-image | Leaf raw image | public.camera-raw-image
com.leica.raw-image | Leica raw image | public.camera-raw-image
com.hasselblad.fff-raw-image | Hasselblad FFF raw image | public.camera-raw-image
com.hasselblad.3fr-raw-image | Hasselblad 3FR raw image | public.camera-raw-image

##### Audiovisual content types

UTI | Description | Conforms to
--- | --- | ---
public.audiovisual-content | audio and/or video content | public.data, public.content
public.movie | A media format which may contain both video and audio. Corresponds to what users would label a "movie". | public.audiovisual-content
public.video | pure video (no audio) | public.movie
public.audio | pure audio (no video) | public.audiovisual-content
com.apple.quicktime-movie | QuickTime movie | public.movie
public.mpeg | MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 movie | public.movie
public.mpeg-4 | MPEG-4 movie | public.movie
public.mp3 | MP3 audio | public.audio
public.mpeg-4-audio | MPEG-4 audio layer (.m4a) | public.mpeg-4, public.audio
com.apple.protected-mpeg-4-audio | Apple protected MPEG4 format (.m4p, iTunes music store format) | public.audio
public.mpeg-2-video | MPEG-2 video | public.video
com.apple.protected-mpeg-4-video | protected MPEG-4 movie | public.movie
public.dv-movie | DV movie | public.movie
public.avi | AVI movie | public.movie
public.3gpp | 3GPP movie | public.movie
public.3gpp2 | 3GPP2 movie | public.movie
com.microsoft.windows-media-wm | Windows media | public.movie, com.microsoft.advanced-systems-format
com.microsoft.windows-media-wmv | Windows media | public.movie, com.microsoft.advanced-systems-format
com.microsoft.windows-media-wmp | Windows media | public.movie, com.microsoft.advanced-systems-format
com.microsoft.windows-media-wma | Windows media audio | public.audio, com.microsoft.advanced-systems-format
com.real.realmedia | RealMedia | public.movie
com.real.realaudio | RealMedia audio | public.audio
public.ulaw-audio | uLaw audio | public.audio
public.au-audio | AU audio | public.audio
public.aifc-audio | AIFF-C audio | public.audio
public.aiff-audio | AIFF audio | public.aifc-audio
public.midi-audio | MIDI audio | public.audio
public.downloadable-sound | downloadable sound | public.audio
com.apple.coreaudio-format | Apple CoreAudio format | public.audio
public.ac3-audio | AC-3 audio | public.audio
com.digidesign.sd2-audio | Sound Designer II audio | public.audio
com.microsoft.waveform-audio | Waveform audio | public.audio
com.soundblaster.soundfont | SoundFont audio | public.audio

##### Directory types

UTI | Description | Conforms to
--- | --- | ---
public.folder | a user-browsable directory (i.e., not a package) | public.directory
public.volume | the root folder of a volume/mount point | public.folder
com.apple.package | a packaged directory | public.directory
com.apple.bundle | a directory conforming to one of the CFBundle layouts | public.directory

##### Application types

UTI | Description | Conforms to
--- | --- | ---
com.apple.application-bundle | a bundled application | com.apple.application, com.apple.bundle, com.apple.package
com.apple.application-file | a single-file Carbon/Classic application | com.apple.application, public.data

##### Contact types

UTI | Description | Conforms to
--- | --- | ---
public.vcard | VCard format | public.data, public.contact

##### Archive types

UTI | Description | Conforms to
--- | --- | ---
org.gnu.gnu-tar-archive | GNU tar archive | public.data, public.archive
public.tar-archive | tar archive | org.gnu.gnu-tar-archive
org.gnu.gnu-zip-archive | GZip archive | public.data, public.archive
org.gnu.gnu-zip-tar-archive | gzip tar archive | org.gnu.gnu-zip-archive
public.bzip2-archive | Bzip2 archive | public.data, public.archive
public.tar-bzip2-archive | Bzip2 compressed tar archive | public.bzip2-archive
com.apple.binhex-archive | BinHex archive | public.data, public.archive
com.apple.macbinary-archive | MacBinary archive | public.data, public.archive
com.allume.stuffit-archive | Stuffit archive | public.data, public.archive
public.zip-archive | Zip archive | com.pkware.zip-archive
com.pkware.zip-archive | PKZip archive | public.zip-archive

##### MS Office types

UTI | Description | Conforms to
--- | --- | ---
com.microsoft.word.doc | Microsoft Word document | public.data, public.composite-content
com.microsoft.excel.xls | Microsoft Excel workbook | public.data, public.composite-content
com.microsoft.powerpoint.ppt | Microsoft PowerPoint presentation | public.data, public.presentation
com.microsoft.word.wordml | Microsoft Word 2003 XML document | public.xml, public.composite-content

##### iWork types

UTI | Description | Conforms to
--- | --- | ---
com.apple.keynote.key | Keynote document | com.apple.package, public.presentation
com.apple.iWork.Keynote.key | Keynote document | com.apple.package, public.presentation, com.apple.keynote.key
com.apple.keynote.kth | Keynote document | com.apple.package, public.presentation
com.apple.iWork.Keynote.kth | Keynote theme | com.apple.package, public.composite-content, com.apple.keynote.kth

##### Office Open XML

UTI | Description | Conforms to
--- | --- | ---
org.openxmlformats.openxml | Office Open XML | public.zip-archive
org.openxmlformats.wordprocessingml.document | Office Open XML word processing document | org.openxmlformats.openxml, public.composite-content
org.openxmlformats.wordprocessingml.document.macroenabled | Office Open XML word processing document (macros enabled) | org.openxmlformats.openxml, public.composite-content, public.executable
org.openxmlformats.wordprocessingml.template | Office Open XML word processing template | org.openxmlformats.openxml, public.composite-content
org.openxmlformats.wordprocessingml.template.macroenabled | Office Open XML word processing template (macros enabled) | org.openxmlformats.openxml, public.composite-content, public.executable
org.openxmlformats.spreadsheetml.sheet | Office Open XML spreadsheet | org.openxmlformats.openxml, public.composite-content
org.openxmlformats.spreadsheetml.sheet.macroenabled | Office Open XML spreadsheet (macros enabled) | org.openxmlformats.openxml, public.composite-content, public.executable
org.openxmlformats.spreadsheetml.template | Office Open XML spreadsheet template | org.openxmlformats.openxml, public.composite-content
org.openxmlformats.spreadsheetml.template.macroenabled | Office Open XML spreadsheet template (macros enabled) | org.openxmlformats.openxml, public.composite-content, public.executable
org.openxmlformats.presentationml.presentation | Office Open XML presentation | org.openxmlformats.openxml, public.presentation
org.openxmlformats.presentationml.presentation.macroenabled | Office Open XML presentation (macros enabled) | org.openxmlformats.openxml, public.presentation, public.executable
org.openxmlformats.presentationml.slideshow | Office Open XML slide show | org.openxmlformats.openxml, public.presentation
org.openxmlformats.presentationml.slideshow.macroenabled | Office Open XML slide show (macros enabled) | org.openxmlformats.openxml, public.presentation, public.executable
org.openxmlformats.presentationml.template | Office Open XML presentation template | org.openxmlformats.openxml, public.presentation
org.openxmlformats.presentationml.template.macroenabled | Office Open XML presentation template (macros enabled) | org.openxmlformats.openxml, public.presentation, public.executable

##### OASIS Open Document Format

UTI | Description | Conforms to
--- | --- | ---
org.oasis-open.opendocument | Open Document | public.zip-archive
org.oasis-open.opendocument.text | Open Document text | org.oasis-open.opendocument, public.composite-content
org.oasis-open.opendocument.text-template | Open Document text template | org.oasis-open.opendocument, public.composite-content
org.oasis-open.opendocument.graphics | Open Document graphics | org.oasis-open.opendocument, public.composite-content
org.oasis-open.opendocument.graphics-template | Open Document graphics template | org.oasis-open.opendocument, public.composite-content
org.oasis-open.opendocument.presentation | Open Document presentation | org.oasis-open.opendocument, public.composite-content
org.oasis-open.opendocument.presentation-template | Open Document presentation template | org.oasis-open.opendocument, public.composite-content
org.oasis-open.opendocument.spreadsheet | Open Document spreadsheet | org.oasis-open.opendocument, public.composite-content
org.oasis-open.opendocument.spreadsheet-template | Open Document spreadsheet template | org.oasis-open.opendocument, public.composite-content
org.oasis-open.opendocument.chart | Open Document chart | org.oasis-open.opendocument, public.composite-content
org.oasis-open.opendocument.chart-template | Open Document chart template | org.oasis-open.opendocument, public.composite-content
org.oasis-open.opendocument.image | Open Document image | org.oasis-open.opendocument, public.image
org.oasis-open.opendocument.image-template | Open Document image template | org.oasis-open.opendocument, public.image
org.oasis-open.opendocument.formula | Open Document formula | org.oasis-open.opendocument, public.content
org.oasis-open.opendocument.formula-template | Open Document formula template | org.oasis-open.opendocument, public.content
org.oasis-open.opendocument.text-master | Open Document text master | org.oasis-open.opendocument, public.composite-content
org.oasis-open.opendocument.text-web | Open Document HTML template | org.oasis-open.opendocument, public.composite-content