Explanation of Mime Types

The MIME Types tool in your control panel allows you to set certain programs to be used for specific extensions. 

In easier-to-understand terms, MIME types help your web server to identify what type of file is being requested by your browsers.

For instance, when the web server gets a request from a browser such as Internet Explorer or Netscape, for a file that ends in .html, the web server knows that it is an html document because that extension is stored in the Mime Type. 

If the web server gets a request from a browser for a file that ends in .gif, the web server knows that it is an image because that too is stored in the Mime Types. 

This applies to every file, image, application, etc. that may be requested by a web browser. 

If the extension is not stored within the Mime Type, the web server will not recognize it and will not be able to assist the browser and that particular file type will not be viewable by the user. 

Mime types are identified by the server by the following format:

subtype/type extension 

For example, adding the following two Mime types will allow users to view ipx images on your web pages:

application/x-ipscript .ips
application/x-ipix .ipx

application identifies the subtype, 

x-ipscript identifies the application, 

.ips identifies the extension used for that application.