What Are Sample Files? Uses, Formats and Examples
Learn what sample files are, why developers use them, and how to choose test files for uploads, previews and parsers.
What is a sample file?
A sample file is an example document or dataset used to check whether software can upload, download, preview, parse or process a specific file format. Test files help reproduce common scenarios without using private or production data.
Sample files can be small for quick checks or large for performance testing. Always confirm that the sample has the format and internal structure required by your test.
Common sample file formats
PDF and DOCX files help test document viewers and attachment workflows. CSV and XLSX files are useful for imports and spreadsheet processing. JSON and XML files help validate structured-data parsing. HTML files test markup handling, while ZIP archives test extraction and file limits.
How to choose a test file
Start with a small file to confirm the basic flow, then try larger sizes to test upload progress, timeout handling and maximum size limits. Check the actual file contents when you need a valid document rather than only a file of a certain size.
Download sample files by format
Browse available test files in six sizes from 1 to 50 MB.