In the process of working with documents, we often have to work with various types of document formats. In this short note, we will analyze the known formats, as well as how and with what tools the user can open them.
doc format
Files with the doc extension are short for the English document. Microsoft used this format for Word word processor files up to and including version 2003. Today, doc can be opened with both modern word processor Word and outdated versions. You can also open doc with a word processor from the free Open Office office software package, or with online services for working with text files such as Office Online and Google Docs.
docx format
The doc format was in many ways inconvenient to work with due to its instability, especially in terms of compatibility with different versions Word. In 2007, with the release of Office 2007, Microsoft made the docx, or Open Office XML, format the main working format for its word processor Word.
The docx format is the native format for the word processor Word starting from version 2007, respectively, you can open docx in Word 2007, 2010 or 2013. In fact, you can open docx in the old 2000 - 2003 version of Word, however, for this you will have to install a special add-on from Microsoft website - Compatibility Pack.
The compatibility pack allows you to open not only docx files in versions of Word below 2007, but also xlsx spreadsheet files in the outdated Excel spreadsheet (2000 - 2003), as well as the pptx format in outdated PowerPoint.
rtf format
This so-called “rich text format” is a cross-platform format for storing text, but unlike the txt format, it allows you to store pictures in a document. The question “How to open rtf?” should not occur, because Almost any word processor can work with it. For example, on Windows systems, the free WordPad will cope perfectly with the task of opening rtf format.
txt format
The simplest format for saving text. It is often associated with Notepad in Windows, however, even a file manager can view text files. A txt text file cannot contain any pictures or other elements in principle.
PDF format
Portable Document Format or simply pdf is a cross-platform format for electronic documents. Open for reading pdf there are countless programs, probably the most popular is Adobe Reader. Starting with the 2013 version of Word, you can not only save files in pdf format, but open them for editing. The peculiarity of this format is that the printed text will be exactly the same as it is presented in the pdf file. Learn more about working with pdf files V .
Text representation of documents is the most popular type of information display and almost the only one. But in the world of computers, it is customary to write text documents into files with various formats. One such format is DOC.
How to open DOC files
DOC is a typical format for presenting text information on a computer. Initially, documents of this resolution contained only text, but now scripts and formatting are built into it, which significantly distinguishes DOC from some other similar formats, for example, RTF.
Over time, DOC files became part of Microsoft's monopoly. After for long years Developments have all come to the point that now the format itself is poorly integrated with third-party applications and, moreover, there are compatibility problems between different versions of the same format, which sometimes interfere with normal operation.
Still, it’s worth considering how you can quickly and easily open a DOC document.
The most optimal and the best way Opening a DOC document is a Microsoft Office Word program. It is through this application that the format itself is created; it is now one of the few that can open and edit documents of this format without problems.
Among the advantages of the program are the virtual absence of compatibility problems between different versions of the document, great functionality and opportunities for editing DOC. The disadvantages of the application definitely include the cost, which not everyone can afford, and quite serious system requirements (on some laptops and netbooks the program can sometimes “freeze”).
To open a document through Word, you need to do just a few simple steps.
This is how quickly and easily you can open a DOC document through the official application from Microsoft.
Method 2: Microsoft Word Viewer
The next method is also associated with Microsoft, only now a very weak tool will be used to open it, which only helps to view the document and make some edits to it. To open we will use Microsoft Word Viewer.
One of the advantages of the program is that it is very small in size, distributed free of charge and works quickly even on the most weak computers. There are also disadvantages, for example, rare updates and little functionality, but much is not required from the Viewer, it is, after all, a file viewer, and not a functional editor, which is the above-mentioned MS Word.
You can start opening a document by first launching the program itself, which is not very convenient, since finding it on the computer is quite problematic. Therefore, let's consider a slightly different method.
With Word Viewer, you can open a DOC in less than a minute because everything is done in a couple of clicks.
Method 3: LibreOffice
The LibreOffice office application allows you to open DOC documents many times faster than Microsoft Office and Word Viewer. This can already be considered an advantage. Another advantage is that the program is distributed absolutely free of charge, with free access to the source code, so that each user can try to improve the application for themselves and for other users. There is one more feature of the program: it is not necessary to open it in the start window. required file by clicking on different menu items, you just need to move the document to the desired area.
The disadvantages include slightly less functionality than in Microsoft Office, which does not interfere with editing documents using quite serious tools, and a rather complex interface that not everyone understands the first time, unlike, for example, the Word Viewer program.
This is how LibreOffice helps you quickly resolve the issue of opening a DOC document, which Microsoft Office Word cannot always boast of due to its long loading time.
Editing, creating and viewing documents is everyday work for a PC user. Text editors use various electronic document formats, but the two most common are doc and docx. The document extension helps determine the document format. doc format files are usually created in Microsoft Word 2003 and earlier.
With the release of Word 2007, Microsoft significantly changed its standards and changed the extension to docx
The doc format is a file type that is used to save a text document in Word before 2007.
Subsequently, the extension changed to docx and received, and the document itself received more formatting options, and the design standard was also opened.
Users regularly ask the question: “How to open a doc file?” Especially if there is no office suite installed on your PC. There are programs and services that allow you to open doc format:
- Open Office;
- Yandex disk;
- DocReader.
Important! The same applications will allow you to open the docx format.
Opening doc format using Open Office
The Open Office suite of office applications is known to every Linux user.But the developers also release the software package in a version for Windows OS. The application is produced by Oracle and distributed free of charge. The Writer application is included in the package; you can open a doc or docx file with the program.
- Creating and editing documents in your own format. It's called OpenOffice.org XML.
- Opening, editing and saving texts in various Microsoft Word formats.
- Extension support. To check the grammar you will have to install a plugin. Similar actions necessary to improve search, equation editor, etc.
Comment. The Oracle Writer program opens doc files, but has limited formatting support. Nested tables or complex formatting program for opening doc do not support.
There are analogues of Open Office produced by third-party companies. The main one is LibreOffice, distributed under the GNU GPL license. Its development is carried out by a group of programmers united by The Document Foundation. The differences between LibreOffice and OpenOffice are minimal.
Perhaps we can say that Microsoft Word is the second most popular program on most modern personal computers. The first place is occupied by the well-known Paint. 90% of all computer users use Word daily for studying, working, writing letters, poetry, personal diaries and many other important things. However, no matter how strange it may seem, there are still people who are not familiar with the doc format. How to open it and how to work with it? They have no idea about this, but this is not at all evidence of their incompetence. Most likely, they are either unfamiliar with computers and have never encountered electronic text documents of this format, or their operating system does not support Microsoft products.
Doc - text documents created using Microsoft Word. The new Microsoft Word 2007 program works both with the docx format, which is completely new and cannot be opened in previous versions of the program without updating, and with the doc format. You already roughly understand how to open it. Microsoft Word of any version allows you not only to open a file of this format, but also to read it, edit it, format it, and insert tables, images, graphs, and diagrams into a text document. All changes can be saved by clicking on the floppy disk icon or the “File” menu button and selecting the “Save” line.
There may also be another problem with the doc format. How can I open it if Office is not installed on my computer? The Paint program, which was mentioned above, is installed by default on all personal computers with the Windows operating system. And Word is included in the Microsoft Office package and is a paid program. Not everyone can afford it.
How to open a doc file?
How to open a document in doc format if it was sent to you by mail or you downloaded it from the Internet and you urgently need to read or edit it, but you don’t have Word? There is no need to panic or worry. There are other free programs and services on the Internet that allow you to open a doc and edit it.
Online services
To open a text document in doc format, you can use online services, which are completely free. And you, moreover, do not have to install additional software on your computer. This is especially important if you practically never work with text documents. One example for opening a file with a doc extension is Google service Docs. This free service allows you to open and edit Microsoft Word files. To use the service, just register an account with Google system.
Format readersdoc
If you need to work with doc files constantly, but install Microsoft Word various reasons You can’t, you can install a program for a friend to read this format. Below we will introduce you to the most popular programs.
Word Viewer
This Microsoft development program allows you to view doc documents, copy information from a document, and paste it into another document. It also allows you to print data from this text document. But Word Viewer has one significant drawback - you cannot edit the document.
OpenOffice
This free package of various programs works on many operating systems and makes it possible not only to read doc files, but also to edit them. The program has all the same functions as Microsoft Word.
This program is also free and allows you to work with doc format. It has quite a wide range of functionality, but is still inferior to OpenOffice.
Now, if you come across a document with it, you already know. You have many options, and what you decide to choose depends on your preferences and capabilities. But don't despair if you are unable to install the full MO 2007 package.
At the end of the 80s of the last century, Microsoft Corporation practically established a monopoly on the software market for personal computers. Development computer equipment was moving at an unprecedented pace, which created the need for a new text format, more functional than the already existing TXT and RTF. They were replaced by the DOC format integrated into the MS Word program. We invite you to get acquainted with its features and learn how to open files saved in this format.
The DOC (.doc) extension gets its name from English word"document", which hardly needs translation. DOC files are used to store text with or without formatting. Moreover, the formatting possibilities are quite extensive - the user can work with different fonts, styles, sizes, style options, paragraphs and spacing, and types of text arrangement on the page. In addition, integration of various objects into the text is available: pictures, diagrams, formulas, tables, numbered and bulleted lists.
The DOC format was used by default in the MS Word text editor from 1990 to 2007, when it was replaced by the new DOCX extension. However, all new versions of the program remain compatible with DOC files, which can not only be viewed, but also edited.
The latest version with the basic DOC format was Word 2003, the interface of which looks like the one shown in the photo.
More modern editors 2007 and Word 2010 have an updated software shell. Their working windows are shown in the following figures.
The main area of application of the format is the storage, processing and printing of text data - from small notes to large works and official documentation. However, the functionality of DOC files is not wide enough to create full-fledged printed products, so other formats are used in journalistic and publishing practice.
How to open a DOC file on a PC?
The most obvious answer to this question would be all varieties of MS Word. Sometimes, if the formatting of DOC files is incompatible, a conversion procedure takes place before opening the file, which usually does not take much time. However, Word is not cross-platform software, that is, it only works under the control operating system Windows. In addition, the official license to use the program is quite expensive.
A good alternative would be to use the free analogue included in the OpenOffice application package. The program is called Writer and can run on Windows, Linux and Mac OS systems. In addition to the DOC format, it can work with TXT, RTF, PDF and many others. By default, new documents are saved in Writer’s “native” format – ODT. The program interface looks like this:
It has been noted that not all OpenOffice builds work stably on Apple platforms. For them, the same developer offered a specialized NeoOffice package. In addition, the standard Apple program, iWork Pages, does an excellent job of opening DOC files on Mac OS.
If you do not plan to make any changes to the file, but just want to view or print its contents, use specialized free programs. One of the most convenient is Doc Viewer 2.0, which takes up very little space on your hard drive and is suitable even for old and very slow PCs. You can download the program here http://www.softportal.com/software-26750-doc-viewer.html.
Open DOC on your computer: Step-by-step instructions
If you already have a file in DOC format on your PC and have Word installed, you can open the document using any of the following methods:
- double-click the left mouse button on the icon;
- press Enter, having previously selected the document;
- by right-clicking and selecting “Open” from the drop-down menu.
To manually select a program to open a file, follow these steps:
In addition, you can import any file from your computer directly into the software shell of MS Word and other text editors. Simply follow the instructions below.
Note! Search in the same way the required document in OpenOffice and other programs.
Working with DOC files on a smartphone
To view DOC files, almost any reader application presented in Google Play(smartphones running Android OS) or App Store(gadgets running iOS). Carefully read the description on the application page and choose one that supports all the formats you need, for example, DOC, DOCX, RTF, TXT, PDF, FB2, EPUB. Good choice There will be a cross-platform eBoox, which can be downloaded here https://trashbox.ru/link/eboox-android. Here is a screenshot of its interface:
The ability to create new DOC files and edit existing ones is well implemented only in official and, fortunately, free applications from Microsoft and Apple. For smartphones and tablets on Android versions 4.1 and older will do mobile version Word programs.
iPhone and iPad owners should pay attention to the Pages app. The only worthy alternative to the official software, albeit with slightly reduced functionality, is the WPS Office program.
For tablets and netbooks running Windows OS, the same programs are suitable as for desktop PCs.
Cloud technologies
Many cloud storage services allow you to edit files online.
On mobile devices It’s more convenient to work with Microsoft’s OneDrive cloud. Install the appropriate application and you will be able to download files from the mobile version of Word. After installing the extension on your computer or laptop, your cloud storage will appear in the “My Computer” window next to the hard drive icons.
We hope you have received a comprehensive answer to all your questions. We wish you successful and productive work with DOC files!
Video - How to open a doc file
