Open DOCX File

Open DOCX File

You can open DOCX file using Microsoft Word software application. Microsoft Word is an application developed by Microsoft as part of Microsoft Office. It has a long history with first version released in 1983 for Xenix. Currently Microsoft Word supports Windows and Mac OS desktop platforms. Also, platform specific versions of Microsoft Word are available for iOS and Android operating systems.

Microsoft Word allows creating text documents with rich formatting, headers and footers, printer preview and various styles. Besides text Microsoft Word can insert different media types like audio, video and images. Users can make drawings using shapes and insert content from other Microsoft Office applications. Microsoft Word is also famous for its advanced formula engine which allows creating complex mathematical formulas.

DOCX is based on Office Open XML file format (OOXML). OOXML is an XML based format which was created by Microsoft to facilitate complex document storage and exchange between different office applications. OOXML format is standardized as ISO/IEC 29500 and ECMA-376 and supported by various other applications including LibreOffice, Apple Pages and OpenOffice.org.

You can open DOCX file without installing Microsoft Word. For this you need to upload DOCX file to OneDrive, Dropbox or Google Docs. All of these online office applications are capable to import DOCX, display, edit and export it. This makes it the easiest way to view DOCX files.

Open DOCX File on Windows OS

• Double click on a DOCX file in Windows File Explorer.
• If the DOCX file reading software is associated correctly then the file will open
• If the file did not open you should install Microsoft Word software
• To open DOCX file in Microsoft Word you need to launch it and then select File->Open in the main menu
• In the File Open dialog select DOCX file and click "Open"
• If you do not want to use Microsoft Word you can install LibreOffice or OpenOffice

Learn how to delete a page in Microsoft Word.

DOCX files and Microsoft Word in general support macro programming using Visual Basic. Macros allow adding very complex features to the documents but at the same time pose risk of being used for viruses. Due to the spike of macro viruses in 1999 they were disabled by default in all Microsoft Office applications including Microsoft Word. But it is still not recommended to open DOCX files from an unknown source because they may contain viruses. Even though macros are disabled by default, viruses use different techniques to lure users into enabling macros and infecting their computers.