This is a relatively new version of file format which came into existence only around 2007. The files with the .docx extension are associated with Microsoft Word (version 2007 and above) from the Microsoft Corporation. It is the word processor program which is included with the Microsoft Office. It is the best program to open the files with the DOCX. The contents of the file can be viewed, edited and modified by simply opening the .docx file with Microsoft Word.
So, how do you create this type of file format?
These files are different from the files with .doc extension as they are used by Microsoft Word (version 2003 and below). The difference between the two file types is that the .docx files use the Microsoft Office Open XML Format which is absent for the .doc files. This file format was introduced by the Microsoft Corporation with the 2007 Office Pack version and you can create one easily with Microsoft Word 2007 or higher . This format has now become the default target one for Microsoft Office. The XML format is basically related to a zipped file format which contains word files, presentations and charts.
While opening a file with the DOCX, a few error messages might come up. For example, no program associated to the file or Word does not support the format or the file is corrupted and decoding is not possible. These problems can be easily disposed off, just by installing the required version of Microsoft Word (2007 or above). If the computer has a version lower than the 2007 one, then the file will not be opened as these files are not compatible with these programs.
The .docx is created by Microsoft as the XML architecture and the ZIP compression technology for reduction of the size. Though the .docx files are not compatible with the lower versions of Microsoft Office, but the company says that the feature of the conversion of files from . docx to the DOCX would be made available in all these programs.
When such files are opened with the Open XML Document Viewer, then the program gives a Firefox extension which will help to convert these files. Through this, the online version of the file would be generated which will help to view the contents of the file in a browser on-line.
Open DOCX File on Windows OS
- Look for an DOCX file you need to open in Windows Explorer and double-click on it
- If the file doesn’t open automatically and you see a “Windows can’t open a file” message then you should search for a program which can open DOCX file
- If you have a program which can open DOCX file installed on your computer then launch that program and select “File” and then “Open” or similar options from its menu to open the DOCX file
- If you don’t have the program installed then you need to try searching for “DOCX wiki”, “how to open DOCX file” in the search engine.
- Once you find the application, install it on your computer
- After the program is installed double-click on the DOCX file to open it
File extensions are used by Windows operating system to specify what kind of information is stored in the file. Every file in Windows OS needs to have file extension and file extensions are used by Windows to determine which application it should use to open the file. Every application installed on Windows OS places information about which extensions it could open into the Windows registry and Windows uses this information to determine which application it should launch when user double-clicks on the file. If application which can open DOCX file is not installed, then Windows will show ‘Windows can’t open DOCX file’ message and buttons to either select an application on the computer which can open the file or to search the web for the application which can open DOCX file.