What is a doc text file? How to open a doc file

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. New Microsoft program Word 2007 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, paste it into Text Document tables, images, graphs, diagrams. 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. A Word program included in the package Microsoft Office 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 files Word. To use the service, just register an account with Google system.

Format readersdoc

If you need to work with doc files all the time, but for various reasons you cannot install Microsoft Word, 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 full package You are not able to install MO 2007.

We hope we helped you resolve your DOC file problem. If you don't know where you can download an application from our list, click on the link (this is the name of the program) - you will find more detailed information regarding where to download a secure installation version of the required application.

What else could cause problems?

There may be more reasons why you cannot open a DOC file (not just the lack of an appropriate application).
Firstly- DOC file may not be linked correctly (incompatible) with installed application for its maintenance. In this case, you need to change this connection yourself. To do this, right-click on the DOC file you want to edit, click the option "To open with" and then select the program you installed from the list. After this action, problems with opening the DOC file should completely disappear.
Secondly- the file you want to open may simply be damaged. In this case, it would be best to find a new version of it, or download it again from the same source (perhaps for some reason in previous session The download of the DOC file has not completed and it cannot be opened correctly).

Do you want to help?

If you have additional information about the DOC file extension, we would be grateful if you share it with users of our site. Use the form below and send us your information about the DOC file.

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 – typical presentation format text information on the 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 a monopoly Microsoft. After many years of development, everything has come to the point that now the format itself is poorly integrated into the OS. third party applications and, moreover, between different versions One format has compatibility problems that sometimes prevent it from working properly.

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 program Office Word. 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 no problem.

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 must include the cost, which not everyone can afford and quite serious system requirements(on some laptops and netbooks the program may sometimes freeze).

To open a document through Word, you need to do just a few simple steps.


This is how you can quickly and easily open a DOC document via 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 weakest 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 using Word Viewer can open 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, and also with free access to 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: start window doesn't have to be opened 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.

In the late 80s of the last century on the market software Microsoft has virtually established a monopoly on 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 MS integrated into the program Word format DOC. 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 the 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 free analogue, included in the OpenOffice application suite. The program is called Writer and can run on both Windows OS and Linux systems and Mac OS. 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 under iOS control). 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 more convenient to work with OneDrive cloud from Microsoft. 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

The freely available DocViewer program is designed for viewing, creating and editing text documents in almost any known format - . doc,. docx,. rtf,. txt and other equally popular ones. Nowadays, for a modern user it is already a novelty to be without text editor, in which it will not be possible to fully edit texts.

The utility can completely replace the popular MS Word editor, since it is not only free, but also has almost the same set of functions as the famous analogue from Microsoft. After creating documents in DocViewer, the user can send the file via e-mail without leaving the editor.

How to open doc?

Today, like 15 years ago, the most popular text format remains .doc, and that is why many office software developers are trying to include it in the list of their products. For the same reason, this format was included in the list of available ones for DocViewer. Despite the fact that files with this extension can be opened and viewed using various applications, not every utility has an editing function. This is the significant difference between the DocViewer program.

In addition, the entire text document or its fragments opened by this utility can be freely copied, cut, sent to other files and for printing.

If the user is not satisfied with the functions of the DocViewer program, he can always use other free utilities, for example, Kingsoft Writer Free, AbiWord, etc. In these applications, you can not only work with fonts, 3D objects and pictures, but also create/insert into table text, perform a number of other operations.