DOCX, DOC, DOCM, DOTX, RTF: Word File Formats Explained (2026)

Quick Comparison Table

Format	Extension	Word version	Best for	Avoid for
DOCX	.docx	2007+	Everyday documents	Sending to Word 2003 users
DOC	.doc	97-2003	Backwards compatibility only	Anything new
DOCM	.docm	2007+	Documents with macros	Sharing externally (security warnings)
DOTX	.dotx	2007+	Templates	One-off documents
DOTM	.dotm	2007+	Templates with macros	Untrusted sources
RTF	.rtf	All	Maximum cross-app compatibility	Modern Word documents (3-5× larger)
PDF	.pdf	All (via Export)	Final/locked deliverables	Documents that need editing
TXT	.txt	All	Plain text only	Anything with formatting

What Each Format Actually Is

DOCX — the default

.docx is a ZIP archive containing XML files. If you rename a .docx to .zip and extract it, you’ll see folders like word/, _rels/, and docProps/ containing the text, formatting, and metadata as separate XML files. This structure is why DOCX is smaller (XML compresses well), more recoverable (a corrupted image doesn’t take down the document text), and easier for third-party apps to parse.

Use DOCX for: every new document, unless you specifically need one of the formats below.

DOC — the legacy binary

.doc is the binary format Microsoft used from Word 97 through Word 2003. It’s a single binary blob — efficient at the time, but harder to recover when corrupted and harder for non-Microsoft apps to read perfectly. Modern Word still opens .doc files, but you’ll see “Compatibility Mode” at the top of the window, indicating some features are disabled.

Use DOC only when: you must send to someone running Word 2003 or older. Otherwise convert to DOCX immediately.

DOCM — macros enabled

.docm is structurally identical to .docx, but with one crucial difference: it can contain VBA (Visual Basic for Applications) macros that execute when the document opens. Macros are powerful — they can automate workflows that would take hours manually — but they can also do anything VBA can do, including delete files, send emails, modify the registry, or download additional malware.

When you open a .docm, Word shows a yellow “PROTECTED VIEW” or “Enable Content” warning bar. Never click “Enable Content” unless you know exactly what the macros do and trust the sender. Macro-borne attacks (Emotet, Dridex, Qakbot families) have been the dominant Office malware vector for years.

Use DOCM for: internal automation where you control all senders and recipients. Avoid for external sharing.

DOTX / DOTM — templates

.dotx is the template version of .docx. When you double-click a .dotx, Word creates a new document based on it instead of opening the template itself. This prevents accidentally overwriting your template. .dotm is the same idea but with macros enabled.

Use DOTX for: letterhead, invoices, report templates, anything you’ll create many copies of with the same starting structure.

RTF — the universal fallback

Rich Text Format dates to 1987. It’s plain text with embedded formatting codes. RTF preserves: text, fonts, colors, bold/italic/underline, basic paragraph styles, basic tables. RTF loses: comments, tracked changes, embedded objects, advanced layouts, footnotes with cross-references, OLE objects.

Almost every text editor on every operating system can read RTF — that’s its appeal. The downsides are file size (often 3-5× larger than DOCX) and feature loss.

Use RTF only for: maximum compatibility with old or specialized software. Otherwise DOCX is better.

How to Convert Between Formats

.doc → .docx

In Word: open the .doc → File → Info → Convert (button below the file name) → click OK when prompted. The file converts in place and reloads. Alternative: File → Save As → choose Word Document (*.docx) from the format dropdown.

.docx → .doc (rare but sometimes needed)

File → Save As → choose Word 97-2003 Document (*.doc). Word warns you that some formatting may not survive — usually safe for plain documents, may corrupt newer features like SmartArt or content controls.

.docx → .pdf

File → Save As → PDF (*.pdf) OR File → Export → Create PDF/XPS. The Export method preserves hyperlinks, bookmarks, and TOC links; the Save As method does the same in modern Word. Avoid File → Print → Microsoft Print to PDF — that flattens hyperlinks. More on this here.

.docx → .txt (strip all formatting)

File → Save As → Plain Text (*.txt). You’ll lose all formatting, images, and tables. Useful for pasting clean text into a system that doesn’t accept Word documents (some web forms, code editors).

Bulk conversion (.doc → .docx for hundreds of files)

In Word, View → Macros → Create, paste this VBA snippet, hit Run:

Sub ConvertDocsInFolder()
    Dim folderPath As String
    folderPath = "C:\Path\To\Your\Folder\"
    Dim file As String
    file = Dir(folderPath & "*.doc")
    Do While file <> ""
        If LCase(Right(file, 4)) = ".doc" Then
            Documents.Open folderPath & file
            ActiveDocument.SaveAs2 _
                FileName:=folderPath & Replace(file, ".doc", ".docx"), _
                FileFormat:=wdFormatXMLDocument
            ActiveDocument.Close
        End If
        file = Dir
    Loop
End Sub

Change the folder path to your actual folder. Run once.

”My Word File Won’t Open” — Quick Triage

If you got a Word file that won’t open, the format usually tells you what’s wrong:

• .doc that won’t open in modern Word: try File → Open → Browse, change file type filter to “All Files,” select the .doc. If that fails, try opening it in LibreOffice or Google Docs — they’re sometimes more forgiving of corruption.
• .docx that opens as gibberish: it may have been renamed from a different format. Rename it to .zip and try to extract — if it extracts and contains word/document.xml, it’s a real DOCX. If extraction fails, it’s mislabeled.
• .docm that triggers virus warnings: don’t bypass the warnings. Open in Word’s Protected View, copy the text you need into a new blank document, save as .docx. The macros never execute.
• .rtf that looks weird: RTF files saved by some non-Microsoft apps use non-standard extensions. Try opening in WordPad (Windows) or TextEdit (Mac) first to verify it’s actually RTF.

For format-specific recovery, see How to Recover an Unsaved Word Document and Word to PDF Hyperlinks Not Working.