DOCX

DOCX is the file name extension used to identify files in the Microsoft Office Open XML format (OOXML}. This is the native file format for Word 2007 and later. Word 2000, 2002 and 2003 can be updated to read and write this format with a free download from the Microsoft web site.

Introduction

Microsoft released this format to meet the complaint that the earlier DOC format used in word was a closed binary format. Instead of adopting any industry standard they have chosen to develop their own format and then release it. They compete directly the the ODT format developed by Sun and IBM. Like the ODT format this format is also encapsulated in a ZIP file. Note that this format is different from the XML format released in word 2003.

Contents

There are multiple files in this format. They are contained in a ZIP archive with a .docx extension. They typically include:

• [Content_Types].xml
• _rels/.rels
• word/_rels/document.xml.rels
• word/document.xml
• word/footnotes.xml
• word/endnotes.xml
• word/footer1.xml
• word/theme/theme1.xml
• word/settings.xml
• word/webSettings.xml
• word/styles.xml
• word/numbering.xml
• word/fontTable.xml
• docProps/core.xml
• docProps/app.xml

The document.xml file contains the text while the others contain metadata and word processing setup files.

Sample

A document containing: 'This word is bold.' would look like:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?>
<w:document xmlns:ve="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006"
    xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"
    xmlns:r="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/officeDocument/2006/relationships"
    xmlns:m="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/officeDocument/2006/math"
    xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml"
    xmlns:wp="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/drawingml/2006/wordprocessingDrawing"
    xmlns:w10="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word"
    xmlns:w="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/wordprocessingml/2006/main"
    xmlns:wne="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/word/2006/wordml">
<w:body>
  <w:pw:rsidR="00F25A57" w:rsidRDefault="00F25A57">
    <w:r><w:t xml:space="preserve">This </w:t></w:r>
    <w:rw:rsidRPr="00FE579B">
      <w:rPr><w:b/><w:bCs/></w:rPr>
      <w:t>word</w:t>
    </w:r>
    <w:r><w:t xml:space="preserve"> is bold.</w:t></w:r>
  </w:p>
  <w:sectPr w:rsidR="00F25A57" w:rsidSect="00F25A57">
    <w:pgSz w:w="12240" w:h="15840"/>
    <w:pgMar w:top="1440" w:right="1800" w:bottom="1440" w:left="1800" w:header="720" w:footer="720" w:gutter="0"/>
    <w:cols w:space="720"/>
    <w:docGrid w:linePitch="360"/>
  </w:sectPr>
</w:body>
</w:document>

Other file extensions

• .DOCM uses the same basic XML format as the Office Word 2007 XML document format, but can store VBA macro code. This file type is created when VBA macro code is present in the file.

• .DOTX is the XML template format. (.DOTM is the form used to support VBA macro code)

• Other office products use a format that is similar to the .DOCX format. The same basic container mechanism is used and the same fundamental organization. Of course there are unique elements as needed for the product.
  • .XLSX is used by Excel since 2007
  • .PPTX is used by Power Point since 2007

For more information

• Microsoft Office files
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_Open_XML
• Microsoft Office 2007 compatibility pack updated in 2015
• OOXML format overviw (requires a passport login)
• Word viewer for those who don't have word.