What is the DOCX format and how is it different from DOC?

For a long time, Microsoft’s Word used the DOC format to store files. But this procedure was changed in 2007 and the new Word storage format was changed from DOC to DOCX. But adding a simple X to the end of the name of this format was not something meaningless and simple. In fact, the added X represented the Office Open XML standard. But what was the difference between these two formats and which one should be used?

A brief overview of the history of the DOC format

Almost 30 years have passed since the DOC format. Microsoft used this format for the first time in the initial version of Word – which was released on MSDOS. At that time, Word was the only program that supported this format. Of course, Microsoft changed this procedure in 2006 and made the specifications of this format available to everyone.

Although in the nineties and especially in the early 2000s, many different word processors were able to recognize DOC files, but almost none of them fully supported the strange and exceptional Word format.

This special and different format of Microsoft gave Redmondi the possibility to overcome many good products of that period, such as WordPerfect of Corel, and made them rule the office software and word processors through Office and take Word.

This trend continued until 2008 and the DOC format was still known as the most popular word processor format. Files saved in DOC format could also be identified on old versions of Word software, and this allowed users to easily share their files with others without any particular worries.

Introduction to Office Open XML

In the early 2000s and the competition between the two open source formats Open Office and Open Document Format, Microsoft decided to expand the boundaries of its reign. For this reason, the Redmonds at that time talked about the development of DOCX files and its companions such as XLSX and PPTX.

Microsoft’s new standards were also called “Office Open XML”, which were developed using high-level languages ​​instead of binary low-level formats. More powerful programming languages ​​provided many advantages to users.

Smaller files, lower chances of corruption and better appearance of images were all advantages of Microsoft’s new standards. At the same time, in 2007, extensive changes were made in the Word program. The old DOC format moved away from Word’s default storage mode and was replaced by DOCX.

But this procedure change was not simple and effortless. Many users at that time thought that with the arrival of the new DOCX format and the release of the new version of Microsoft Office, the old versions are no longer useful to anyone. Because the old versions were no longer able to recognize the new XML formats.

Of course, these speculations turned out to be almost wrong. Even Word 2003 was able to read XML file. After that, Microsoft provided this possibility for other versions by releasing various updates. Of course, many users still prefer to use the DOC format instead of DOCX.

Their reason was that older versions are better compatible with this format and can be used everywhere. However, a few years later, the DOCX format took over the world of word processors and became the standard format for text files. Of course, it should be noted that DOCX no longer had a strong competitor that could stand up to it. Microsoft took advantage of this opportunity and very easily turned this format into a global standard.

Which format should we use?

Currently, DOCX is the best format for storing WORD files in every way. It is light and compact and does not burden the user to carry. They can even be read and implemented with online tools such as Google Docs.

The DOC format is no longer useful and you should go to it only when you have to use a low-level word processor. Ten years have passed since the end of the DOC era, and the DOCX format can be recognized almost everywhere and can be easily used.

Frequently asked questions by users about DOCX and DOC format