rtf (Rich Text Format)-Like plain text, RTF saves only words, but it does save some basic formatting (like bold and italics) txt (Plain Text)-also known as plain text format. This file type saves only the words you type-no images, no formatting, just raw text. doc (Word 97–2003 Document)-default Microsoft Word file from Microsoft Word 2003 and older. Improved scripts, macros, and other features from the older. docx (Word Document)-default Microsoft Word file, works with Microsoft Word 2007 and later.
docx files if you download Microsoft’s compatibility package.īecause of the variation in file type compatibility, it’s important to be mindful of what file types are readable by the programs other people have.Ĭommon File Extensions in Word Processing If you have an old version of Word (2003 or older), you can open. docx file and send it to someone who has an old version of Word or no Word at all, that person probably won’t be able to read your file. For example, older versions of Microsoft Word and computers without Microsoft Word installed cannot read. However, there may be times when you want to save a different file type. This file extension works in most Microsoft Word programs. While most programs can read most file types, not every program can read every file type. These extensions determine your document’s file type, and the file type determines what programs can open the file. What can cause this kind of problem? Using the wrong file extension.Ī file extension is a shortened form of the file type at the end of a file name. Roy tries to figure out what went wrong and learns that Riza is running a different version of Microsoft Word than he is, but he’s not sure how that caused the problem. When he gets back, Riza tells him she couldn’t open his file, and as a result she didn’t have the data the customers wanted and lost the sale. Quickly he saves the file in Microsoft Word, emails the file to Riza, and leaves to have a well-deserved lunch. Roy just barely manages to finish formatting the final draft. Roy is working on a report that needs to be done before noon so his coworker Riza can present the data to some prospective customers. Let’s start by taking a look at the following scenario:
If you save a document with a different extension (not using DOC), then Word won't show the document by default when you use the Open command. Thus, you can name a document as MyFile.let, or you can name it as MyFile.letter.
Thus, you would use the name "MyFile.let" (with the quotes) and that is the file name that Word will use.Īs a side note, you should understand that Windows doesn't have length limits on file name extensions. If you don't want Word to do this, then simply enclose your file name in quotes when you save under a new name. For instance, if you explicitly save a file as MyFile.let, Word will still save it as. (Some people prefer their own file name extensions as a means of organizing their documents.) If you try to use a different file name extension by including it when you save the file, Word still appends the DOC extension. You can, however, control exactly what extensions Word uses with your documents. By default, Word uses a DOC extension for all document files.