Convert DOCX to DOC – 7 Ways

While working with Word documents, the user may need to convert a file from one format to another, such as docx to doc. These formats are used in the Word application included in the Microsoft Office suite.

Any modern text editor MS Word supports both formats: DOCX and DOC, but this was not always the case. This started after the release of Microsoft Word 2007 or newer office applications. Both formats are supported in the following office software versions: Word 2007, Word 2010, Word 2013, Word 2016, Word 2019.

The relatively new DOCX format is not supported in Microsoft Word 2003 or earlier. This means that in these versions of the application, you can only open a DOC file, and you will not be able to view a DOCX document.

Вначале посмотрим, чем отличается DOC от DOCX, в чем разница между этими близкими форматами, созданными одним разработчиком — Microsoft.

DOC vs DOCX: What’s the Difference?

In Word, the most commonly used file extensions for saving documents are “.docx” and “.doc”. Users often encounter files that have these extensions.

Microsoft has developed its own word processing format that is used in Word. Versions of Microsoft Office 97-2003 used the “Doc” format, and from Microsoft Office 2007 and later, the “DocX” format. As you can see, “Doc” has been appended with “X”, which stands for “XML”. DOCX (Office Open XML) is the successor to the legacy DOC format.

The main differences between these formats:

• The size of the DocX file is somewhat smaller than that of the Doc file due to the built-in compression function into a special ZIP archive.
• DocX is a container format that stores information about the test, markup, tables and scripts in separate folders and files, unlike Doc, where all data is stored in one file.
• When using DOCX, the user will have more functionality when working with text documents.

It became clear to us that DOCX files cannot simply be opened in Word 2003 in earlier versions, also in programs that do not support this format, but have support for the DOC format. This is because the DocX format is not backwards compatible.

On the other hand, DOC files can be easily opened in reduced functionality mode in new versions of the program: Word 2019, Word 2016, Word 2013, Word 2010, Word 2007.

Some users need to be able to use DOC files for various reasons:

• Microsoft Office 2003 is installed on the computer;
• этот формат требует программное обеспечение, у которого есть поддержка устаревшего типа файлов;
• the user works on several devices, on one of which only files of the old format are supported.

Taking into account the above, it becomes clear that we need to convert DOCX to DOC in order to open this type of file on a PC that does not have new versions of Microsoft Office. We need to solve the problem that has arisen: translate DOCX into DOC.

From the instructions in this guide, you will learn how to convert DOCX to DOC using various methods: using software installed on your computer or online, using tools on a remote server, or using Windows tools.

Convert DOCX to DOC from Word 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, 2007

If you have a modern version of Word installed on your computer, you can easily save the file in the required format so that you can later use the DOC file on another device.

In this example, I show how to do this in Word 2019. Please note that in other versions of the application, the program interface and the names of some menu items may differ.

Do the following:

1. Open the DOCX file in Word.
2. Click “Export” in the side menu.
3. First select “Change File Type” and then under “Document File Types” click on “Word 97-2003 Document” to change DOCX to DOC.
4. In the warning window, click the “Save” button.

As a result of this operation, the source file will change the extension to “.doc”, now it can be used for its intended purpose.

Using the Compatibility Pack for Microsoft Office Word 2003

When using MS Word 2003 as an application to open a DOCX file, two scenarios can occur.

If you try to open a DOCX file in Word 2003 or an older version of the application, then the program will open a window warning that this file was created in a newer version of Microsoft Word, so you need to install a compatibility pack to open it. You will be prompted to download the “Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack” to your computer.

This means that on computers with Microsoft Office 2003, Office XP, Office 2000 installed, you can solve the problem of opening and editing DOCX files using a special tool developed by Microsoft. The Compatibility Pack adds support for new formats to older versions of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

Currently, Microsoft no longer supports versions of Office 2003, so the links to download the compatibility pack have been removed from the official website of the corporation. But, you can download this tool from the link from my website.

Unpack the ZIP archive, and then run the “FileFormatConverters.exe” file to install the necessary components on the PC. After you install the service pack on your computer, you will be able to open DOCX documents in Word 2003 or earlier applications.

In the second case, the program will try to open the file on its own by disabling unsupported elements of the Word document. Unsupported options will be disabled, the layout will be changed, and the ability to edit some features will be changed.

Converting DOCX to DOC with LibreOffice

The computer may not have Microsoft Office products, for example, if it uses other office software.

LibreOffice, a free suite of office applications, has an analogue of Word – the Writer application. The Writer program supports both Word formats: DOC and DOCX.

Go through the steps:

1. Open the DOCX file in LibreOffice Writer.
2. Click on the “File” menu, select “Save as …” in the context menu, or press the keyboard shortcut “Ctrl” + “Shift” + “S”.
3. In the “Save” window, in the “File Type:” field, select “Word 97-2003”.
4. Click on the “Save” button.
5. In the “File Format Confirmation” window that opens, we are warned that the original DocX file may contain formatting or content that cannot be saved in the selected “Word 97-2003” format.
6. Click on the “Use Word 97-2003 Format” button.
7. After the conversion is completed, you will have a finished file with the desired extension.

Converting DOCX to DOC format using OpenOffice

OpenOffice is a free office suite that supports Word formats. One of the package components – Writer, can work with Word files in DOC and DOCX formats.

Do the following:

1. Open a Word document in the OpenOffice Writer application window.

2. Enter the “File” menu, click on “Save As …”.

3. In the “Save” window that opens, select the file type “Microsoft Word 97/2000/XP”.
4. Save the document on your computer.
5. A warning window will open, in which you need to click on the “Use current format” button.
6. A DOC file will appear at the save location on your PC.

How to convert DOCX to DOC online at Convertio.co

Мы используем для преобразования DOCX в DOC онлайн конвертер. Это пригодится в случае, если на данном компьютере нет соответствующих программ. Процесс преобразования файла будет выполнен в приложении, находящимся на сайте в интернете.

Convertio.co is a free service for converting files of various formats. The service works in Russian. Without registration, conversion of files no larger than 100 MB is available.

Go through the following steps:

1. Visit the Convertio.co website page .
2. Click on the “Select Files” button to upload a document from your computer, move your mouse cursor over the corresponding icons to upload a file from Dropbox or Google Drive cloud storage, add a file using a URL link from the Internet, or simply drag and drop a file to a special area with your mouse from your PC.
3. Select the original format – “DOCX” and the desired one – “DOC”.
4. Нажмите на кнопку «Конвертировать».
5. After processing is complete, click on the “Download” button.

Finished files are stored on Convertio.co for 24 hours, after which they will be deleted.

Getting DOC from DOCX on Online-Convert.com

Online-Convert.com has an online document converter with which we can solve our problem. The web service works in Russian.

Do the following:

1. Log in to the online-convert.com service page .
2. Drag and drop a file into the web tool form, add a file from a computer, enter a URL, upload from Dropbox or Google Drive cloud.
3. Нажмите на кнопку «Начать конвертирование».
4. Save the finished file on your PC, download it as a ZIP archive, send it to cloud storage.

Your file will be stored on the service for 24 hours.

An easy way to change the format in Windows

In our situation, you can do without the help of programs and online services. There is a simple solution for changing the format in the Windows operating system: you need to change the file extension “.docx” to “doc”.

Using Windows 10 as an example, you will need to do the following:

1. Open File Explorer.
2. Click on the “File” menu.
3. In the open context menu, click on “Settings”.
4. In the Folder Options window, click the View tab.
5. Uncheck the box next to “Hide extensions for known file types”.
6. Click on the “OK” button.
7. Right-click the Word file and select Rename from the context menu.
8. Remove the “x” character from the filename extension to make “doc” from “.docx”.
9. Agree to change the extension of this file.

Article Conclusions

The Microsoft Word text editor supports two main file type formats: DOCX and DOC. On some devices, the programs still work. not having to open files of the new format – DOCX, so the user needs to convert this file to the old DOC format. This can be done in many ways using programs on a computer, on online services on the Internet, using Windows tools.