DOC or DOCX - that's the difference

DOC and DOCX are both file extensions of Word documents. We explain the difference between the two formats.

Difference between DOC and DOCX

DOCX is the standard file format for documents as of Word 2007, the versions prior to that use DOC. Although both are Word formats, there are some differences:

• DOCX now behaves like a ZIP archive, which means the layout is saved in XML and CSS files. This is more space-saving and faster than the old file format.
• You cannot open documents with the DOCX extension in Word 2003 or lower unless you install the Compatibility Pack. You can also use OpenOffice instead. This can deal with both formats by default.
• There is no problem in the other direction - Word 2007 and higher can easily handle the old DOC format.