How to open word document

Microsoft Word and its Word Document formats work great if you’re inside the company’s ecosystem, but what if you’re using a PC without its $70/year Microsoft suite installed? Things start to get a bit trickier as the company naturally wants you to make use of its productivity services.

Though Microsoft provided a free ‘Word Viewer’ application up until 2017, recommending various other official routes to access its applications instead. With a lot of confusion about which paths are free and which will cost you, many are still left wondering how to open a Word document without Microsoft Word.

We’ve rounded up and tested some of the best ways to open Word docs in 2020, whether it’s online, via Microsoft software, or a third-party application.

Open a DOCX File with Wordpad

In Winbuzzer’s testing, the fastest method was Windows’ in-built WordPad. Though our test document did see some distortion in image and text box width and switched to a serif font, it did the job well enough to be easily legible.

If you’re editing a Microsoft Word Document or it’s important that it stays in its original form, this isn’t the best solution, but it’s a quick and useful trick if you’re in a hurry. Naturally, this also isn’t an option on macOS, mobile, or Chromebooks.

Open a Microsoft Word Document with the Word Mobile App

Microsoft recommended its Word Mobile app as a replacement for Microsoft Word Viewer, and it’s easy to see why. Despite the ‘Mobile’ nomenclature, anyone on PC can grab it from the Microsoft Store free of charge, without an Office 365 subscription.

Though the Word Mobile app is designed for tablets, it can still be run in regular Windows 10 and provides good results. As you’d expect from a first-party Microsoft app, there are no formatting issues here and that’s consistent across various layout types.

The main caveat with Microsoft Word Mobile, then, comes with editing. The solution only opens Word documents unless you have a subscription, meaning you’ll be unable to make a quick change and send it back to someone. As a Microsoft Store app, it’s also naturally limited to Windows 10 PCs and tablets.

Open Word Documents with Microsoft Word Online

If you’re happy to open DOCX online, Microsoft’s Word Online is the natural place to go. Though you will need a Microsoft account, you can press “Upload and open…” on the homepage to quickly get your Word document online. It’s an extra step if you’ve already downloaded the file, but those who open Word docs regularly enough for it be an annoyance probably already own the Office suite.

Word Online produced very favorable results in our testing, as you’d expect from Microsoft’s official web service. It comes without the annoyance of being designed for tablets and even offers basic editing functionality. The natural advantage of the web-based app is that you can access it from any device. Linux, MacOS, and Chromebooks all have the same experience and works flawlessly, but you will require an internet connection.

Though it does mean you’ll have to use your browser rather than a dedicated application, the new Chromium Microsoft Edge browser allows you to install web pages progressive web apps.

This will create an Office app with the exact same functionality and will allow you to launch it from your taskbar or Start menu into its own Window at any time. Similar techniques can be utilized in Google Chrome via the ‘Create as shortcut’ option.

Open a DOC File Online with Google Docs

Speaking of Google, its free Docs service has the ability to open and edit .doc and .docx files without much hassle. Though like Word Online it does require an internet connection and use of the browser, it produces passable results for those already in the Google ecosystem and works on Linux, Windows, MacOS, and Chromebooks.

You can open a word document online via Google Docs by pressing the ‘File picker’ folder tucked away on its start page.

Users are then presented with the familiar Google Drive upload interface, where they can browse to or drag in their Word Document.

Though Google Docs create some changes to font, page width, and transparency compared to Word Online, the results are generally pretty good.

Open Word Documents with WPS Office

The best option to open and edit DOCX files on the desktop in our testing was WPS Office. Though you will have to deal with some minor advertisements unless you pay or block it in the firewall, the results are very promising.

Though we threw a complex Word document at WPS Office, it managed to handle it almost on par with Microsoft’s Word Mobile. Font, width, image fidelity, and formatting were maintained, with the only downside being a loss in transparency with the Office logo in the top right.

WPS Office has native apps for Linux, MacOS, Windows, Android, and Linux, but you can’t use it to open Word documents online, so Chromebook users are out of luck. Users also report that it doesn’t deal with multi-language or proofing particularly well.

How to Open Word Documents Without Microsoft Word via Only Office

Another option WinBuzzer tested to open our test document was OnlyOffice, which almost looks a little too familiar to Microsoft Word in its interface. It offers a 180-day free trial or a free community edition, making it an attractive pick on the surface.

However, in our testing it didn’t produce results on par with the competition, significantly changing the typeface and resulting in some other issues. It was one of the few to maintain transparency on the Office 365 logo, though, and does support Mac and Linux, so that’s a plus.

Still, the document we through at the application was a difficult one. It’s likely to handle simple documents just fine and provides a very familiar layout.

Opening DOCX Files with LibreOffice

The open-source LibreOffice, more specifically, its Writer app, is often touted as a strong alternative to Microsoft Word. Unfortunately, in our testing, it didn’t seem to live up to its fame, breaking the formatting of the test document quite significantly, changing its font to serif and pushing the table (with malformed headings) down to the second page.

Again, this is likely one of those scenarios where your results will depend on the complexity of the document. Though LibreOffice may be suited to view and edit simple documents, its ability to open DOCX files appears to break down once you start adding elements like tables.

That said, LibreOffice does offer a more simple and oftentimes more intuitive interface than Word, if not quite as pretty. It’s also lightweight and cross-platform.

Opening Word Documents with Open Office

The more outdated Apache OpenOffice is also an option when it comes to Microsoft Word Viewer alternatives, though we wouldn’t recommend it. Though it does let users edit DOCX files and is multi-platform, the results we got were significantly worse than WordPad with our specific document.

Open Office completely broke the layout of the page, forcing the text to move vertically down table columns, pushing content to the next page, and significantly modifying the font. The Office 365 logo in the top right seemed to disappear completely. Unless you’re running very old hardware, there isn’t much reason to use this over LibreOffice or other alternatives these days.

Conclusion

Those wondering how to open a Word document without Office have plenty of options, but they vary in their compatibility. We found WordPad to be a good choice if you need to view and edit something without additional software, while Word Online was the best of the online offerings, especially when combined with Chromium Edge’s PWA feature. For the desktop, WPS Office came out the clear winner, though its ad-based model definitely won’t be for everyone.

Right-click the file you want to open. In the pop-up menu, select the Open with option. If available, choose the Microsoft Word program option in the Open with menu. If Microsoft Word is not listed, select the Choose other app or Choose default program option, depending on the version of Windows on your computer.

How can I open a Word document without Microsoft Office?

How to Open a Word Document without Microsoft Word – The best Alternatives

1. 1 Open a DOCX File with Wordpad.
2. 2 Open a Microsoft Word Document with the Word Mobile App.
3. 3 Open Word Documents with Microsoft Word Online.
4. 4 Open a DOC File Online with Google Docs.
5. 5 Open Word Documents with WPS Office.

Why can’t I open my Word documents?

Whether networked or stand-alone, documents may also fail to open because the data file itself is corrupted or because the file is being loaded from a damaged floppy disk. The key to getting data out of Word documents that won’t load is to not panic.

How do I open a Word document on my laptop?

You can open them one of three ways.

1. Press “Win-E,” locate your Word document on your computer and double-click it to automatically open the document in Microsoft Word.
2. Open Microsoft Word, press “Ctrl-O,” locate the file you want to open and double-click the file to open it from within Microsoft Word.

How do I view all Word documents on my computer?

To open Word documents on your computer or device, first select the ‘Start’ icon, where all the apps and other tools on your device are listed. Scroll until you find the ‘Computer’ option and then click it. Next, all your files will show up on your screen.

Where is Word on my computer?

For both Windows and Mac computers, the definitive method is to open a Word document and follow these steps:

• Windows computers: Click File. In the left navigation bar, click Account. On the Account screen, look in the right column near the top.
• Mac computers: Click Word > About Word.

How can I use Microsoft Word on my computer?

Use the left button on the mouse to click on the Start button. Then click on programmes and then double-click on the MSWORD programme. Some computers have a MSWORD symbol that will come up when your computer is on and you do not have to go to start – simply double click the left button of the mouse on the symbol.

How do I open my documents?

Find & open files

1. Open your phone’s Files app . Learn where to find your apps.
2. Your downloaded files will show. To find other files, tap Menu . To sort by name, date, type, or size, tap More. Sort by. If you don’t see “Sort by,” tap Modified or Sort .
3. To open a file, tap it.

How do I open files in Windows 10?

The data on your Windows 10 computer or device, like pictures, videos, or documents, is stored as files. To open a file, double-click or double-tap on it (for touchscreens), same as a folder.

How do I use Word on Windows 10?

On the App list, find and click an Office app you want to use, for example, Word or Excel. The Office page will open in the Windows Store, and you should click Install. Open one of the newly installed apps from the Office product page. Click Got it! to start using Office.

How do I download Microsoft Word?

Sign in to download Office

1. Go to www.office.com and if you’re not already signed in, select Sign in.
2. Sign in with the account you associated with this version of Office.
3. After signing in, follow the steps that match the type of account you signed in with.
4. This completes the download of Office to your device.

How do I open a saved file?

Find and open a file

1. In the corner of your screen, select the Launcher. Up arrow .
2. Open Files .
3. On the left, choose where your file is saved. For files you’ve just used, select Recent. For a list of files by type, select Image, Video, or Audio.
4. Find your file and double-click it to open.

How do I open a file that won’t open?

The Open and Repair command might be able to recover your file.

1. Click File > Open > Browse and then go to the location or folder where the document (Word), workbook (Excel), or presentation (PowerPoint) is stored.
2. Click the file you want, and then click the arrow next to Open, and click Open and Repair.

Why can’t I open my files?

If a file won’t open, a few things could be wrong: You don’t have permission to view the file. You’re signed in to a Google Account that doesn’t have access. The correct app isn’t installed on your phone.

How do I open files or folders on my computer?

There are two main ways to open a file:

1. Find the file on your computer and double-click it. This will open the file in its default application.
2. Open the application, then use the application to open the file. Once the application is open, you can go to the File menu at the top of the window and select Open.

How do I open a file with my keyboard?

Press Alt+F to open the File menu. KeyTips are displayed over the File menu page options. On your keyboard, press the key that matches the letter in the KeyTip of the page to select and open the page.

How do I view files on my desktop?

To view them, right-click the desktop, select View, and then select Show desktop icons. To add icons to your desktop such as This PC, Recycle Bin and more: Select Start , open Settings , then under Personalization , select Themes .

Does Windows 10 come with Word?

Windows 10 includes online versions of OneNote, Word, Excel and PowerPoint from Microsoft Office. The online programs often have their own apps as well, including apps for Android and Apple smartphones and tablets.

Can I download Microsoft Word for free on my laptop?

At the new Office.com, you can use basic versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote for free in your browser. They’re the same Microsoft Office apps you’re used to, only they run online and are 100% free.

How do I download Microsoft Word to my laptop?

To grab the app, head to the Microsoft Store and search for Word Mobile. Otherwise, click the link below to open it in a browser tab, and then the Download button to open it in Microsoft Store on your Windows computer. Proceed to download it like any app.

Updated: 01/24/2018 by

Microsoft Word is a popular word processing program used by computer users. Word can open text (.txt) files, rich text format (.rtf) files, XML (.xml) files, web page (.htm or .html) files, and all Word (.doc, .docx, .docm, and more) files.

To open these files in Microsoft Word, including files created and saved in Word, you can use any of the options below.

Double-click file

In some cases, you can double-click a file to open it in Microsoft Word. However, the file only opens in Microsoft Word if that file type is associated with Microsoft Word. Word documents, like .doc and .docx files, are associated with Microsoft Word by default. However, web page files, text, and rich text format files are often not associated with Word by default, so double-clicking these files may open in another program.

Right-click file and select program

For any file, you can choose the program to open a file with, including Microsoft Word.

1. Right-click the file you want to open.
2. In the pop-up menu, select the Open with option.
3. If available, choose the Microsoft Word program option in the Open with menu. If Microsoft Word is not listed, select the Choose other app or Choose default program option, depending on the version of Windows on your computer.

1. In the window that opens, find Microsoft Word in the program list and select that option. Microsoft Word should open and the file opened within Word.

Open within Microsoft Word

Follow the steps below to open a file from within Microsoft Word.

Word 2007 and later

1. Open the Microsoft Word program.
2. Click the File tab on the Ribbon and click the Open option.
3. If the Open window does not appear, click the Browse option to open that window.
4. In the Open window, find and select the file you want to open in Microsoft Word. You may need to click the drop-down list next to the File name text field to change the file type, and then select open.
5. Click the Open button at the bottom right of the open window.

Word 2003 and earlier

1. Open the Microsoft Word program.
2. In the menu at the top, click the File menu and select the Open option.
3. In the Open window, find and select the file you want to open in Microsoft Word. You may need to click the drop-down list next to the File name text field to change the file type, and then select open.
4. Click the Open button at the bottom right of the Open window.

Suggested video of Shortcut Key to Open MS Word for better understanding.

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