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How to open a DOCX file without Word

The free options, which of them upload your document, and how much of its layout and formatting each one keeps.

By Shahzad Ali ·

The short answer

A .docx file is a Word document, but you do not need Microsoft Word to open it. A browser-based viewer, LibreOffice Writer, Google Docs and Apple Pages all read it for free. They differ in two ways: whether the file is uploaded, and how much of the layout and formatting they keep.

In your browser, with nothing uploaded

Drop the file on the Word viewer. The document opens as pages with its page size and margins, fonts, tables, pictures, lists, headers and footers with page numbers, and Arabic paragraphs and tables run right to left. You can zoom in, fit the page to your screen and download the original file again. The viewer reads documents but does not edit them yet. Password-protected documents cannot be opened.

Save it as a PDF

To send or print the document, open it in the Word viewer and click Print / Save as PDF. Your browser's print dialog opens with only the document's pages; choose Save as PDF (Microsoft Print to PDF on Windows) as the printer. The PDF is made on your computer, so the document is not uploaded for this either.

Free desktop apps

These work offline and keep the file on your computer:

  • LibreOffice Writer (Windows, Mac and Linux) opens, edits and saves .docx and keeps most formatting. It is the closest free equivalent to desktop Word.
  • Apple Pages (Mac, iPhone and iPad) opens .docx and can export back to the Word format; some Word-only features are converted or dropped.
  • On a Mac, selecting the file in Finder and pressing the Space bar shows a quick preview, and TextEdit opens it with simpler formatting.

Online suites (the file is uploaded)

Google Docs opens a .docx after you upload it to Google Drive, and Word for the web does the same with OneDrive. Both need an account, and the document is stored on their servers. That is fine for most files, but not for contracts, HR letters or anything you are not allowed to share. If you are unsure whether a site uploads your file, you can check it yourself.

On a phone

Mobile browsers open OpenAnyDoc the same way: tap Choose a file and pick the document from Files or your downloads; the page fits the screen width. Microsoft's Word app and Google Docs also have phone apps; both work with your account.

Older and related formats

A few other extensions turn up next to .docx:

  • .doc is the Word 97 to 2003 format. OpenAnyDoc does not open it; LibreOffice, Pages and Word do, and can save it as .docx, which then opens here.
  • .docm is a document with macros and .dotx a template. Save either as a .docx first; the macros never run outside Word.
  • .odt is the OpenDocument text format that LibreOffice saves by default, and .rtf an older rich text format. Word, LibreOffice and Pages open both.

What may look different

Only Word draws everything exactly. Other apps, OpenAnyDoc included, replace fonts that are not installed on your device with similar ones, so lines and pages can break in other places, and charts, text boxes and some drawing shapes may be simplified. If the exact layout matters, keep the original file or ask the sender for a PDF.

Questions?

Write to support@openanydoc.com and describe the document (no personal data).