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(Computing) : Word Document

The .doc file extension refers to a binary file format used to store documents created by Microsoft Word. It was originally used for plain text documentation but became associated with Word in the 1990s. Binary .doc files can contain formatting, scripts, and undo information but are less compatible than other formats like RTF. The format varies between different versions of Word and was replaced as the default by the XML-based .docx format in Word 2007. While native to Word, other word processors can read and write .doc files with some potential loss of formatting.

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24 views

(Computing) : Word Document

The .doc file extension refers to a binary file format used to store documents created by Microsoft Word. It was originally used for plain text documentation but became associated with Word in the 1990s. Binary .doc files can contain formatting, scripts, and undo information but are less compatible than other formats like RTF. The format varies between different versions of Word and was replaced as the default by the XML-based .docx format in Word 2007. While native to Word, other word processors can read and write .doc files with some potential loss of formatting.

Uploaded by

Muhammad Soleh
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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DOC (computing)

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This article is outdated. Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly
available information. Please see the talk page for more information. (October 2009)
Word Document

Filename extension .doc

Internet media type application/msword

Uniform Type Identifier com.microsoft.word.doc[1]


Developed by Microsoft
Type of format Word document
Container for Text, Image,Table

In computing, DOC or doc (an abbreviation of 'document') is a file extension for word
processing documents; most commonly for Microsoft Word. Historically, the extension
was used for documentation in plain-text format, particularly of programs or computer
hardware, on a wide range of operating systems. During the 1980s, WordPerfect used
DOC as the extension of their proprietary format. Later, in the 1990s, Microsoft chose to
use the DOC extension for their proprietary Microsoft Word word processing formats.
The original uses for the extension have largely disappeared from the PC world.

Binary DOC files often contain more text formatting information (as well as scripts and
undo information) than files using other document file formats like Rich Text Format and
HyperText Markup Language, but are usually less widely compatible.

The header of a Word 97 document begins with the magic number [0xD0 0xCF 0x11]
which possibly spells out "DOC Format 11".

The DOC format varies among Microsoft Office Word Formats. Word versions up to 97
used a different format from Microsoft Word version between 97 and 2003.

In Microsoft Office Word 2007 the binary file format was replaced as the default format
by the new XML based Office Open XML format. The filename extensions of this format
are .docx or .docm. Microsoft Office Word 2010 uses the same format, and is supported
by Office 2007.

The DOC format is native to Microsoft Office Word, but other word processors, such as
OpenOffice.org Writer, Google Docs, Apple Pages and AbiWord, can create and read
.doc files. Command line programs for Unix-like operating systems which can convert
files from the DOC format to plain text or other standard formats include the wv library,
which itself is used directly by AbiWord and as a source of ideas and some coding by
KWord. Because the .doc file format was a closed specification for many years,
inconsistent handling of the format persists and may cause some loss of formatting
information when handling the same file with multiple word processing programs.

The format specification was available from Microsoft on request until February 2008.
Following reverse engineering the documentation which was done by Sun and
OpenOffice.org,[2] Microsoft released the .DOC format specification[3] under the
Microsoft Open Specification Promise.[4]

On the Palm OS, DOC is shorthand for PalmDoc, a completely unrelated format used to
encode text files such as ebooks.

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