Doc (computing)
 | |
| Filename extension |
doc |
|---|---|
| Internet media type |
application/msword[1] |
| Uniform Type Identifier (UTI) | com.microsoft.word.doc[2][3] |
| Developed by | Microsoft |
| Latest release | 11.1 21 May 2024[4] |
| Type of format | document file format |
| Container for | Text, Image,Table |
| Extended from | Compound File Binary Format(since 97) |
| Extended to | Microsoft Office XML formats,Office Open XML |
| Open format? | Yes |
.doc(an abbreviation of "document") is afilename extensionused forword processingdocuments stored onMicrosoft'sproprietaryMicrosoft Word Binary File Format;it was the primary format for Microsoft Word until the 2007 version replaced it withOffice Open XML.docxfiles.[4]Microsoft has used the extension since 1983.
Microsoft Word Binary File Format[edit]
BinaryDOC files often contain moretext formattinginformation (as well asscriptsand undo information) than some otherdocument file formatslikeRich Text FormatandHypertext Markup Language,but are usually less widelycompatible.
The DOC files created with Microsoft Word versions differ. Microsoft Word versions before Word 97 ( "8.0" ) used a different format from theOLEandCFBF-based Microsoft Word 97 – 2003.
InMicrosoft Word 2007and later, the binary file format was replaced as the default format by theOffice Open XMLformat, though Microsoft Word can still produce DOC files.
Application support[edit]
The DOC format is native to Microsoft Word. Otherword processors,such asOpenOffice.org Writer,IBM Lotus Symphony,Apple PagesandAbiWord,can also create and read DOC files, although with some limitations.Command lineprograms forUnix-likeoperating systems that can convert files from the DOC format to plain text or other standard formats include thewvlibrary, which itself is used directly byAbiWord.
Specification[edit]
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. Some specifications for Microsoft Office 97 binary file formats were published in 1997 under a restrictive license, but these specifications were removed from online download in 1999.[5][6][7][8]Specifications of later versions of Microsoft Office binary file formats were not publicly available. The DOC format specification was available from Microsoft on request[9]since 2006[10]under restrictiveRAND-Zterms until February 2008.Sun MicrosystemsandOpenOffice.orgreverse engineeredthe file format.[11]On February 15, 2008, Microsoft released a.DOC format specification[4][12][13]under theMicrosoft Open Specification Promise.[14][15]However, this specification does not describe all of the features used by DOC format and reverse engineered work remains necessary.[16]Since 2008 the specification has been updated several times; the latest change was made in May 2022.
The format used in earlier, pre-97 ( "1.0" 1989 through "7.0" 1995) versions of Word are less known, but both OpenOffice and LibreOffice contain open-source code for reading these formats. The format is probably related to the "Stream" format found in similar Excel versions.[17]Word 95 also seems to have an OLE-wrapped form.
Other file formats[edit]
Some historical documentations may use the DOC filename extension for plain-text files, indicatingdocumentationfor software or hardware. The DOC filename extension was also used during the 1980s byWordPerfectfor its proprietary format.
DOCis sometimes used by users ofPalm OSas shorthand forPalmDoc,an unrelated format (commonly using PDB filename extension) used to encode text files such asebooks.
See also[edit]
- docx,the file format used by modern versions of Word
- De factostandard
- Dominant design
References[edit]
- ^"IME Content-Type/Subtype - application/msword".IANA.1993-07-22.Retrieved2012-06-20.
- ^Uniform Type Identifiers Reference(PDF),Apple,retrieved2012-06-20
- ^"System-Declared Uniform Type Identifiers (Mac OS X v10.4)".Apple Developer Connection.Apple Inc. 2008-04-08.
- ^abcMS-DOC: Word (.doc) Binary File Format,2019-11-19,retrieved2020-02-25
- ^"Comparing ODF and OOXML"(PDF).2006. Archived fromthe original(pdf)on 2011-09-28.Retrieved2011-05-23.
- ^Beware of Geeks Bearing Gifts,2006,retrieved2011-05-23
- ^"A Word 8 converter for Unix".Retrieved2011-05-23.
- ^"Microsoft Word 97 Binary File Format".Retrieved2011-05-23.
- ^"Royalty-free specifications for Microsoft Office binary file formats".Retrieved2011-05-23.
- ^"Mapping documents in the binary format (.doc;.xls;.ppt) to the Open XML format".2008-01-16.Retrieved2011-05-23.
- ^"Microsoft Compound Document Format"(PDF).OpenOffice.org.2007-08-07.
- ^Microsoft Office Binary (doc, xls, ppt) File Formats,2008-02-15, archived fromthe originalon 2008-02-18
- ^"Microsoft Office Word 97 - 2007 Binary File Format Specification (*.doc)"(PDF).Microsoft Corporation.2008.
- ^"Microsoft Open Specification Promise".Microsoft Corporation.March 23, 2009.
- ^"How to extract information from Office files by using Office file formats and schemas".Retrieved2011-05-23.
- ^Joel Spolsky."Why are the Microsoft Office file formats so complicated? (And some workarounds)".Archived fromthe originalon 2013-10-14.Retrieved2011-05-23.
- ^"LibreOffice/core".GitHub.
External links[edit]
- DOC,XLS,andPPTspecifications
- Microsoft Compound Document Format-OpenOffice.org