The .doc file format is used mainly by the Microsoft Word word processor, present in the Microsoft Office package.
DOC is an abbreviation for «document».
History of the .DOC
Originally the .doc extension was used for plain text formatting.
During the 1980s, the WordPerfect program used the .DOC extension for its proprietary format.
Then, in the 1990s, Microsoft started using this extension for the Microsoft Word word processor’s own proprietary format.
Characteristics of the .DOC format
A DOC document stores text, formatting information, scripts, undo information, images, tables, etc.
The DOC format has varied in the different versions of Microsoft Word. In fact, in the 2007 version of Office it was replaced by another default format, based on XML, the new extension being: .docx or .docm.
Although the .DOC format is from Word, there are other applications that also support it, such as the free OpenOffice.org and AbiWord.
Difference between .DOC and .DOCX
Read the article: Difference between .doc and .docx formats
Convert from Word document to PDF
Read the article. Convert a .DOC document to .PDF
Other applications that open .DOC documents
Other applications that allow you to open Word .doc documents are:
– OpenOffice.org Writer, IBM Lotus Symphony, Apple Pages and AbiWord.
Related terminology
Microsoft Word
.docx
Doubts? needs more information? Write and we will respond to your email: click here