What is Word document?

What is Word document?

Word document is a proprietary format developed by Microsoft for its word processing software in 1983. It was used in Apple Mac, SCO Unix, OS/2 and Windows. It was called Multi-Tool Word.
Microsoft has improved Word considerably in later versions. It also added support for many languages. Now, Word 2007 can be used with 90 languages:
AfrikaansBelarusianFarsiHungarianKonkaniMarathiSamiSwahiliTurkish
AlbanianCatalanFinnishIcelandicKoreanMongolianSanskritSwedishTurkmen
ArabicChineseFrenchIndonesianLaoNepaliSerbianTajikUkrainian
ArmenianCroatianGalicianItalianLatvianNorwegianSesothoTamilUrdu
AssameseCzechGeorgianJapaneseLithuanianOriyaSindhiTatarUzbek
AzeriDanishGermanKannadaMacedonianPolishSlovakTeluguVenda
BasqueDutchGreekKashmiriMalayalamPortugueseSlovenianThaiVietnamese
BengaliEnglishGujaratiKazakhMalayPunjabiSorbianTibetanWelsh
BulgarianEstonianHebrewKhmerMalteseRomanianSpanishTsongaXhosa
BurmeseFaeroeseHindiKirghizManipuriRussianSutuTswanaZulu
GIRDAC PDF Converter Ultimate supports 70 user interface languages. This makes it a global product. The first Word version is released in 1989.
Office suite is introduced in 1995. Since then, Word become a part of Microsoft Office.
Word Version    Release Year Word Name Features
1.0    1989 Word for Windows 1.0 Used in Windows 2.x
1.1    1990 Word for Windows 1.1 Used in Windows 3.x
1.2    1991 Word for Windows 2.0 Used in Windows 3.x
6.0    1993 Word for Windows 6.0 Used in Windows 3.x
7.0    1995 Word 95 included in Office 95
8.0    1997 Word 97 included in Office 97
9.0    2000 Word 2000 included in Office 2000
10.0    2002 Word 2002 included in Office XP
11.0    2003 Word 2003 included in Office 2003
12.0    2007 Word 2007 included in Office 2007
14.0    2010 Word 2010 included in Office 2010
15.0    2013 Word 2013 included in Office 2013
Rich Text Format (RTF) is one of the supported file formats in Word. RTF specification version 1.0 was first implemented in 1987. It is improved in later versions. The latest RTF specification version 1.9.1 is released in 2008. It is compatible with Word 2007.
RTF is an 8-bit format. However, it can render the characters beyond the 8-bit ASCII code. It maintains document structure with reference table and control codes. For instance, the word that follows the control code \b is shown as bold.
PDF is preferred format for cross-platform use and greater consistency. However, PDF files are not easily editable documents. RTF is a plain text file and easily editable.
Word document in Word 2007 can be saved in 12 formats:
File Extension Description
.docx supports open xml partially
.doc compatible with Word 97 to Word 2003
.docm enables macros
.dotx supports Word 2007 template
.dot supports template compatible with Word 97 to Word 2003
.dotm enables macros in template
.mhtml supports single page web file
.html supports simple web file and filtered web file
.rtf supports latest rtf specification
.txt plain text file
..xml supports Word xml
.wps supports Works 6.0 to Works 9.0
Word 2007 does not support open xml in total. However, the next version, Word 2010, is expected to support open xml completely.
Go to: What is PDF?
Word is not free software. But Word Viewer is free. One can download the Word Viewer 2007 by clicking this link.
Go to: What is PDF Converter?