A DOCX file is a document created by Microsoft Word or another word processing program, such as OpenOffice Writer or Apple Pages. It contains formatted text but may also include images, drawn objects, and other document elements. DOCX files are widely used in home, academic, and business environments for drafting letters, resumes, invitations, newsletters, and other documents.

Unlike .DOC files, which store document data in a single binary file, DOCX files are created using the Open XML format, which stores documents as a collection of separate files and folders in a compressed zip package. Within a DOCX file are XML files and three folders, docProps, Word, and _rels, which hold the document properties, content, and relationships between the files. This structure is designed to make document content more accessible. For example, document text is saved using plain text files and document images are stored as individual image files within the DOCX file. These files may also include page formatting information, authorship data, and document review notes.

DOCX files can be opened by Word 2007 or later for Windows, or with Word 2008 or later for Mac OS X. They may also be opened with earlier versions of Word for Mac and Windows via Open XML document support.

NOTE: To explore the contents of a DOCX file manually, rename the “.docx” extension to “.zip” and then decompress the resulting file with any zip decompression utility.