How do I open a .docx file without Word?

Choose the file or drop it on the page, and it opens in this tab as headings, paragraphs, lists, tables, footnotes and embedded pictures, with an outline of its headings and a search box. No account is needed and nothing is installed. Word's layout is not reproduced: fonts, page breaks, headers and footers are left out.

Is my document uploaded anywhere?

No. The file is read by this page in your browser and is never sent anywhere. The first time you open a document the page loads its document reader, which is code, not your file. Only your text size and page colour are remembered in this browser, never the document.

What happens to tracked changes and comments?

They are shown marked, never accepted: insertions are underlined and deletions struck through, and moved text is struck where it was and underlined where it went. A line above the text and a note below the view count the insertions, deletions, moves and comments. Copy text and Download .txt write insertions as {+ +} and deletions as [- -]. Formatting changes are counted but not marked, comments are not shown, and the file itself is not changed.

Why does it look different from Word?

It rebuilds the document's structure, not its layout. Page breaks, columns, headers, footers, fonts, colours and spacing are not carried, and charts, equations and SmartArt diagrams are counted as not shown. Pictures stored as EMF, WMF, TIFF or SVG show as placeholders, and so does any picture over 50 megapixels. A printout follows your browser's pages, not Word's.

What does it do with macros, links and linked pictures?

Macros are never run: the macro project is not even unpacked. A picture stored in the file is shown from its own bytes, while a picture linked to a web address is never requested and shows as a placeholder. Web links open in a new tab only when you click one. A link that is not a web or email address is kept as plain text, and so is a link whose address is longer than 2,048 characters, or one that comes after the first 8,000,000 characters of link addresses in the document.

How large a file can it open?

Up to 25 MB. A file is also refused, with the reason, if it lists more than 2,000 parts, if one part unpacks past 64 MB or all of them past 128 MB, if the text parts it reads (body, notes, comments, styles, numbering and the lists that link them) hold more than 12 MB of XML together, more than 150,000 XML elements, more than 300,000 XML attributes and other markup or more than 2,000 different kinds of element, tracked-change marks included, if a part unpacks to more than it declares, if its XML nests more than 200 levels deep or declares its own entities, if it marks one footnote or endnote more than once, or if it converts to more than 500,000 elements. Pictures stop being read before the page would hold more than 64 MB of pictures or 2,000 pictures, counting a picture again for each place it appears, and the rest show as placeholders. Long documents show 400 blocks at a time; search reaches the whole document, and the outline lists up to 1,000 headings.

Can I copy the text or save it as a file?

Yes. Copy text puts the whole document on the clipboard as plain text, and Download .txt saves the same text: each heading and paragraph on its own line with a blank line between, list items marked, table cells separated by tabs, and tracked insertions and deletions written as {+ +} and [- -].

Does it open .doc files?

No. A .doc file is Word's older binary format, and the page names it and asks for a .docx instead; Word, LibreOffice and Google Docs can all save a .doc as .docx. A .docx protected with a password is stored the same way and is refused with the same explanation.

DOCX Viewer

Open a Word .docx and read it as clean headings, paragraphs, lists and tables, with an outline that jumps between headings, search that highlights matches and steps through them, and print or save as PDF. The file is unpacked in your browser within fixed size limits and rebuilt from an allow list, so macros never run and pictures linked from the web are never requested. When a document carries tracked changes or comments, the page says so above the text and says exactly what the view shows.

Drop a .docx file here

One Word .docx up to 25 MB, or

Choose a .docx file

Nothing uploadedMacros never runLinked images never fetchedNo sign-up

Headings: waiting

Tables, rows x columns: waiting

Matches: waiting

Linked pictures fetched: waiting

Text size

Page

Open another

Print or save as PDF opens your browser's print dialog with only the document on the page: choose Save as PDF as the destination. Pages break where your browser breaks them, not where Word does.

Long documents show 400 blocks at a time. Search covers the whole document, the outline lists up to 1,000 headings, and both open the part they point to. Only the text size and page colour are remembered in this browser, never the document.

Try an example

Four documents written for this page. Each goes through the same checks and the same reader as a file of your own.

A short menu with headingsCafé Zoë: headings H1, H2, H2, H2, a price table and a photo linked from the web
outline H1, H2, H2, H2; Prices is the 3rd heading; 1 table, 3 x 2; the linked photo is never fetched
Unicode text and a tableGizmoBench Ω नमस्ते, then a table with cells A and B
the same text and the same cells, A and B, as the source
A draft with tracked changesa deleted day, an inserted one, a moved sentence and a comment
flagged: 1 insertion, 1 deletion, 1 move and 1 comment; shown marked, insertions underlined and deletions struck through
A file that claims to unpack to 4 GBits document part declares 4,000,000,000 bytes
refused before anything is unpacked, with the reason

Accuracy. It shows the document's structure (headings, paragraphs, lists, tables, footnotes and embedded pictures), not Word's layout: page breaks, headers, footers, fonts and spacing are not reproduced, so a printout will not paginate like Word. Tracked changes are shown marked, not accepted: insertions are underlined and deletions struck through, moved text is struck where it was and underlined where it went, and comments are counted but not shown. Macros never run, linked pictures and other outside content are never fetched, and files up to 25 MB are read in your browser without being uploaded.

Common questions

How do I open a .docx file without Word?: Choose the file or drop it on the page, and it opens in this tab as headings, paragraphs, lists, tables, footnotes and embedded pictures, with an outline of its headings and a search box. No account is needed and nothing is installed. Word's layout is not reproduced: fonts, page breaks, headers and footers are left out.
Is my document uploaded anywhere?: No. The file is read by this page in your browser and is never sent anywhere. The first time you open a document the page loads its document reader, which is code, not your file. Only your text size and page colour are remembered in this browser, never the document.
What happens to tracked changes and comments?: They are shown marked, never accepted: insertions are underlined and deletions struck through, and moved text is struck where it was and underlined where it went. A line above the text and a note below the view count the insertions, deletions, moves and comments. Copy text and Download .txt write insertions as {+ +} and deletions as [- -]. Formatting changes are counted but not marked, comments are not shown, and the file itself is not changed.
Why does it look different from Word?: It rebuilds the document's structure, not its layout. Page breaks, columns, headers, footers, fonts, colours and spacing are not carried, and charts, equations and SmartArt diagrams are counted as not shown. Pictures stored as EMF, WMF, TIFF or SVG show as placeholders, and so does any picture over 50 megapixels. A printout follows your browser's pages, not Word's.
What does it do with macros, links and linked pictures?: Macros are never run: the macro project is not even unpacked. A picture stored in the file is shown from its own bytes, while a picture linked to a web address is never requested and shows as a placeholder. Web links open in a new tab only when you click one. A link that is not a web or email address is kept as plain text, and so is a link whose address is longer than 2,048 characters, or one that comes after the first 8,000,000 characters of link addresses in the document.
How large a file can it open?: Up to 25 MB. A file is also refused, with the reason, if it lists more than 2,000 parts, if one part unpacks past 64 MB or all of them past 128 MB, if the text parts it reads (body, notes, comments, styles, numbering and the lists that link them) hold more than 12 MB of XML together, more than 150,000 XML elements, more than 300,000 XML attributes and other markup or more than 2,000 different kinds of element, tracked-change marks included, if a part unpacks to more than it declares, if its XML nests more than 200 levels deep or declares its own entities, if it marks one footnote or endnote more than once, or if it converts to more than 500,000 elements. Pictures stop being read before the page would hold more than 64 MB of pictures or 2,000 pictures, counting a picture again for each place it appears, and the rest show as placeholders. Long documents show 400 blocks at a time; search reaches the whole document, and the outline lists up to 1,000 headings.
Can I copy the text or save it as a file?: Yes. Copy text puts the whole document on the clipboard as plain text, and Download .txt saves the same text: each heading and paragraph on its own line with a blank line between, list items marked, table cells separated by tabs, and tracked insertions and deletions written as {+ +} and [- -].
Does it open .doc files?: No. A .doc file is Word's older binary format, and the page names it and asks for a .docx instead; Word, LibreOffice and Google Docs can all save a .doc as .docx. A .docx protected with a password is stored the same way and is refused with the same explanation.

It shows the document's structure (headings, paragraphs, lists, tables, footnotes and embedded pictures), not Word's layout: page breaks, headers, footers, fonts and spacing are not reproduced, so a printout will not paginate like Word. Tracked changes are shown marked, not accepted: insertions are underlined and deletions struck through, moved text is struck where it was and underlined where it went, and comments are counted but not shown. Macros never run, linked pictures and other outside content are never fetched, and files up to 25 MB are read in your browser without being uploaded.