File extensions and document types

File extensions are those last characters you see in a file name. For example, if the document is called ‘Introduction’, eventually it’ll show up like Introduction.doc or Introduction.docx. It just means that the file is a document (and not a spreadsheet or presentation, for example).

Early versions of Microsoft Word primarily created and used the .doc file extension, while newer versions of Word create and use the .docx file extension. There is no difference between these two, it just depends which Microsoft Office version you are using.

You might also come across the following extensions:

• .docm – this is Word Macro-Enabled document
• .dot, .dotx and .dotm – these are templates for creating Word documents.