Converting Word .docx to .doc using Microsoft FREE programs

Do you have a .docx Word file that you want to convert to .doc Word file but do not have Microsoft Word 2007 or earlier versions? You can convert it using Microsoft free programs, Word Viewer 2003 (Microsoft has removed “Word Viewer 2003″ and replaced it with “Word Viewer”) and Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack.

The instructions in this article refer to Word Viewer 2003 but since it has been replaced with Word Viewer, they may or may not be valid but you should be able to find your way to apply them with the new Word Viewer. However, I have not tested them with this version.

First, download and install the required programs:

1. Download Word Viewer 2003. Download Word Viewer
2. Install it.
3. Download Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats
4. Install it.

Converting the .docx Word file to .doc Word file:

1. Double click the .docx file, it will be converted automatically and opened for you to view it. But at this point you didn’t really get the .doc file that you want; there is no option for you to save what you are viewing.
2. The .doc file has been actually created but it was put in the Temp folder. To see the location of the file, from the menu bar choose File, then select Properties.
   

   Word file menu

   Note that the file name of the .doc Word file being viewed is Wd0000000. You might have it as Wd0000001 , Wd0000002, or similar.

3. Click the General tab.
4. Next to the Location field, select the path as shown in the image below.
   

   Word file location

5. With the text being selected, copy it by holding the Ctrl key then pressing C key (Ctrl+C). An example of the copied file location is: C:\DOCUME~1\UserName\LOCALS~1\Temp , where UserName is the folder that holds the user account files (usually it is the same as your user account name).
6. After that, click the Windows Start button, then click Run.
7. In the Run dialog and next to the Open field, paste the copied path (using Ctrl+v).
   

   Run dialog with Temp folder path

8. Click OK button.
   Alternatively,  instead of using the Run dialog to reach the Temp folder, you can Navigate to the Temp folder step by step by going to (You should have Show Hidden Files and Folders enabled so that you can see the Local Settings folder):
   C:\Documents and Settings\UserName\Local Settings\Temp
   It means that you go to My Computer, then drive C , then Documents and Settings , then UserName, then Local Settings , then Temp folder.
   Alternatively also, you can copy the path to the Address field after entering My Computer, then hitting Enter key or clicking Go button.
9. Now that you entered the Temp folder, look for the Word file in the folder, in our case it is called Wd0000000.doc (you might see it as Wd0000000 , it depends if you have enabled hiding the extension of known file types, i have it disabled).
   

   Converted Word doc file in Temp folder

10. Copy the file to your desktop or wherever you want.
11. You now have the .doc version of your file. However, the file has read-only attribute set, to clear this:
    1. Right click over the file and select Properties.
    2. With the General tab selected, look in the Attributes section and uncheck the Read-only checkbox.
    3. Click OK.
       

       Properties of the Word doc file

12. Finally, you just rename the file to an appropriate name that you would like.

There are other ways to convert the Word .docx file to .doc, but I just found that it is most appropriate to do it using Microsoft programs. And in case you don’t have Microsoft Office Word 2007 or 2003 you can download their free programs (Word Viewer 2003 (now replaced with Word Viewer) and the Compatibility pack) to do the file conversion.

Possibly Related posts:

1. Reverse Numbered List in Microsoft Word
2. Paste Unformatted Text with a Shortcut in Microsoft Word