Skip to main content
Service phase: Beta

This service is still in development. Give us your feedback or view this page on the current PRONOM service.

Format

Microsoft Word for Windows

Summary

Name
Microsoft Word for Windows
Version
2007 onwards
Identifiers
  • MIME: application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document
  • PUID: fmt/412
Format type
Word Processor
Description
From Microsoft Office 2007 onwards, the core output format of MS Word has been based on the Office Open XML (OOXML) file format. The ISO standard for OOXML is ISO/IEC DIS 29500. An OOXML file format consists of a compressed zip archive that is designated according to which file type it is. Further detail on OOXML can be found within fmt/189 - Microsoft Office Open XML. An alternative extension of .wbk refers to a backup file of a Word document, however there is no material or structural difference between a .wbk file and the .doc file it is a backup of.
File extensions
docx, wbk
Source
Digital Preservation Department / The National Archives
Developed by
Microsoft Corporation
Supported by
Microsoft Corporation

Relationships

Has lower priority than
Is supertype of

Container signatures

Type: ZIP

1030 - Microsoft Word OOXML

File path
[Content_Types].xml

Byte sequence reference

BOFoffset

Sub sequences
Min Frag Length
Position
1
Sub sequence min offset
0
Sub sequence max offset
32768
Sequence
'ContentType="application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document.main+xml"'

Type: ZIP

1040 - Microsoft Word OOXML (little endian unicode)

File path
[Content_Types].xml

Byte sequence reference

BOFoffset

Sub sequences
Min Frag Length
Position
1
Sub sequence min offset
0
Sub sequence max offset
32768
Sequence
'C'00 'o'00 'n'00 't'00 'e'00 'n'00 't'00 'T'00 'y'00 'p'00 'e'00 '='00 '"'00 'a'00 'p'00 'p'00 'l'00 'i'00 'c'00 'a'00 't'00 'i'00 'o'00 'n'00 '/'00 'v'00 'n'00 'd'00 '.'00 'o'00 'p'00 'e'00 'n'00 'x'00 'm'00 'l'00 'f'00 'o'00 'r'00 'm'00 'a'00 't'00 's'00 '-'00 'o'00 'f'00 'f'00 'i'00 'c'00 'e'00 'd'00 'o'00 'c'00 'u'00 'm'00 'e'00 'n'00 't'00 '.'00 'w'00 'o'00 'r'00 'd'00 'p'00 'r'00 'o'00 'c'00 'e'00 's'00 's'00 'i'00 'n'00 'g'00 'm'00 'l'00 '.'00 'd'00 'o'00 'c'00 'u'00 'm'00 'e'00 'n'00 't'00 '.'00 'm'00 'a'00 'i'00 'n'00 '+'00 'x'00 'm'00 'l'00 '"'00

Type: ZIP

1050 - Microsoft Word OOXML (big endian unicode)

File path
[Content_Types].xml

Byte sequence reference

BOFoffset

Sub sequences
Min Frag Length
Position
1
Sub sequence min offset
0
Sub sequence max offset
32768
Sequence
00'C' 00'o' 00'n' 00't' 00'e' 00'n' 00't' 00'T' 00'y' 00'p' 00'e' 00'=' 00'"' 00'a' 00'p' 00'p' 00'l' 00'i' 00'c' 00'a' 00't' 00'i' 00'o' 00'n' 00'/' 00'v' 00'n' 00'd' 00'.' 00'o' 00'p' 00'e' 00'n' 00'x' 00'm' 00'l' 00'f' 00'o' 00'r' 00'm' 00'a' 00't' 00's' 00'-' 00'o' 00'f' 00'f' 00'i' 00'c' 00'e' 00'd' 00'o' 00'c' 00'u' 00'm' 00'e' 00'n' 00't' 00'.' 00'w' 00'o' 00'r' 00'd' 00'p' 00'r' 00'o' 00'c' 00'e' 00's' 00's' 00'i' 00'n' 00'g' 00'm' 00'l' 00'.' 00'd' 00'o' 00'c' 00'u' 00'm' 00'e' 00'n' 00't' 00'.' 00'm' 00'a' 00'i' 00'n' 00'+' 00'x' 00'm' 00'l' 00'"'

Changelog

  • Updated in V79

    Release date
    6 November 2014

    Microsoft Word 2007 onwards: Added .wbk as an extension and updated description. Submitted by Archives New Zealand - Te Rua Mahara o te Kawanatanga.

  • Updated in V78

    Release date
    23 September 2014

    Microsoft Word 2007 onwards: Added .wbk as an extension and updated description. Submitted by Archives New Zealand - Te Rua Mahara o te Kawanatanga.

  • Updated in V67

    Release date
    26 February 2013

    Microsoft Word for Windows 2007 Onwards: Improved descriptive information at suggestion of Chris Rusbridge, linking this entry explicitly to fmt/189 - Microsoft Office Open XML.

  • Updated in V62

    Release date
    28 August 2012

    Microsoft Word Document 2007 onwards: Renamed as Office 2010 files use same OOXML structure as 2007.

  • Added in V60

    Release date
    11 June 2012

    Microsoft Word for Windows 2007: Record created for.docx. Previously DROID has been pointing incorrectly at the PUID for Microsoft Office Open XML, fmt/189.