If you’re editing a Microsoft Word Document or it’s important that it stays in its original form, this isn’t the best solution, but it’s a quick and useful trick if you’re in a hurry. Though our test document did see some distortion in image and text box width and switched to a serif font, it did the job well enough to be easily legible. In Winbuzzer’s testing, the fastest method was Windows’ in-built WordPad. We’ve rounded up and tested some of the best ways to open Word docs in 2020, whether it’s online, via Microsoft software, or a third-party application. With a lot of confusion about which paths are free and which will cost you, many are still left wondering how to open a Word document without Microsoft Word. Though Microsoft provided a free ‘Word Viewer’ application up until 2017, recommending various other official routes to access its applications instead.

Microsoft Word and its Word Document formats work great if you’re inside the company’s ecosystem, but what if you’re using a PC without its $70/year Microsoft suite installed? Things start to get a bit trickier as the company naturally wants you to make use of its productivity services. 8 Opening Word Documents with Open Office.6 How to Open Word Documents Without Microsoft Word via Only Office.4 Open a DOC File Online with Google Docs.

3 Open Word Documents with Microsoft Word Online.

2 Open a Microsoft Word Document with the Word Mobile App.

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