How to convert a .doc file to .docx

For the Krutidev and Unicode converters

Our converters read Word files in the modern .docx format. If your file ends in .doc (the format Word used before 2007), save a copy as .docx first. It takes under a minute, it doesn't change your text, tables or fonts, and you only do it once per file.

Microsoft Word on Windows (Word 365, 2021, 2019, 2016)

1. Open the file in Word. Double-click the .doc file. If a yellow bar at the top says Protected View (common for files from email or the internet), click Enable Editing.
2. Click File in the top-left corner.
3. Click Save As. In newer versions of Word 365 this may be called Save a Copy. Then click Browse to open the save window.
4. Choose the folder where you want the new file, for example your Desktop.
5. Next to "Save as type", open the list and choose Word Document (*.docx). This is the important step. If the list says Word 97-2003 Document (*.doc), the file will be saved in the old format again.
6. Click Save. You now have two files with the same name: the original .doc and the new .docx. Upload the .docx one.

Good to know. While a .doc is open, Word shows [Compatibility Mode] after the file name. That is normal and goes away in the saved .docx.

Another way. In Compatibility Mode you can click File, Info, Convert, then OK. This turns the file into a .docx and replaces the old one, so make a backup copy first if you want to keep the original .doc. Save As is the safer choice.

Microsoft Word on Mac

1. Open the .doc file in Word. If you see Enable Editing, click it.
2. Click File in the menu bar, then Save As…
3. In the window that opens, find File Format (click the small arrow to show more options if you don't see it).
4. Choose Word Document (.docx) and click Save.

Word 2010 and Word 2007

1. Open the .doc file. In Word 2010 click File; in Word 2007 click the round Office button at the top left.
2. Click Save As.
3. Under Save as type choose Word Document (*.docx) and click Save.

Word 2003 or older cannot save .docx on its own. Microsoft's free Compatibility Pack adds it, but it is no longer easy to find, so the simplest choice is to open the file in LibreOffice (below) or on a newer computer.

No Microsoft Word? Use LibreOffice or WPS Office (free)

LibreOffice Writer

1. Open the .doc file in LibreOffice Writer.
2. Click File, then Save As.
3. Set File type to Word 2007-365 (.docx), click Save, and choose Use Word 2007-365! (or Keep Current Format) if it asks.

WPS Office

Open the file, click File, then Save As, choose Microsoft Word Files (*.docx) as the file type and save.

Please avoid Google Docs for Krutidev files

Google Docs does not have the Krutidev fonts, and it can replace them with a standard font when it opens or exports the file. Our tool recognises Krutidev text by the font name stored in the file, so once the name is lost the text can't be found. If you must use it, open the downloaded .docx in Word and check the font name as described below.

Check before you upload

1. Open the new .docx in Word and click inside a line of Hindi text.
2. Look at the font box on the Home tab. It should still say Kruti Dev 010 (or another Kruti Dev or Devlys font).
3. It is fine if the text looks like random English letters. That is how Krutidev looks without its font installed, and the converter will turn it into Hindi. It is also fine if the font isn't installed on your computer.
4. Don't change the font. If the font box shows something else (for example Arial) for the Hindi text, the converter can't tell it was Krutidev. Go back to the original .doc and save it again.

Troubleshooting

"Save as type" only offers .doc

Check that the file is open in Microsoft Word and not in another program such as an email preview or a simple text editor. Open Word first, then use File → Open.

The file opens read-only or I can't save

Click Enable Editing in the yellow bar. If the file is open straight from an email, first save the attachment to your computer, then open it from there.

I renamed .doc to .docx and the converter still fails

Renaming only changes the name, not the file inside. Open the file in Word and use Save As instead.

I only have a PDF

PDF files are not supported at the moment. If you can open the PDF and select its text, copy it and paste it into the Krutidev to Unicode converter text box.

I have an old Excel (.xls) file

The same rule applies. Open it in Excel, choose File → Save As, set the type to Excel Workbook (*.xlsx), and upload the new file. LibreOffice and WPS can do it too: save as Excel 2007-365 (.xlsx).

I have many .doc files

Word can't batch-convert, but LibreOffice can from a terminal: soffice --headless --convert-to docx *.doc converts every .doc in the current folder.

Ready?

Go to the Krutidev to Unicode or Unicode to Krutidev converter and drop your .docx file.

Questions