How to open a DOCX file without Microsoft Word
Someone sent you a .docx and there is no Word on this computer. There are four free ways to read it, and they differ in one important thing: where your document ends up.
1. Word for the web
Microsoft’s own online Word opens the file exactly as Word would. You need a Microsoft account, and the document is uploaded to your OneDrive first.
2. Google Docs
Upload the file to Google Drive and open it with Google Docs. It is converted to Google’s format on the way, so complex layouts can shift. The document stays in your Drive until you delete it.
3. LibreOffice
A free office suite you install on your computer. It opens and edits Word files offline and keeps them private — but it is a large download, and you cannot install it on a work or library computer.
4. OsonKit, in the browser
Drop the file on OsonKit. Your browser reads the document itself: text, tables, images, charts and SmartArt appear in a few seconds, and nothing is sent anywhere. It works on any computer and on a phone, with nothing to install and no account.
- It is a viewer: you can read, zoom, print and copy text, not edit.
- Layout is drawn by your browser, so unusual fonts and page breaks may differ slightly from Word.
- Old
.docfiles (Word 97–2003) open as text with paragraphs and tables;.rtfopens with its formatting.
Which one keeps the document private?
Only the last two. Contracts, payslips and medical letters are exactly the files you would rather not upload to someone else’s server. If you just need to read one, a viewer that works in the browser is the quickest private option. You can check it yourself in two minutes.