Ever had to open up a docx file on a Mac and you had no idea how to? Here is the simple solution:
- Change .docx to .zip
- Unzip it.
- Go to Safari and File > Open File…
- Navigate to the /insert_name_of_Word_file_here/word/document.xml and open.
- Read text.
Update:
Microsoft released a converter for the Mac last December. It’s still in beta but it does the job perfectly. Download Microsoft Office Open XML File Format Converter for Mac 0.2.1 (Beta) here.
Update:
See this post and links for Microsoft Office Open XML File Converter
Popularity: 75% [?]
You are da bomb! Works like a charm…
There is also a dashboard widget available to convert docx files:
http://docx-converter.com/widget/
Thanks for the tip!
The instructions worked pretty well, but the file I opened came through with no formatting whasoever, not even paragraph breaks. The link for http://docx-converter.com/widget/ does not work (mentioned in response 2).
@Leslie – True. Safari will not format the doc for you. The method mentioned in the post is a quick and dirty solution for opening docx files.
Another solution is the online service from Zamzar. They will convert the file for you for free and email it to you. Depending on how busy they are it can take 2 to 5 hours before you will receive your file.
Hope this helps!
I thought about looking up instructions on how to make a dirty bomb until I found your solution. THANK YOU! Microsoft gets to live another day…god-damn them.
Woww.. MAGIC!!!! Thanks so much! Really helped me a lot!!!!
How did you figure that one out? Awesome! What is MicroSoft thinking when they do this stuff?
Please i need software to download to my system that can open docx file sent through email automatically.
Thanks
@Dave Not sure about and automatic conversion but you can download the Open XML File Converter here. Hope this helps
I tried the widget but it didn’t worked.. it seems it gets to converting but I got no results.
I’ll try my luck with the Open XML File Converter
Worked. Very clever. Much thanks.
This will save many lives, and I’ll be sure to spread the word… thanks for the tip.
Wow. I love you all. Thank you.
I LOVE YOU! THANX <3
!!!!!
Kick ass tip, thanks!!
text edit does the job easiest!
You are a lifesaver!!! Worked PERFECTLY!!! Awesome!
Interestingly i was able to view a .docx file directly in Quick Look (10.5.6). It was a large file with embedded images, tables, and formatting, and Quick Look displayed it properly.
For some reason the unzip trick didn’t work for me. And i didn’t want to install anything. Microsoft’s converter wouldn’t have helped much because i still can’t open regular .doc files without Word installed.
I didn’t need to edit the document and just wanted to open and view it, so i did this (similar to the Zamzar service mentioned previously):
Upload to scribd.com, then you can view it in your browser, download as a PDF, or print it out.
Yo Burners! Text Edit is the ticket. Amazing that Microsoft invented something that its own software can’t deal with (although it had to be intentional), but something as simple as Text Edit can.
Thank you! I’ve been looking high and low for a solution and it was right under my nose. Much appreciated!
NONE of the tips worked for me. My Mac couldn’t identify a place to install the application. What’s wrong with, safari opened a blank page and text edit brought up a bunch of garbage.
holy shit thanks
What do you mean by Unzip?
UnZip is an extraction utility for archives compressed in .zip format (also called “zipfiles”). If you change the file to zip and double click the zip file, Mac will automatically unzip it for you as it is build in OS X