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*Details: File format summary

   
 

 

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Summary

Name Microsoft Word Document
Version 6.0/95
Other names  
Identifiers MIME:  application/msword
Apple Uniform Type Identifier:  com.microsoft.word.doc
PUID:  fmt/39
Family  
Classification Word Processor
Disclosure None
Description With the release of Word 6.0, Microsoft introduced a new native binary word processing format, based on its generic OLE2 Compound Document Format. The format is proprietary and Microsoft does not make details of its structure public. The information here is derived primarily from OpenOffice.org's reverse-engineered documentation of the format and should not therefore be regarded as definitive. A Word document is stored as a ‘WordDocument’ stream within a Compound Document Format file. The format remained unchanged with the release of Word 95.
Orientation Binary
Byte order Little-endian (Intel)
Related file formats Has priority over OLE2 Compound Document Format  
Has priority over Microsoft Word (Generic) (6.0-2003)
Is previous version of Microsoft Word Document (97-2003)
Is previous version of Microsoft Word Document (Password Protected) (97-2003)
Is subsequent version of Microsoft Word for Windows Document (2.0)
Is subtype of OLE2 Compound Document Format  
Technical Environment  
Released  
Supported until  
Format Risk  
Developed by Microsoft Corporation
Supported by None.
Source Digital Preservation Department / The National Archives
Source date 11 Mar 2005
Source description This format can be identified via a container signature in DROID version 6 or later. The PRONOM database cannot currently represent container signatures.
Last updated 19 Apr 2012
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