Applies ToWord for Microsoft 365 Word for Microsoft 365 for Mac Word for the web Word 2024 Word 2024 for Mac Word 2021 Word 2021 for Mac Word 2019 Word 2019 for Mac Word 2016 Word 2013

If you want to share a Word file with someone using an earlier version of Word, here’s how.

  1. Go to File > Save As.

  2. Choose where you want to save your file.

    Tip: To go directly to the Save As dialog box, double-click a location (for example, double-click Computer).

  3. In the Save As dialog box, under Save as type, select the file format you want. For example, you can save your document (.docx) as a Word 97-2003 document (.doc) so someone using an earlier version of Word can open it.

  4. If you want to rename the file, type a new name in the File name box.

  5. Select Save.

If you want to share a Word file with someone using an earlier version of Word, here’s how.

  1. Go to File > Save As.

  2. Choose where you want to save your file.

  3. Under File Format, select the file format you want. For example, you can save your document (.docx) as a Word 97-2004 Document (.doc) so someone using an earlier version of Word can open it.

  4. If you want to rename the file, type a new name in the Save As: box.

  5. Select Save.

Word for the web can only save Word documents as a .docx, .pdf, or .ODT file. To save a format for an earlier version of Word, open the document in a desktop version of Word and save from there.

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