Create or save a document for earlier versions of Word

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. In the Save As dialog box, under Save as type, select the file format you want. For example, you can save your document as Rich Text Format (.rtf) so it can be opened in earlier versions of Word.

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 as Rich Text Format (.rtf) so it can be opened in earlier versions of Word.​​​​​​​ (.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.