Word Viewer

Word Viewer is another application created by the Microsoft Corporation that helps users from all around the world to gain access to the files that they would otherwise need to spend a large amount of money by purchasing MS Office suite. With this free software Word Viewer, you can view, print, and copy Word documents, even if you don't have Word installed.

⚠️ Note: This product is not developed anymore and might not function properly.

If you are looking for an alternative, we recommend you to download File Viewer Plus.

Like all other “viewer” applications for Office suite that were created by Microsoft, this one also has a very streamlined interface that is targeting users of all knowledge levels, enabling them an easy way to load their Word documents, and take advantage of this ability into their daily work.

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Word Viewer can be attractive not only to home users who occasionally encounter some Word files they cannot open but also to high school students, university students, businesses, non-profit organizations, and even government organizations. All of them can take the tool and remain in touch with data that would otherwise be inaccessible for them until they either purchase MS Word or find an alternative in some open source alternatives.

This download is a replacement for Word Viewer 2003 application and all previous Viewer versions, enabling users to effortlessly load, view and print all documents that can be created with MS Word application, including formats such as Word Document, Rich Text Format, WordPerfect, Works, and XML. The app is can be run on computers that are very old and slow, but without any compromises with its functionality or abilities.

You open Word documents saved in the following formats:

• Word Document (*.docx)
• Word Macro-Enabled Document (*.docm)
• Rich Text Format (.rtf)
• Text (.txt)
• Web Page formats (.htm, .html, .mht, .mhtml)
• WordPerfect 5.x (.wpd)
• WordPerfect 6.x (.doc, .wpd)
• Works 6.0 (.wps)
• Works 7.0 (.wps)
• XML (.xml)

Note: After installing the PowerPoint Viewer please Download and Install all High-Priority updates from Microsoft Update. Click Here for Download Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint File Formats.

PROS

• Free: It was a free application, which made it accessible to users who didn't have a Microsoft Office license.
• No Need for Microsoft Word: Users didn't need to purchase or install Microsoft Word to view Word documents. This was especially useful for those who only needed to view and print documents occasionally.
• Read-Only: It allowed users to open and read Word documents without the risk of accidentally editing or altering the content.
• Print Functionality: Users could print Word documents from within Word Viewer, which was useful for those who needed hard copies of documents.

CONS

• Limited Functionality: It was designed solely for viewing and printing Word documents. Users couldn't create, edit, or save new documents or make changes to existing ones.
• Outdated: It had been discontinued by Microsoft. This meant it might not be compatible with newer Word document formats or security updates.
• No Mac Version: It was primarily designed for Windows users, so Mac users had to look for alternatives.
• Lack of Advanced Features: Advanced features, such as collaboration and cloud integration, were not available in the Viewer. Users who needed these features had to use the full version of Microsoft Word or alternative office suite software.
• Limited File Compatibility: It primarily supported older Word document formats. Compatibility with newer .docx files was limited, and some formatting might not display correctly.