A .docx file is a Microsoft Word document saved in the Open XML standard format. It is used for storing documents created in Microsoft Office Word 2007 or later and can be opened by Word 2007 or later.
If you do not have Word 2007 or later installed, you can open a .docx file using Microsoft Word’s compatibility mode. To access this mode, launch Microsoft Word and click the File menu and then select Open. Browse to the location of the .docx file. When you select the file, it will open in compatibility mode, with options at the top of the window to convert the document to the current version of Word.
Alternatively, you can use an online file conversion service to convert the .docx file to another format such as PDF. Popular online file converters include Zamzar and ConvertFiles.
To open a .docx file with free software, you can install Apache OpenOffice (formerly known as OpenOffice.org), a free office suite from the Apache Software Foundation. Once installed, you can launch OpenOffice and select the .docx file from the file browser.
WordPad, which is included with all versions of Windows since Windows 95, can also open .docx files. However, it does not offer the same features that Word does and will only display the text from the .docx file.
Finally, if you are using a mobile device such as an iPhone or iPad, you may be able to use the Microsoft Word app to open the .docx file. The app is available for free download from the App Store. In addition, there are several other applications available in the App Store that can be used to open .docx files.