The best way to view a Word document on Windows OS is to open the document with Microsoft Word. Word has been the standard word processor since the release of Microsoft Office 95 in 1995 and allows you to easily view, edit, and create documents in its native format (.doc or .docx). To open a Word document, locate the document in File Explorer, then double-click the filename. This will open the file in Microsoft Word.
Once the document is open, you can edit it by clicking on the icons on the ribbon at the top of the window. You can also find additional formatting options by right-clicking on the document to open the context menu.
If you do not have access to Microsoft Word, there are several other programs available for viewing Word documents. Windows 2000 offers the Microsoft Works Word Processor, which can open and edit Word documents, as well as other text formats. Windows XP and later also offer “Word Viewer” which can open, view and print Word documents without needing to purchase or install any additional software.
For more advanced users, there is an open-source alternative available. LibreOffice is available from the official website and is compatible with version 6 of the Microsoft Office file format. It is free to use and download and contains many features similar to those found in Microsoft Word.
Finally, if you are unable to access the file through any of the above programs, online services such as Google Drive can be used to open the document in their online viewers. Simply upload the document to Google Drive, and then click the “Open with” drop-down menu to select their online viewer.