It’s 2009 and yet everyone still hasn’t adopted the .docx file format which is why we usually end up hunting for free Docx to doc file converters online. Not five minutes before deciding to write this, I was scouring google for ways to convert to convert DOCX to DOC and as expected, the usual problem of “FREE-yet-you-need-to-pay-to-download-the-converted-file-converters” popped up. How hard can it be to convert a DOCX to a DOC file? Well apparently it’s profitably hard.

So… to help me avoid this experience again AND to share it to everyone looking for any free method of converting from Office 2007’s godawful DRM’d file, here’s a list of ways to convert your DOCX file to DOC for FREE!

• Install the Compatibility pack

If you’re trying to open a docx file and failing to do so, chances are you’re opening it with an older version of Word. If this is the case, download the free Microsoft Office Compatibility pack available here.

For Mac users, you can just download the Microsoft Office Open XML File Format Converter here.

For those using OpenOffice or StarOffice, you can download the free Open XML Translator from SourceForge here.

• Convert to doc online
  1. Docx-converter (http://docx-converter.com/) : Docx converter is a FREE docx to doc conversion service that where you can upload your .docx file and have them email you a link to the converter file. The catch? It takes a WHILE for your file to get converted.
  2. Google Docs (http://docs.google.com/) : Although it needs a google account, you can simply upload the docx to Google docs. From there, you can either edit it (you’ll want to do this since you’ll loose a LOT of formatting) or download the file by choosing the “Download file as” option to convert the docx file into your required document format.
  3. Zamzar (http://www.zamzar.com/): And last but definitely one with my personal recommendation, Zamzar. The service is pretty straight forward. You upload the docx file, give your email, select the format you want it converted to and submit. In a few minutes, you get an email confirming the completion of the process AND a link to download the converted file :D.

I hope this short tutorial was able to help you convert DOCX files to DOC format or open DOCX files in other word processing softwares and applications.