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I wonder whether there exist a way to know with which Microsoft word version a .docx file was saved.

Reason: Microsoft Word tend to add new features, so I prefer to open a Microsoft Word document using Microsoft Word version at least equal to the one that was used to create/save the document:

https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Use-Word-2016-to-open-documents-created-in-earlier-versions-of-Word-5b38a00a-840b-4719-a8a3-ce155df82554 :

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Franck Dernoncourt
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    Why would you want to know? The format is backards compatible and it should load in any version from Office 2010 and up regardless. – LPChip Nov 10 '16 at 15:37
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    Possible duplicate of [Which Version of Microsoft Word created a given document?](http://superuser.com/questions/299979/which-version-of-microsoft-word-created-a-given-document) – DavidPostill Nov 10 '16 at 15:42
  • @LPChip how about Microsoft Office 2007? – Franck Dernoncourt Nov 10 '16 at 15:58
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    I believe office 2007 is included. Microsoft made the format standard so it can be loaded by other programs too. Basically, any program that can load a .docx can undesrtand it fully. – LPChip Nov 10 '16 at 16:04
  • @LPChip Thanks, how can Microsoft add features to Word, if docx can be loaded without any loss in Microsoft Word 2007 or 2010? – Franck Dernoncourt Nov 10 '16 at 16:21
  • The format is modular as its an xml file. – LPChip Nov 10 '16 at 16:38
  • @LPChip Yes but if the feature is not available in a previous Microsoft word version some elements of the microsoft word document may be ignored, from understanding. I have added a link in the question. – Franck Dernoncourt Nov 10 '16 at 16:45
  • So you're talking about examples like the end of the list, where older features are no longer supported? That discussion aside, the proposed duplicate has several answers addressing what the question asks. Do they solve the problem for you? – fixer1234 Nov 11 '16 at 16:22
  • @fixer1234 Either this or the contrary – Franck Dernoncourt Nov 11 '16 at 16:26
  • Just noting that this is indeed a duplicate of https://superuser.com/questions/299979/which-version-of-microsoft-word-created-a-given-document But this a much-needed answer to what those of us not on such a lofty level of abstraction as LPChip sometimes need. – George M Reinstate Monica Nov 28 '18 at 00:57

2 Answers2

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  1. Make a copy of the *.docx file and change the extension to *.zip.

  2. Open the zip file.

  3. Open the docProps\app.xml file.

  4. Look at the end for the AppVersion tag value:

    • 12.0000 = Word 2007
    • 14.0000 = Word 2010
    • 15.0000 = Word 2013
    • 16.0000 = Word 2016
Sergey Vyacheslavovich Brunov
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HighTechGeek
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    A .docx file created by MS Word 2003 also shows 12.0000 but Microsoft Office Outlook instead of "Microsoft Office Word". A .docx file created by LibreOffice has no AppVersion field; instead, the version is part of the Application field, e.g., LibreOffice/6.4.1.2$Windows_X86_64 LibreOffice.... A .docx file created by Win10 Wordpad contains no docProps\app.xml file at all. I've seen a .docx file created by Word for Mac with 15.0000 and Microsoft Macintosh Word. – Dave Burton Apr 09 '20 at 20:26
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I just want to mention that LPChip is 100% wrong. If e.g. you open 2010 created document with 2007 Word, then you will not see any elements/effects because they are not supported. See this list for reference: https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Open-a-Word-2010-document-in-an-earlier-version-of-Word-adfe6ca1-7b18-45a2-ba05-cb1b00ad9935

Alex Timofeev
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    The list isn't that long. You could easily cite and quote it. "I just want to mention that LPChip is 100% wrong. " - is a comment and should be removed from your answer. An answer should, just answer the question, the fact LFChip is wrong is evident by the fact your saying something that doesn't agree with him. You should not call out other users, in an answer, and say they are wrong (even if they are wrong). Hint: The majority of the table is **no change**, so you can simply list what changed, and another list of what didn't change. – Ramhound Nov 10 '16 at 18:06
  • Please quote the essential parts of the answer from the reference link(s), as the answer can become invalid if the linked page(s) change. – DavidPostill Nov 28 '16 at 13:13