Editing Microsoft Word (section)

===Binary formats (Word 97–2007)===
During the late 1990s and early 2000s, the default Word document format ([[DOC (computing)|.DOC]]) became a ''de facto'' standard of [[document file format]]s for Microsoft Office users.{{Citation needed|date=December 2015}} There are different versions of "Word Document Format" used by default in Word 97–2007.<ref>{{cite book|title=[MS-DOC]: Word (.doc) Binary File Format|publisher=[[Microsoft]]|location=Redmond, WA|url=http://download.microsoft.com/download/2/4/8/24862317-78F0-4C4B-B355-C7B2C1D997DB/%5BMS-DOC%5D.pdf|chapter=5 Appendix A: Product Behavior|chapter-url=http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd946767%28v=office.12%29.aspx|access-date=January 10, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150110202652/http://download.microsoft.com/download/2/4/8/24862317-78F0-4C4B-B355-C7B2C1D997DB/%5BMS-DOC%5D.pdf|archive-date=January 10, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> Each binary word file is a [[Compound File Binary Format|Compound File]],<ref>{{cite book|title=[MS-DOC]: Word (.doc) Binary File Format|publisher=[[Microsoft]]|location=Redmond, WA|url=http://download.microsoft.com/download/2/4/8/24862317-78F0-4C4B-B355-C7B2C1D997DB/%5BMS-DOC%5D.pdf|chapter=2.1 File Structure|chapter-url=http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd923543%28v=office.12%29.aspx|access-date=January 10, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150110202652/http://download.microsoft.com/download/2/4/8/24862317-78F0-4C4B-B355-C7B2C1D997DB/%5BMS-DOC%5D.pdf|archive-date=January 10, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> a hierarchical [[file system]] within a file. According to [[Joel Spolsky]], Word Binary File Format is extremely complex mainly because its developers had to accommodate an overwhelming number of features and prioritize performance over anything else.<ref name="spolsky-commentry">{{cite web | url=http://www.joelonsoftware.com/items/2008/02/19.html | title=Why are the Microsoft Office file formats so complicated? (And some workarounds) | work=Joel on Software | date=February 19, 2008 | last=Spolsky | first=Joel | access-date=May 23, 2011 | archive-date=October 14, 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131014090710/http://joelonsoftware.com/items/2008/02/19.html | url-status=live }}</ref>

As with all OLE Compound Files, Word Binary Format consists of "storages", which are analogous to [[folder (computing)|computer folders]], and "streams", which are similar to [[computer file]]s. Each storage may contain streams or other storage. Each Word Binary File must contain a stream called the "WordDocument" stream and this stream must start with a File Information Block (FIB).<ref>{{cite book|title=[MS-DOC]: Word (.doc) Binary File Format|publisher=[[Microsoft]]|location=Redmond, WA|url=http://download.microsoft.com/download/2/4/8/24862317-78F0-4C4B-B355-C7B2C1D997DB/%5BMS-DOC%5D.pdf|chapter=2.1.1 WordDocument Stream|chapter-url=http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd926131%28v=office.12%29.aspx|access-date=January 10, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150110202652/http://download.microsoft.com/download/2/4/8/24862317-78F0-4C4B-B355-C7B2C1D997DB/%5BMS-DOC%5D.pdf|archive-date=January 10, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> FIB serves as the first point of reference for locating everything else, such as where the text in a Word document starts, ends, what version of Word created the document and other attributes.

Word 2007 and later continue to support the DOC file format, although it is no longer the default.