.docx · Word document (DOCX)
View .DOCX files in your browser
View a .docx in your browser — no upload, no signup, free. The file stays on your device. Filelathe reads the Word package and shows the text and images.
How it works
- Drop the .docx on Filelathe, or use Choose file. On macOS, pick the file from its real folder — Finder Recents can hand the browser an empty stub.
- A DOCX is a ZIP package. Filelathe reads word/document.xml in your tab and strips the XML down to readable prose.
- Images in word/media are appended after the text when they are present, and the result opens in the document viewer.
DOCX is a ZIP package. Filelathe reads word/document.xml locally, strips the XML to readable prose, embeds word/media images when present, and shows the result in the Markdown document viewer.
How to open a .docx file without Word
Open Filelathe, then drop the file or use Choose file. The viewer reads the ZIP package in the tab and shows the text from word/document.xml. No Word, LibreOffice, or desktop install.
If the XML cannot be read, you still get the archive listing, so you can see the parts inside the package — including word/media.
Open DOCX on a Chromebook, Mac, or iPad
Filelathe is a website, so the same page works in Chrome, Safari, or Firefox. On a Chromebook, Mac, or iPad, use Choose file. On a desktop you can also drop the .docx onto the page.
Nothing is installed. A locked-down laptop can view the document as long as the browser can run the page.
Does my .docx get uploaded?
Filelathe unzips and reads the Word package in your browser. The file is not posted to an online converter. Choosing the tool window may send the filename, the type, and samples to the API. That is not an upload-to-convert service. See private in-browser viewing.
View vs convert: what stays on your device
This page is a view, not a convert. You do not get a PDF, a new .docx, or a cloud copy. What you see is the extracted prose and any small embedded images the reader could pull from word/media.
Classic binary Word files are a different path — see .doc. OpenDocument text is .odt.
What you can and can't do
You can
- Read the document text from word/document.xml without Word.
- Show embedded PNG, JPEG, GIF, WebP, BMP, and SVG images from word/media — up to 8 images, each up to 600KB — after the prose.
- Fall back to a ZIP entry list if the document text cannot be recovered.
You can't
- Edit the file or save a .docx.
- Reproduce Word layout, styles, headers, footers, footnotes, comments, or tracked changes. Tables and headings come through as plain paragraphs.
- Place pictures where they sat on the page. Long documents are cut off around the first 20,000 characters.
- Unlock a password-protected document.
FAQ
Can I view a DOCX in the browser without Word?
Yes. Filelathe opens the package locally, reads word/document.xml, and shows the prose in the document viewer. You do not install Office.
Will the page look like it does in Word?
No. You get the text, plus embedded images listed after it. Styles, headers, comments, and tracked changes are not laid out.
Are pictures inside the DOCX shown?
Common image types under word/media are shown after the text, up to 8 images and 600KB each. Drawings and images larger than that are skipped.
Can I edit or convert the DOCX?
No. This is a viewer. It does not write a .docx back, and it does not convert the file to PDF.
Does my DOCX get uploaded?
The package is parsed in your tab. It is not sent to a conversion site. An API call may use the filename, type, and samples to choose the viewer.