How to edit a Word document without Word

Revise is a browser word processor built for editing Word files. It imports a .docx and preserves the Word features it documents, including tracked changes and comments with their authors and dates, footnotes, headers and footers, section layouts, tables with merged cells, and Word’s legal numbering, which keeps updating as you edit. Pages break where Word breaks them.

1. Import the .docx with the box on this page, or with File, Import in Revise.
2. Edit it as you would in Word. Track your own changes in Suggesting mode, reply to comments, or ask the AI agent to make edits, which arrive as suggestions you accept or reject.
3. Choose Export, Word Document. Revise writes the parts you didn’t change back from the original file, and pending suggestions and comments export as Word tracked changes and comments.

The free plan includes the full editor and an AI agent on GPT-6 Luna and Claude Haiku 5.5 with a daily limit. Revise runs in a browser and keeps working offline there: documents you have opened stay on your computer and sync when you reconnect, though the AI agent needs a connection. A few Word features, such as cross-reference fields, carry through without updating inside Revise.

Microsoft’s browser version of Word is free with a Microsoft account, which includes 5 GB of OneDrive storage, and it keeps the file in Word format.

1. Sign in to OneDrive with a Microsoft account.
2. Select Add new, then Files upload, and choose your .docx. This puts a copy in OneDrive. The original on your computer doesn’t change.
3. Open the uploaded file. It opens in Word for the web, which saves changes as you work.

   

4. When you are done, download the file from OneDrive to get the edited copy back on your computer.

Word for the web doesn’t have every feature of the desktop app. It doesn’t run macros, and it can’t edit password-protected files.

Google Docs can edit Office files directly, including .docx, .doc, and .dot, and saves changes back to the file in Word format. Upload the file to Google Drive, open it with Google Docs, and download it from Drive when you are done. Google notes that some Word features can be lost or altered, and others are kept but can’t be shown or edited. Password-protected files open view-only, and Google suggests converting very large files to Google Docs format, which creates a copy. Word tracked changes become suggestions when a file is converted.

LibreOffice is a free desktop office suite for Windows, macOS, and Linux. Writer opens Word files with File, Open, and saves them as Word with File, Save As and a Microsoft Word file type. You can make Word its default save format. Support for Word macros is limited.

On a Mac, Control-click the Word file and choose Open With, Pages. Pages also opens Word files on iPhone, iPad, and at iCloud.com. It converts the document to its own format while you edit. To send it back, choose File, Export To, Word on a Mac, Share, Export and Send, Word on iPhone or iPad, or More, Download a Copy, Word at iCloud.com. Apple warns that missing fonts and some formatting can look different after import. Creating and editing documents needs no subscription, and Apple Creator Studio is an optional paid add-on.

Microsoft says core editing is free in the Word app on iOS and Android devices with screens 10.1 inches or smaller. Larger tablets need a qualifying Microsoft 365 subscription to edit, and so do premium features such as tracked changes. Editing files in online business storage also requires a qualifying subscription, even on a small device.

ONLYOFFICE edits DOCX, DOC, ODT, and other formats. Its desktop and mobile apps are free, and its DocSpace cloud has a free Startup plan with 2 GB of storage. Zoho Writer has a free edition that imports .docx files up to 50 MB and exports back to Word.

Whichever editor you use, keep the original file, and open the edited .docx before sending it. Check page breaks, tables, headers and footers, comments, and tracked changes, since these are the parts most likely to differ after editing outside Word.

WordPad used to open Word files on Windows, but Microsoft removed it starting with Windows 11 version 24H2. Microsoft recommends Word for rich text documents and Notepad for plain text.

To edit a Word file in a browser and keep its tracked changes, comments, footnotes, and page layout, Revise imports the .docx and exports it back to Word, with an AI agent whose edits you review. For a quick edit in Microsoft’s own browser editor, Word for the web is free with a Microsoft account. If you already use Google Drive, Google Docs edits the file in place. For offline editing, LibreOffice Writer is free on Windows, macOS, and Linux, and on a Mac, Pages opens and exports Word files.