Microsoft Word template


 * This is about the Microsoft Word template format. For the graph description language, see DOT (graph description language).

MS Word Dot format is variant of the DOC format used in (pre-2007 versions of) Microsoft Word. It is nearly identical to the DOC format, but causes Word to treat it as a template rather than a standalone document, meaning that when you open it, make changes, and save it, it will not automatically save on top of the original file, but will prompt for a new filename to save to, in DOC format by default (though you can use other "Save-As" options to save as different things including DOT). The purpose is to save formatting templates to use as starting points for creating documents; for instance, you may have a template for business letters. In Word 2007 and later, DOTX is used instead, as the template version of the DOCX format. (Also, DOTM is a variant of DOTX supporting macros.)

Sample files

 * Windows Word 2007, saving in Word 2003 DOT format
 * Sample DOC and DOT (template) files from Word 97-2003, with discussion on distinguishing them

Software and Program Code

 * Microsoft Word for Windows Version 1.1a Source Code

Other links

 * Save a Word file as a template
 * LibreOffice Writer can now write .dot files