Default file format

This policy setting determines the default file format for saving files in Word.

If you enable this policy setting, you can set the default file format from among the following options:

- Word Document (*.docx): This option is the default configuration in Word.
- Single Files Web Page (*.mht)
- Web Page (*.htm; *.html)
- Web Page, Filtered (*.htm, *.html)
- Rich Text Format (*.rtf)
- Plain Text (*.txt)
- Word 6.0/95 (*.doc)
- Word 6.0/95 - Chinese (Simplified) (*.doc)
- Word 6.0/95 - Chinese (Traditional) (*.doc)
- Word 6.0/95 - Japanese (*.doc)
- Word 6.0/95 - Korean (*.doc)
- Word 97-2002 and 6.0/95 - RTF
- Word 5.1 for Macintosh (*.mcw)
- Word 5.0 for Macintosh (*.mcw)
- Word 2.x for Windows (*.doc)
- Works 4.0 for Windows (*.wps)
- WordPerfect 5.x for Windows (*.doc)
- WordPerfect 5.1 for DOS (*.doc)
- Word Macro-Enabled Document (*.docm)
- Word Template (*.dotx)
- Word Macro-Enabled Template (*.dotm)
- Word 97 - 2003 Document (*.doc)
- Word 97 - 2003 Template (*.dot)
- Word XML Document (*.xml)
- Strict Open XML Document (*.docx)
- OpenDocument Text (*.odt)

Users can choose to save presentations or documents in a different file format than the default.

If you disable or do not configure this policy setting, Word saves new files in the Office Open XML format: Word files have a .docx extension. For users who run recent versions of Word, Microsoft offers the Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack, which enables them to open and save Office Open XML files. If some users in your organization cannot install the Compatibility Pack, or are running versions of Word older than Microsoft Office 2000 with Service Pack 3, they might not be able to access Office Open XML files.

This policy setting is often set in combination with the "Save As Open XML in Compatibility Mode" policy setting.

Supported on: At least Windows 7

Save Word files as


  1. Word Document (*.docx)
    Registry HiveHKEY_CURRENT_USER
    Registry Pathsoftware\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\word\options
    Value Namedefaultformat
    Value TypeREG_SZ
    Value
  2. Single Files Web Page (*.mht)
    Registry HiveHKEY_CURRENT_USER
    Registry Pathsoftware\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\word\options
    Value Namedefaultformat
    Value TypeREG_SZ
    ValueWebArchive
  3. Web Page (*.htm; *.html)
    Registry HiveHKEY_CURRENT_USER
    Registry Pathsoftware\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\word\options
    Value Namedefaultformat
    Value TypeREG_SZ
    ValueHTML
  4. Web Page, Filtered (*.htm, *.html)
    Registry HiveHKEY_CURRENT_USER
    Registry Pathsoftware\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\word\options
    Value Namedefaultformat
    Value TypeREG_SZ
    ValueReducedHTML
  5. Rich Text Format (*.rtf)
    Registry HiveHKEY_CURRENT_USER
    Registry Pathsoftware\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\word\options
    Value Namedefaultformat
    Value TypeREG_SZ
    ValueRtf
  6. Plain Text (*.txt)
    Registry HiveHKEY_CURRENT_USER
    Registry Pathsoftware\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\word\options
    Value Namedefaultformat
    Value TypeREG_SZ
    ValueText
  7. Word 6.0/95 (*.doc)
    Registry HiveHKEY_CURRENT_USER
    Registry Pathsoftware\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\word\options
    Value Namedefaultformat
    Value TypeREG_SZ
    ValueMSWord6Exp
  8. Word 6.0/95 - Chinese (Simplified) (*.doc)
    Registry HiveHKEY_CURRENT_USER
    Registry Pathsoftware\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\word\options
    Value Namedefaultformat
    Value TypeREG_SZ
    ValueMSWord6SCExp
  9. Word 6.0/95 - Chinese (Traditional) (*.doc)
    Registry HiveHKEY_CURRENT_USER
    Registry Pathsoftware\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\word\options
    Value Namedefaultformat
    Value TypeREG_SZ
    ValueMSWord6TCExp
  10. Word 6.0/95 - Japanese (*.doc)
    Registry HiveHKEY_CURRENT_USER
    Registry Pathsoftware\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\word\options
    Value Namedefaultformat
    Value TypeREG_SZ
    ValueMSWord6JExp
  11. Word 6.0/95 - Korean (*.doc)
    Registry HiveHKEY_CURRENT_USER
    Registry Pathsoftware\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\word\options
    Value Namedefaultformat
    Value TypeREG_SZ
    ValueMSWord95KExp
  12. Word 97-2002 & 6.0/95 - RTF
    Registry HiveHKEY_CURRENT_USER
    Registry Pathsoftware\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\word\options
    Value Namedefaultformat
    Value TypeREG_SZ
    ValueMSWord6RTFExp
  13. Word 5.1 for Macintosh (*.mcw)
    Registry HiveHKEY_CURRENT_USER
    Registry Pathsoftware\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\word\options
    Value Namedefaultformat
    Value TypeREG_SZ
    ValueMSWordMac51
  14. Word 5.0 for Macintosh (*.mcw)
    Registry HiveHKEY_CURRENT_USER
    Registry Pathsoftware\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\word\options
    Value Namedefaultformat
    Value TypeREG_SZ
    ValueMSWordMac5
  15. Word 2.x for Windows (*.doc)
    Registry HiveHKEY_CURRENT_USER
    Registry Pathsoftware\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\word\options
    Value Namedefaultformat
    Value TypeREG_SZ
    ValueMSWordWin2
  16. Works 4.0 for Windows (*.wps)
    Registry HiveHKEY_CURRENT_USER
    Registry Pathsoftware\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\word\options
    Value Namedefaultformat
    Value TypeREG_SZ
    ValueMSWorksWin4
  17. WordPerfect 5.x for Windows (*.doc)
    Registry HiveHKEY_CURRENT_USER
    Registry Pathsoftware\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\word\options
    Value Namedefaultformat
    Value TypeREG_SZ
    ValueWrdPrfctWin
  18. WordPerfect 5.1 for DOS (*.doc)
    Registry HiveHKEY_CURRENT_USER
    Registry Pathsoftware\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\word\options
    Value Namedefaultformat
    Value TypeREG_SZ
    ValueWrdPrfctDos51
  19. Word Macro-Enabled Document (*.docm)
    Registry HiveHKEY_CURRENT_USER
    Registry Pathsoftware\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\word\options
    Value Namedefaultformat
    Value TypeREG_SZ
    ValueMacroEnabledDocument
  20. Word Template (*.dotx)
    Registry HiveHKEY_CURRENT_USER
    Registry Pathsoftware\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\word\options
    Value Namedefaultformat
    Value TypeREG_SZ
    ValueTemplate
  21. Word Macro-Enabled Template (*.dotm)
    Registry HiveHKEY_CURRENT_USER
    Registry Pathsoftware\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\word\options
    Value Namedefaultformat
    Value TypeREG_SZ
    ValueMacroEnabledTemplate
  22. Word 97 - 2003 Document (*.doc)
    Registry HiveHKEY_CURRENT_USER
    Registry Pathsoftware\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\word\options
    Value Namedefaultformat
    Value TypeREG_SZ
    ValueDoc
  23. Word 97 - 2003 Template (*.dot)
    Registry HiveHKEY_CURRENT_USER
    Registry Pathsoftware\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\word\options
    Value Namedefaultformat
    Value TypeREG_SZ
    ValueDot
  24. Word XML Document (*.xml)
    Registry HiveHKEY_CURRENT_USER
    Registry Pathsoftware\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\word\options
    Value Namedefaultformat
    Value TypeREG_SZ
    ValueFlatXML
  25. Strict Open XML Document (*.docx)
    Registry HiveHKEY_CURRENT_USER
    Registry Pathsoftware\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\word\options
    Value Namedefaultformat
    Value TypeREG_SZ
    ValueDocxStrict
  26. OpenDocument Text (*.odt)
    Registry HiveHKEY_CURRENT_USER
    Registry Pathsoftware\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\word\options
    Value Namedefaultformat
    Value TypeREG_SZ
    ValueODT


word16.admx

Administrative Templates (Computers)

Administrative Templates (Users)