Word File Formats in Essential® DocIO

29 Nov 202424 minutes to read

The Microsoft Word’s native file formats are DOC, DOCX, RTF, DOT, DOTX, DOCM, and DOTM. The Essential® DocIO supports the following major native file formats.

1. Word Open XML formats (2007 & later)
2. Word Processing XML (.xml)
3. Word Binary (97-2003) format (classic)

Word Open XML formats (2007 & later)

Office Open XML (OOXML or Microsoft Open XML (MOX)) is a zipped, new XML-based file format introduced by Microsoft in Office 2007 applications. WordprocessingML is the markup language used by Microsoft Office Word to store its DOCX documents.

DocIO supports the following WordprocessingML:

• Microsoft Word 2007
• Microsoft Word 2010
• Microsoft Word 2013
• Microsoft Word 2016
• Microsoft Word 2019

The following code example explains how to create a new Word document with few lines of code.

NOTE

Refer to the appropriate tabs in the code snippets section: C# [Cross-platform] for ASP.NET Core, Blazor, Xamarin, UWP, .NET MAUI, and WinUI; C# [Windows-specific] for WinForms and WPF; VB.NET [Windows-specific] for VB.NET applications.

C# [Cross-platform]

//Creates a new instance of WordDocument (Empty Word Document)
using (WordDocument document = new WordDocument())
{
    //Adds a section and a paragraph to the document
    document.EnsureMinimal();
    //Appends text to the last paragraph of the document
    document.LastParagraph.AppendText("Hello World");
    //Saves the Word document to MemoryStream
    MemoryStream stream = new MemoryStream();
    //Saves and closes the destination document to  MemoryStream
    document.Save(stream, FormatType.Docx);
    document.Close();
}

C# [Windows-specific]

//Creates an instance of WordDocument Instance (Empty Word Document)
WordDocument document = new WordDocument();
//Add a section & a paragraph in the empty document
document.EnsureMinimal();
//Append text to the last paragraph of the document
document.LastParagraph.AppendText("Hello World");
//Save and close the Word document
document.Save("Sample.docx");
document.Close();

VB.NET [Windows-specific]

'Creates an instance of WordDocument Instance (Empty Word Document)
Dim document As New WordDocument()
'Add a section & a paragraph in the empty document
document.EnsureMinimal()
'Append text to the last paragraph of the document
document.LastParagraph.AppendText("Hello World")
'Save and close the Word document
document.Save("Sample.docx")
document.Close()

You can download a complete working sample from GitHub.

Templates

DOTX is a Word document template. The following code snippet shows how to create the Word document template with few lines of code.

C# [Cross-platform]

//Creates a new instance of WordDocument (Empty Word Document)
using (WordDocument document = new WordDocument())
{
    //Adds a section and a paragraph to the document
    document.EnsureMinimal();
    //Appends text to the last paragraph of the document
    document.LastParagraph.AppendText("Hello World");
    //Saves the Word document to MemoryStream
    MemoryStream stream = new MemoryStream();
    //Saves and closes the destination document to  MemoryStream
    document.Save(stream, FormatType.Dotx);
    document.Close();
}

C# [Windows-specific]

//Creates an instance of WordDocument Instance (Empty Word Document)
WordDocument document = new WordDocument();
//Add a section & a paragraph in the empty document
document.EnsureMinimal();
//Append text to the last paragraph of the document
document.LastParagraph.AppendText("Hello World");
//Save and close the Word document
document.Save("Sample.dotx");
document.Close();

VB.NET [Windows-specific]

'Creates an instance of WordDocument Instance (Empty Word Document)
Dim document As New WordDocument()
'Add a section & a paragraph in the empty document
document.EnsureMinimal()
'Append text to the last paragraph of the document
document.LastParagraph.AppendText("Hello World")
'Save and close the Word document
document.Save("Sample.dotx")
document.Close()

You can download a complete working sample from GitHub.

Macros

DOCM is a macro enabled Word document. It is same as DOCX document contains macros and scripts. The DocIO provides only preservation support for macros. The following code illustrates how to load and save a macro enabled document using the DocIO library.

C# [Cross-platform]

FileStream fileStreamPath = new FileStream("Template.dotm", FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read, FileShare.ReadWrite);
//Opens an existing document from file system through constructor of WordDocument class
using (WordDocument document = new WordDocument(fileStreamPath, FormatType.Dotm))
{
    // Gets the table
    DataTable table = GetDataTable();
    // Executes Mail Merge with groups.
    document.MailMerge.ExecuteGroup(table);
    //Saves the Word document to MemoryStream
    MemoryStream stream = new MemoryStream();
    document.Save(stream, FormatType.Word2013Docm);
    //Closes the Word document
    document.Close();
}

C# [Windows-specific]

// Loads the macro-enabled template.
WordDocument document = new WordDocument("Template.dotm");
// Gets the table
DataTable table = GetDataTable();
// Executes Mail Merge with groups.
document.MailMerge.ExecuteGroup(table);
//Saves and closes the document
document.Save("Sample.docm", FormatType.Word2013Docm);
document.Close();

VB.NET [Windows-specific]

'Loads the macro-enabled template.
Dim document As New WordDocument("Template.dotm")
'Gets the table
Dim table As DataTable = GetDataTable()
'Executes Mail Merge with groups.
document.MailMerge.ExecuteGroup(table)
'Saves and closes the document
document.Save("Sample.docm", FormatType.Word2013Docm)
document.Close()

UWP

//DocIO supports Mail merge execute group in Windows forms, WPF, ASP.NET, ASP.NET MVC and ASP.NET CORE platforms alone

Xamarin

//DocIO supports Mail merge execute group in Windows forms, WPF, ASP.NET, ASP.NET MVC and ASP.NET CORE platforms alone

You can download a complete working sample from GitHub.

Word Processing XML (.xml)

The XML format introduced in Microsoft Word 2003 was a simple, XML-based format called WordprocessingML or WordML.
The Essential® DocIO supports converting the Word document into Word Processing XML document and vice versa.

NOTE

1. Importing and exporting the Word Processing 2007 XML documents is supported.
2. Exporting the Word Processing 2003 XML document is not supported. Whereas you can import the Word Processing 2003 XML documents and export it to other supported file formats.
3. The custom XML elements present in the Word Processing 2003 XML documents will be removed automatically while importing, like latest Microsoft Word. The custom XML element is a depreciated feature in latest Microsoft Word.

The following code example shows how to convert the Word document into Word Processing XML document.

C# [Cross-platform]

FileStream fileStreamPath = new FileStream("Template.docx", FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read, FileShare.ReadWrite);
//Opens an existing document from file system through constructor of WordDocument class
using (WordDocument document = new WordDocument(fileStreamPath, FormatType.Docx))
{
    //Saves the Word document to MemoryStream
    MemoryStream stream = new MemoryStream();
    document.Save(stream, FormatType.WordML);
    //Closes the Word document
    document.Close();
}

C# [Windows-specific]

//Loads an existing Word document
WordDocument document = new WordDocument("Template.docx");
//Saves the document as Word Processing ML document
document.Save("WordToWordML.xml", FormatType.WordML);
//Closes the document
document.Close();

VB.NET [Windows-specific]

'Loads an existing Word document 
Dim document As New WordDocument("Template.docx")
'Saves the document as Word Processing ML document
document.Save("WordToWordML.xml", FormatType.WordML)
'Closes the document
document.Close()

You can download a complete working sample from GitHub.

The following code example shows how to convert the Word Processing XML document into Word document.

C# [Cross-platform]

FileStream fileStreamPath = new FileStream("Template.xml", FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read, FileShare.ReadWrite);
//Opens an existing document from file system through constructor of WordDocument class
using (WordDocument document = new WordDocument(fileStreamPath, FormatType.WordML))
{
    //Saves the Word document to MemoryStream
    MemoryStream stream = new MemoryStream();
    document.Save(stream, FormatType.Docx);
    //Closes the Word document
    document.Close();
}

C# [Windows-specific]

// Loads an existing Word document 
WordDocument document = new WordDocument("Template.xml");
//Saves the Word Processing ML document as docx
document.Save("WordMLToWord.docx", FormatType.Docx);
//Closes the document
document.Close();

VB.NET [Windows-specific]

' Loads an existing Word document 
Dim document As New WordDocument("Template.xml")
'Saves the Word Processing ML document as docx 
document.Save("WordMLToWord.docx", FormatType.Docx)
'Closes the document
document.Close()

You can download a complete working sample from GitHub.

Unsupported elements in Word to Word Processing XML conversion:

The following table contains list of unsupported elements in Word to Word Processing XML conversion.

Element	Limitations or Unsupported elements
Custom Shapes	Not supported
Embedded fonts	Not supported
Equation	Not supported
SmartArt	Not supported
WordArt	Not supported
Form Fields	Unparsed in Word Processing 2003 XML document.
Ole Object	Unparsed in Word Processing 2003 XML document.

Word Binary (97-2003) format

DOC is one of the classic file format of Word processing document. It is a proprietary binary format of Microsoft used in all the Microsoft Word versions.

The DocIO library supports importing or exporting of DOC format and refer to the following code sample.

C# [Cross-platform]

//Creates a new instance of WordDocument (Empty Word Document)
using (WordDocument document = new WordDocument())
{
    //Adds a section and a paragraph to the document
    document.EnsureMinimal();
    //Appends text to the last paragraph of the document
    document.LastParagraph.AppendText("Hello World");
    MemoryStream stream = new MemoryStream();
    //Saves and closes the destination document to  MemoryStream
    document.Save(stream, FormatType.Doc);
    document.Close();
    stream.Position = 0;
    //Download Word document in the browser
    return File(stream, "application/msword", "BinaryDocument.doc");
}

C# [Windows-specific]

//Creates an instance of WordDocument Instance (Empty Word Document)
WordDocument document = new WordDocument();
//Add a section & a paragraph in the empty document
document.EnsureMinimal();
//Append text to the last paragraph of the document
document.LastParagraph.AppendText("Hello World");
//Save and close the Word document
document.Save("BinaryDocument.doc");
document.Close();

VB.NET [Windows-specific]

'Creates an instance of WordDocument Instance (Empty Word Document)
Dim document As New WordDocument()
'Add a section & a paragraph in the empty document
document.EnsureMinimal()
'Append text to the last paragraph of the document
document.LastParagraph.AppendText("Hello World")
'Save and close the Word document
document.Save("BinaryDocument.doc ")
document.Close()

Xamarin

//Creates a new instance of WordDocument (Empty Word Document)
using (WordDocument document = new WordDocument())
{
    //Adds a section and a paragraph to the document
    document.EnsureMinimal();
    //Appends text to the last paragraph of the document
    document.LastParagraph.AppendText("Hello World");
    MemoryStream stream = new MemoryStream();
    document.Save(stream, FormatType.Doc);
    //Save the stream as a file in the device and invoke it for viewing
    Xamarin.Forms.DependencyService.Get<ISave>().SaveAndView("BinaryDocument.doc", "application/msword", stream);
    //Closes the document
    document.Close();
    //Please download the helper files from the below link to save the stream as file and open the file for viewing in Xamarin platform
    //https://help.syncfusion.com/document-processing/word/word-library/net/create-word-document-in-xamarin#helper-files-for-xamarin
}

UWP

using (WordDocument document = new WordDocument())
{
    //Adds a section and a paragraph to the document
    document.EnsureMinimal();
    //Appends text to the last paragraph of the document
    document.LastParagraph.AppendText("Hello World");
    MemoryStream stream = new MemoryStream();
    //Saves the Word file to MemoryStream
    await document.SaveAsync(stream, FormatType.Doc);
    //Saves the stream as Word file in local machine
    Save(stream, "BinaryDocument.doc");
    document.Close();
}
//Saves the Word document
async void Save(MemoryStream streams, string filename)
{
    streams.Position = 0;
    StorageFile stFile;
    if (!(Windows.Foundation.Metadata.ApiInformation.IsTypePresent("Windows.Phone.UI.Input.HardwareButtons")))
    {
        FileSavePicker savePicker = new FileSavePicker();
        savePicker.DefaultFileExtension = ".doc";
        savePicker.SuggestedFileName = filename;
        savePicker.FileTypeChoices.Add("Word Documents", new List<string>() { ".doc" });
        stFile = await savePicker.PickSaveFileAsync();
    }
    else
    {
        StorageFolder local = Windows.Storage.ApplicationData.Current.LocalFolder;
        stFile = await local.CreateFileAsync(filename, CreationCollisionOption.ReplaceExisting);
    }
    if (stFile != null)
    {
        using (IRandomAccessStream zipStream = await stFile.OpenAsync(FileAccessMode.ReadWrite))
        {
            //Write compressed data from memory to file
            using (Stream outstream = zipStream.AsStreamForWrite())
            {
                byte[] buffer = streams.ToArray();
                outstream.Write(buffer, 0, buffer.Length);
                outstream.Flush();
            }
        }
    }
    //Launch the saved Word file
    await Windows.System.Launcher.LaunchFileAsync(stFile);
}

You can download a complete working sample from GitHub.

DOC to DOCX and DOCX to DOC

The following code shows, how to convert the DOC file into DOCX file format using DocIO

C# [Cross-platform]

FileStream fileStreamPath = new FileStream("Template.doc", FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read, FileShare.ReadWrite);
//Opens an existing document from file system through constructor of WordDocument class
using (WordDocument document = new WordDocument(fileStreamPath, FormatType.Doc))
{
    MemoryStream stream = new MemoryStream();
    document.Save(stream, FormatType.Docx);
    //Closes the Word document
    document.Close();
    stream.Position = 0;
    //Download Word document in the browser
    return File(stream, "application/msword", "DocToWord.docx");
}

C# [Windows-specific]

//Loads an existing document
WordDocument document = new WordDocument("Template.doc", FormatType.Doc);
//Saves the binary document(.doc) as Word Document(.docx) file
document.Save("DocToWord.docx", FormatType.Docx);
//Closes the document
document.Close();

VB.NET [Windows-specific]

'Loads an existing document
Dim document As New WordDocument("Template.doc", FormatType.Doc)
' Saves the binary document(.doc) as Word Document(.docx) file
document.Save("DocToWord.docx", FormatType.Docx)
'Closes the document
document.Close()

Xamarin

Assembly assembly = typeof(App).GetTypeInfo().Assembly;
//Opens an existing document from file system through constructor of WordDocument class
using (WordDocument document = new WordDocument((assembly.GetManifestResourceStream("Sample.Assets.Template.doc")), FormatType.Doc))
{
    MemoryStream stream = new MemoryStream();
    document.Save(stream, FormatType.Docx);
    //Save the stream as a file in the device and invoke it for viewing
    Xamarin.Forms.DependencyService.Get<ISave>().SaveAndView("DocToWord.docx", "application/msword", stream);
    //Closes the Word document
    document.Close();
    //Please download the helper files from the below link to save the stream as file and open the file for viewing in Xamarin platform
    //https://help.syncfusion.com/document-processing/word/word-library/net/create-word-document-in-xamarin#helper-files-for-xamarin
}

UWP

//"App" is the class of Portable project.
Assembly assembly = typeof(App).GetTypeInfo().Assembly;
//Opens an existing document from file system through constructor of WordDocument class
using (WordDocument document = new WordDocument((assembly.GetManifestResourceStream("Sample.Assets.Template.doc")), FormatType.Doc))
{
    MemoryStream stream = new MemoryStream();
    await document.SaveAsync(stream, FormatType.Docx);
    //Saves the stream as Word file in local machine
    Save(stream, "DocToWord.docx");
    //Closes the Word document
    document.Close();
}
//Please refer the below link to save Word document in UWP platform
//https://help.syncfusion.com/document-processing/word/word-library/net/create-word-document-in-uwp#save-word-document-in-uwp

You can download a complete working sample from GitHub.

The following code shows, how to convert the DOCX file into DOC file format using DocIO

C# [Cross-platform]

FileStream fileStreamPath = new FileStream("Template.docx", FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read, FileShare.ReadWrite);
//Opens an existing document from file system through constructor of WordDocument class
using (WordDocument document = new WordDocument(fileStreamPath, FormatType.Docx))
{
    MemoryStream stream = new MemoryStream();
    document.Save(stream, FormatType.Doc);
    //Closes the Word document
    document.Close();
    stream.Position = 0;
    //Download Word document in the browser
    return File(stream, "application/msword", "DocxToBinary.doc");
}

C# [Windows-specific]

//Loads an existing document
WordDocument document = new WordDocument("Template.docx", FormatType.Docx);
//Saves the Word Document(.docx) as binary document(.doc) file
document.Save("DocxToBinary.doc", FormatType.Doc);
//Closes the document
document.Close();

VB.NET [Windows-specific]

'Loads an existing document
Dim document As New WordDocument("Template.docx", FormatType.Docx)
'Saves the Word Document(.docx) as binary document(.doc) file 
document.Save("DocxToBinary.doc", FormatType.Doc)
'Closes the document
document.Close()

Xamarin

Assembly assembly = typeof(App).GetTypeInfo().Assembly;
//Opens an existing document from file system through constructor of WordDocument class
using (WordDocument document = new WordDocument((assembly.GetManifestResourceStream("Sample.Assets.Template.docx")), FormatType.Docx))
{
    MemoryStream stream = new MemoryStream();
    document.Save(stream, FormatType.Doc);
    //Save the stream as a file in the device and invoke it for viewing
    Xamarin.Forms.DependencyService.Get<ISave>().SaveAndView("DocxToBinary.doc", "application/msword", stream);
    //Closes the Word document
    document.Close();
    //Please download the helper files from the below link to save the stream as file and open the file for viewing in Xamarin platform
    //https://help.syncfusion.com/document-processing/word/word-library/net/create-word-document-in-xamarin#helper-files-for-xamarin
}

UWP

//"App" is the class of Portable project.
Assembly assembly = typeof(App).GetTypeInfo().Assembly;
//Opens an existing document from file system through constructor of WordDocument class
using (WordDocument document = new WordDocument((assembly.GetManifestResourceStream("Sample.Assets.Template.docx")), FormatType.Docx))
{
    MemoryStream stream = new MemoryStream();
    await document.SaveAsync(stream, FormatType.Doc);
    //Saves the stream as Word file in local machine
    Save(stream, "DocxToBinary.doc");
    //Closes the Word document
    document.Close();
}
//Saves the Word document
async void Save(MemoryStream streams, string filename)
{
    streams.Position = 0;
    StorageFile stFile;
    if (!(Windows.Foundation.Metadata.ApiInformation.IsTypePresent("Windows.Phone.UI.Input.HardwareButtons")))
    {
        FileSavePicker savePicker = new FileSavePicker();
        savePicker.DefaultFileExtension = ".doc";
        savePicker.SuggestedFileName = filename;
        savePicker.FileTypeChoices.Add("Word Documents", new List<string>() { ".doc" });
        stFile = await savePicker.PickSaveFileAsync();
    }
    else
    {
        StorageFolder local = Windows.Storage.ApplicationData.Current.LocalFolder;
        stFile = await local.CreateFileAsync(filename, CreationCollisionOption.ReplaceExisting);
    }
    if (stFile != null)
    {
        using (IRandomAccessStream zipStream = await stFile.OpenAsync(FileAccessMode.ReadWrite))
        {
            //Write compressed data from memory to file
            using (Stream outstream = zipStream.AsStreamForWrite())
            {
                byte[] buffer = streams.ToArray();
                outstream.Write(buffer, 0, buffer.Length);
                outstream.Flush();
            }
        }
    }
    //Launch the saved Word file
    await Windows.System.Launcher.LaunchFileAsync(stFile);
}

You can download a complete working sample from GitHub.

Saving Word document with compatibility

Maintain existing compatibility

The following code shows, how to save Word document with same word version compatibility

C# [Cross-platform]

//Creates an empty WordDocument instance
using (WordDocument document = new WordDocument())
{
    //Loads or opens an existing Word document from stream
    FileStream fileStreamPath = new FileStream("Template.docx", FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read, FileShare.ReadWrite);
    //Loads or opens an existing Word document through Open method of WordDocument class 
    document.Open(fileStreamPath, FormatType.Automatic);
    //Enables flag to maintain compatibility with same Word version
    document.SaveOptions.MaintainCompatibilityMode = true;
    //Creates an instance of memory stream
    MemoryStream stream = new MemoryStream();
    //Saves the document to stream
    document.Save(stream, FormatType.Docx);
    //Closes the document
    document.Close();
    stream.Position = 0;
    //Download Word document in the browser
    return File(stream, "application/msword", "Sample.docx");
}

C# [Windows-specific]

//Opens an existing Word document
WordDocument document = new WordDocument("Template.docx");
//Enables flag to maintain compatibility with same Word version
document.SaveOptions.MaintainCompatibilityMode = true;
//Saves and close the Word document
document.Save("Sample.docx");
document.Close();

VB.NET [Windows-specific]

'Opens an existing Word document
Dim document As WordDocument = New WordDocument("Template.docx")
'Enables flag to maintain compatibility with same Word version
document.SaveOptions.MaintainCompatibilityMode = true
'Saves and close the Word document
document.Save("Sample.docx")
document.Close

Xamarin

//"App" is the class of Portable project
Assembly assembly = typeof(App).GetTypeInfo().Assembly;
//Creates an empty WordDocument instance
using (WordDocument document = new WordDocument())
{
    //Loads or opens an existing Word document from stream
    Stream inputStream = assembly.GetManifestResourceStream("Sample.Assets.Template.docx");
    //Loads or opens an existing Word document through Open method of WordDocument class
    document.Open(inputStream, FormatType.Automatic);
    //Enables flag to maintain compatibility with same Word version
    document.SaveOptions.MaintainCompatibilityMode = true;
    //Creates an instance of memory stream
    MemoryStream stream = new MemoryStream();
    //Saves the document to stream
    document.Save(stream, FormatType.Docx);
    //Closes the document
    document.Close();
    //Save the stream as a file in the device and invoke it for viewing
    Xamarin.Forms.DependencyService.Get<ISave>().SaveAndView("Sample.docx", "application/msword", stream);
}
//Please download the helper files from the below link to save the stream as file and open the file for viewing in Xamarin platform
//https://help.syncfusion.com/document-processing/word/word-library/net/create-word-document-in-xamarin#helper-files-for-xamarin

UWP

//Instantiates the File Picker
FileOpenPicker openPicker = new FileOpenPicker();
openPicker.SuggestedStartLocation = PickerLocationId.Desktop;
openPicker.FileTypeFilter.Add(".docx");
//Creates a storage file from FileOpenPicker
StorageFile inputStorageFile = await openPicker.PickSingleFileAsync();
WordDocument document = new WordDocument();
await document.OpenAsync(inputStorageFile);

//Enables flag to maintain compatibility with same Word version
document.SaveOptions.MaintainCompatibilityMode = true;

//Creates an instance of memory stream
MemoryStream stream = new MemoryStream();
//Saves the Word file to MemoryStream
await document.SaveAsync(stream, FormatType.Docx);
//Saves the stream as Word file in local machine
Save(stream, "Sample.docx");
//Closes the document
document.Close();

//Please refer the below link to save Word document in UWP platform
//https://help.syncfusion.com/document-processing/word/word-library/net/create-word-document-in-uwp#save-word-document-in-uwp

You can download a complete working sample from GitHub.

Save Word in old compatibility

The following code shows, how to save Word document in old compatibility using DocIO.

C# [Cross-platform]

//Create an instance of WordDocument.
using (WordDocument document = new WordDocument())
{
    document.EnsureMinimal();
    //Append paragraph.
    document.LastParagraph.AppendText("Hello World");
    //Sets the compatibility mode to Word 2007.
    document.Settings.CompatibilityMode = CompatibilityMode.Word2007;
    //Create FileStream to save the Word file.
    using (FileStream outputStream = new FileStream("Sample.docx", FileMode.Create, FileAccess.ReadWrite, FileShare.ReadWrite))
    {
        //Save the Word file.
        document.Save(outputStream, FormatType.Docx);
    }
}

C# [Windows-specific]

//Create an instance of WordDocument.
using(WordDocument document = new WordDocument())
{
    document.EnsureMinimal();
    document.LastParagraph.AppendText("Hello World");
    //Sets the compatibility mode to Word 2007.
    document.Settings.CompatibilityMode = CompatibilityMode.Word2007;
    document.Save("Sample.docx");
}

VB.NET [Windows-specific]

'Create an instance of WordDocument.
Using document As New WordDocument()
    document.EnsureMinimal()
    document.LastParagraph.AppendText("Hello World")
    ' Sets the compatibility mode to Word 2007.
    document.Settings.CompatibilityMode = CompatibilityMode.Word2007
    document.Save("Sample.docx")
End Using

You can download a complete working sample from GitHub.

Open a Word (*.doc) document containing incremental save information

Essential® DocIO process the content that are preserved in the last complete save operation alone from a Word (.doc) document and it doesn’t process the incremental save information. Hence it throws “Complex format is not supported” exception when attempting to open a Word (.doc) document containing incremental save information.

You can open the Word (*.doc) documents containing incremental save information without exception by setting SkipIncrementalSaveValidation property of Settings class as true. Whereas the recent changes saved as incremental save information using older Microsoft Word application can’t be preserved.

The following code example shows how to open a Word (*.doc) document containing incremental save information without exception.

C# [Cross-platform]

//Creates a new instance of WordDocument (Empty Word Document)
using (WordDocument document = new WordDocument())
{
    //Loads or opens an existing Word document from stream
    FileStream fileStreamPath = new FileStream("Template.doc", FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read, FileShare.ReadWrite);
    //Sets flag to skip old file format exception while opening document
    document.Settings.SkipIncrementalSaveValidation = true;
    //Loads or opens an existing Word document through Open method of WordDocument class 
    document.Open(fileStreamPath, FormatType.Automatic);
    MemoryStream stream = new MemoryStream();
    //Saves and closes the destination document to  MemoryStream
    document.Save(stream, FormatType.Doc);
    document.Close();
    stream.Position = 0;
    //Download Word document in the browser
    return File(stream, "application/msword", "Sample.doc");
}

C# [Windows-specific]

//Creates an empty Word document instance
WordDocument document = new WordDocument();
//Sets flag to skip old file format exception while opening document
document.Settings.SkipIncrementalSaveValidation = true;
//Loads or opens an existing incrementally saved DOC format through Open method of WordDocument class
document.Open(fileName);
//Saves the Word Document
document.Save("Sample.doc", FormatType.Doc);
//Closes the document
document.Close();

VB.NET [Windows-specific]

'Creates an empty Word document instance
Dim document As New WordDocument()
'Sets flag to skip old file format exception while opening document
document.Settings.SkipIncrementalSaveValidation = True
'Loads or opens an existing incrementally saved DOC format through Open method of WordDocument class
document.Open(fileName)
'Saves the Word Document
document.Save("Sample.doc", FormatType.Doc)
'Closes the document
document.Close()

Xamarin

//"App" is the class of Portable project
Assembly assembly = typeof(App).GetTypeInfo().Assembly;
//Creates a new instance of WordDocument (Empty Word Document)
using (WordDocument document = new WordDocument())
{
    //Loads or opens an existing Word document from stream
    Stream inputStream = assembly.GetManifestResourceStream("Sample.Assets.Template.doc");
    //Sets flag to skip old file format exception while opening document
    document.Settings.SkipIncrementalSaveValidation = true;
    //Loads or opens an existing Word document through Open method of WordDocument class
    document.Open(inputStream, FormatType.Automatic);
    MemoryStream stream = new MemoryStream();
    document.Save(stream, FormatType.Doc);
    //Save the stream as a file in the device and invoke it for viewing
    Xamarin.Forms.DependencyService.Get<ISave>().SaveAndView("Sample.doc", "application/msword", stream);
    //Closes the document
    document.Close();
    //Please download the helper files from the below link to save the stream as file and open the file for viewing in Xamarin platform
    //https://help.syncfusion.com/document-processing/word/word-library/net/create-word-document-in-xamarin#helper-files-for-xamarin
}

UWP

//"App" is the class of Portable project
Assembly assembly = typeof(App).GetTypeInfo().Assembly;
using (WordDocument document = new WordDocument())
{
    // Loads or opens an existing Word document from stream
    Stream inputStream = assembly.GetManifestResourceStream("Sample.Assets.Template.doc");
    //Sets flag to skip old file format exception while opening document
    document.Settings.SkipIncrementalSaveValidation = true;
    //Loads or opens an existing Word document through Open method of WordDocument class
    document.Open(inputStream, FormatType.Doc);
    MemoryStream stream = new MemoryStream();
    //Saves the Word file to MemoryStream
    await document.SaveAsync(stream, FormatType.Doc);
    //Saves the stream as Word file in local machine
    Save(stream, "Sample.doc");
    document.Close();
}
//Saves the Word document
async void Save(MemoryStream streams, string filename)
{
    streams.Position = 0;
    StorageFile stFile;
    if (!(Windows.Foundation.Metadata.ApiInformation.IsTypePresent("Windows.Phone.UI.Input.HardwareButtons")))
    {
        FileSavePicker savePicker = new FileSavePicker();
        savePicker.DefaultFileExtension = ".doc";
        savePicker.SuggestedFileName = filename;
        savePicker.FileTypeChoices.Add("Word Documents", new List<string>() { ".doc" });
        stFile = await savePicker.PickSaveFileAsync();
    }
    else
    {
        StorageFolder local = Windows.Storage.ApplicationData.Current.LocalFolder;
        stFile = await local.CreateFileAsync(filename, CreationCollisionOption.ReplaceExisting);
    }
    if (stFile != null)
    {
        using (IRandomAccessStream zipStream = await stFile.OpenAsync(FileAccessMode.ReadWrite))
        {
            //Write compressed data from memory to file
            using (Stream outstream = zipStream.AsStreamForWrite())
            {
                byte[] buffer = streams.ToArray();
                outstream.Write(buffer, 0, buffer.Length);
                outstream.Flush();
            }
        }
    }
    //Launch the saved Word file
    await Windows.System.Launcher.LaunchFileAsync(stFile);
}

Preserve embedded Ole image as normal image

Essential® DocIO keeps the entire document contents (paragraphs, images, tables and all other supported items along with the formatting) in main memory. So, there is a chance for “Out of memory exception” when the memory utilization exceeds the maximum level. For further information, please refer here.

You can reduce the memory usage in DocIO DOM when the Word document has embedded Ole image of large file size. You can preserve these embedded Ole images as normal images by setting PreserveOleImageAsImage property of Settings class as true, before opening the Word document.

If PreserveOleImageAsImage flag is enabled, DocIO internally skips to read the embedded Ole image of large file size (.bin), instead DocIO reuses the Ole image from Word document as normal image for the same visual appearance. This will reduce the memory usage in DocIO DOM and resolves “Out of memory exception” at some cases.

The following code example shows how to preserve embedded Ole image as normal image in a Word document.

C# [Cross-platform]

//Creates a new instance of WordDocument (Empty Word Document)
using (WordDocument document = new WordDocument())
{
    //Loads or opens an existing Word document from stream
    FileStream fileStreamPath = new FileStream("Template.docx", FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read, FileShare.ReadWrite);
    // Sets flag to preserve embedded Ole image as normal image while opening document
    document.Settings.PreserveOleImageAsImage = true;
    //Loads or opens an existing Word document through Open method of WordDocument class 
    document.Open(fileStreamPath, FormatType.Automatic);
    MemoryStream stream = new MemoryStream();
    //Saves and closes the destination document to MemoryStream
    document.Save(stream, FormatType.Docx);
    document.Close();
    stream.Position = 0;
    //Download Word document in the browser
    return File(stream, "application/msword", "Sample.docx");
}

C# [Windows-specific]

//Creates an empty Word document instance
WordDocument document = new WordDocument();
//Sets flag to preserve embedded Ole image as normal image while opening document
document.Settings.PreserveOleImageAsImage= true;
//Loads or opens an existing Word document
document.Open("Template.docx");
//Saves and close the Word document 
document.Save("Sample.docx", FormatType.Docx);
document.Close();

VB.NET [Windows-specific]

'Creates an empty Word document instance
Dim document As New WordDocument()
'Sets flag to preserve embedded Ole image as normal image while opening document
document.Settings.PreserveOleImageAsImage = True
'Loads or opens an existing Word document
document.Open("Template.docx")
'Saves and close the Word Document
document.Save("Sample.docx", FormatType.Docx)
document.Close()

Xamarin

//"App" is the class of Portable project
Assembly assembly = typeof(App).GetTypeInfo().Assembly;
//Creates a new instance of WordDocument (Empty Word Document)
using (WordDocument document = new WordDocument())
{
    //Loads or opens an existing Word document from stream
    Stream inputStream = assembly.GetManifestResourceStream("Sample.Assets.Template.docx");
    //Sets flag to preserve embedded Ole image as normal image without exception 
    document.Settings.PreserveOleImageAsImage = true;
    //Loads or opens an existing Word document through Open method of WordDocument class
    document.Open(inputStream, FormatType.Automatic);
    MemoryStream stream = new MemoryStream();
    document.Save(stream, FormatType.Docx);
    //Save the stream as a file in the device and invoke it for viewing
    Xamarin.Forms.DependencyService.Get<ISave>().SaveAndView("Sample.docx", "application/msword", stream);
    //Closes the document
    document.Close();
    //Please download the helper files from the below link to save the stream as file and open the file for viewing in Xamarin platform
    //https://help.syncfusion.com/document-processing/word/word-library/net/create-word-document-in-xamarin#helper-files-for-xamarin
}

UWP

//"App" is the class of Portable project
Assembly assembly = typeof(App).GetTypeInfo().Assembly;
using (WordDocument document = new WordDocument())
{
    // Loads or opens an existing Word document from stream
    Stream inputStream = assembly.GetManifestResourceStream("Sample.Assets.Template.docx");
    // Sets flag to preserve embedded Ole image as normal image while opening document
    document.Settings.PreserveOleImageAsImage = true;
    //Loads or opens an existing Word document
    document.Open(inputStream, FormatType.Docx);
    MemoryStream stream = new MemoryStream();
    //Saves the Word file to MemoryStream
    await document.SaveAsync(stream, FormatType.Docx);
    //Saves the stream as Word file in local machine
    Save(stream, "Sample.docx");
    document.Close();
}
//Please refer the below link to save Word document in UWP platform
//https://help.syncfusion.com/document-processing/word/word-library/net/create-word-document-in-uwp#save-word-document-in-uwp

You can download a complete working sample from GitHub.

Online Demo

• Explore how to convert the Word document to Word processing XML using the .NET Word Library (DocIO) in a live demo here.
• See how to convert the Word processing XML to Word document using the .NET Word Library (DocIO) in a live demo here.