Sample Word File Download

DOCX is the default file format of Microsoft Word and the most widely exchanged editable document format. Each sample on this page is a complete DOCX package, so it behaves like a document saved from Word when you upload, preview, convert or parse it.

What's inside a DOCX file

A DOCX file is a ZIP archive. Rename a copy to .zip and open it to see the parts: word/document.xml holds the body text, word/styles.xml the styles, word/numbering.xml the list definitions, and word/media/ any images. Relationship files tie the parts together.

• Realistic structure: headings with outline levels, bullet and numbered lists, styled tables, footnotes, hyperlinks, headers and page-number footers.
• Safe to share: no macros, tracked changes or hidden personal data, and every person and company named is fictional.
• Edge cases included: a landscape page, a multi-page document and size-targeted files for performance tests.

Read the format details in the Microsoft Open XML documentation or the Office Open XML overview .

Open any sample in Word, Google Docs or LibreOffice to check how it looks, or read it with code to test a document pipeline. These examples use the Project Status Report sample.

How to Read a DOCX File in Python (python-docx)

# pip install python-docx
from docx import Document

doc = Document("sample-project-report.docx")

for paragraph in doc.paragraphs:
    if paragraph.style.name.startswith("Heading"):
        print("#", paragraph.text)
    elif paragraph.text:
        print(paragraph.text)

for table in doc.tables:
    for row in table.rows:
        print([cell.text for cell in row.cells])

How to Extract Text or HTML in Node.js (mammoth)

// npm install mammoth
const mammoth = require("mammoth");

mammoth.extractRawText({ path: "sample-project-report.docx" })
  .then((result) => console.log(result.value));

mammoth.convertToHtml({ path: "sample-project-report.docx" })
  .then((result) => console.log(result.value)); // headings, lists and tables as HTML

How to Convert a DOCX File to PDF

In Word, choose File > Save As and pick PDF. On a server, LibreOffice converts documents from the command line:

soffice --headless --convert-to pdf sample-project-report.docx

To generate DOCX files in code, use a library rather than writing the XML yourself: a document needs several interlinked parts, and a single missing relationship makes Word report the file as damaged.

Creating a DOCX File in Python (python-docx)

from docx import Document

doc = Document()
doc.add_heading("Monthly Report", level=1)
doc.add_paragraph("Sales grew 12% compared with last month.")
for item in ["New customers: 48", "Churn: 2.1%"]:
    doc.add_paragraph(item, style="List Bullet")

table = doc.add_table(rows=1, cols=2)
table.style = "Table Grid"
table.rows[0].cells[0].text = "Region"
table.rows[0].cells[1].text = "Revenue"
row = table.add_row().cells
row[0].text, row[1].text = "North", "$45,000"

doc.save("report.docx")

Creating a DOCX File in JavaScript (docx)

// npm install docx
const fs = require("fs");
const { Document, Packer, Paragraph, TextRun, HeadingLevel } = require("docx");

const doc = new Document({
  sections: [{
    children: [
      new Paragraph({ text: "Monthly Report", heading: HeadingLevel.HEADING_1 }),
      new Paragraph({ children: [new TextRun("Sales grew "), new TextRun({ text: "12%", bold: true })] }),
    ],
  }],
});

Packer.toBuffer(doc).then((buffer) => fs.writeFileSync("report.docx", buffer));

Common mistakes to avoid: saving a file with a .docx extension that is really HTML or RTF, which Word opens with a warning; forgetting to embed or substitute fonts when the document will be viewed on other machines; and serving DOCX downloads with a generic application/octet-stream MIME type, which some browsers and email filters treat with suspicion.