Document file format

A document file format is a text or binary file format for storing documents on a storage media, especially for use by computers. There currently exist a multitude of incompatible document file formats.

A rough consensus has been established that XML is to be the basis for future document file formats. Open XML-based standards include DocBook and, more recently, the ISO/IEC standards OpenDocument (ISO 26300:2006), Office Open XML (ISO 29500:2008).

In 1993 the ITU-T tried to establish a standard for document file formats, known as the Open Document Architecture (ODA) which was supposed to replace all competing document file formats. It is described in ITU-T documents T.411 through T.421, which are equivalent to ISO 8613. It did not succeed.

Page description languages such as PostScript and PDF have become the de facto-standard for documents that a typical user should only be able to create and read, not edit. In 2001 the PDF format has become also the international ISO/IEC standard (ISO 15930-1:2001, ISO 19005-1:2005, ISO 32000-1:2008).

HTML is is the most used and open international standard and it is also used as document file format. It has become also ISO/IEC standard (ISO 15445:2000).

The default binary file format used by Microsoft Word (.doc) has become widespread de facto-standard for office documents, but it is not always fully supported by other word processors.

Common document file formats

• Amigaguide
• DNL DNAML's DNL page turning format
• CHM (Microsoft's help format)
• .doc for Microsoft Word (Format revised and altered in new software versions; structural binary format identical since Word 97; specifications available from Microsoft upon request)
• DocBook (an XML format for technical documenation)
• HLP
• HTML (.html, .htm), (open standard, ISO from 2000), in combination with possible image files referred to; IE can also combine these, having just one MHT-file to represent a webpage.
• Office Open XML - .docx (open, XML-based standard for office documents, ISO standard from 2008)
• OpenDocument - .odt (open, XML-based standard for office documents, ISO standard from 2006)
• OpenOffice.org XML - .sxw (open, XML-based format for office documents)
• PalmDoc Handheld de facto document standard.
• Plucker Handheld navigable wide used document standard.
• PDF - open standard for documents exchange. ISO standards from 2001, 2005, 2008. It is readable on almost every platform with free or open source readers. Open source PDF creators are also availaible.
• RTF (a textual encoding of the data in a Word DOC; many programs' Word export filters actually write RTF as RTF is much easier to generate reliably)
• SYmbolic LinK (SYLK)
• TEI (an XML format for digital publication)
• TeX
• Troff
• TXT (plain text)
• Uniform Office Format - Chinese standard
• WordPerfect (.wpd, .wp, .wp7, .doc) (Note: possible confusion with Word format extension)
• XML

See also

• List of file formats
• List of document markup languages
• Comparison of document markup languages
• Open format

External links

• Lost in Translation: Interoperability Issues for Open Standards - ODF and OOXML as Examples