KWord uses two open source, independently developed standards for
its file format. The combination was chosen for its balance between
convenience and open development models.
First, it should be noted that all KWord files are multiple XML
files that are compressed to reduce their space requirements.
Select the KWord version you are interested in:
The XML files are compressed into a single file using the same
algorithm as used by
tar
.
You can uncompress the files with the following command:
%
tar -xzvf
filename
This will expand the KWord document file into its component
files.
The text portion of all KWord files are XML (eXtensible Markup
Language) files.
Note
For more information on XML documents, processors and
technology, please visit
All KWord documents consist of at least two XML files:
-
maindoc.xml
-
This file contains the bulk of the KWord text, tables and formula
information. It is marked with XML tags according to the official DTD. A
copy of the KWord 1.1 DTD is located at: https://www.koffice.org/DTD/kword-1.1.dtd.
-
documentinfo.xml
-
This file contains the document information. This is information
entered into the dialog boxes when selecting
->
from the menubar. This information
is useful for tracking authors, contact information etc.
The DTD for KOffice 1.1 is located at: https://www.koffice.org/DTD/document-info-1.1.dtd.
In addition, there may be other files included in the KWord document
file. Pictures, embedded documents and other binary information are stored
within the KWord document as separate files.
For more specific information on KWord file storage or other
internal information, please see The KOffice API and the
General KDE developer information
pages.
The text files are compressed into a single file using the same
algorithm as used by
zip
.
This change was made because of its broad use in other open source office
suites and its improved performance with lower memory requirements.
You can uncompress the files with the following command:
%
unzip
filename
This will expand the KWord document file into its component
files.
The text portion of all KWord files are XML
(eXtensible Markup Language) files.
Note
For more information on XML documents, processing and
technology, please visit
All KWord documents consist of at least three files:
-
maindoc.xml
-
This file contains the bulk of the KWord text, tables and formula
information. It is marked with XML tags according to the official
DTD.
A copy of the KWord 1.2 DTD is located at: https://www.koffice.org/DTD/kword-1.2.dtd.
-
documentinfo.xml
-
This file contains the document information. This is information
entered into the dialog boxes when selecting
->
from the menubar. This information
is useful for tracking authors, contact information etc.
The DTD for KOffice 1.2 is located at: https://koffice.kde.org/DTD/document-info-1.2.dtd.
-
mimetype
-
This file contains the mimetype for KWord files. This information
is used by KDE to determine that this is a KWord file.
This file always contains:
application/x-kword
In addition, there may be other files included in the KWord document
file. Pictures, embedded documents and other binary information are stored
within the KWord document as separate files.
For more specific information on KWord file storage or other
internal information, please see The KOffice API and the
General KDE developer information
pages.
KWord 1.3 (current version)
The text files are compressed into a single file using the same
algorithm as used by
zip
.
This change was made because of its broad use in other open source office
suites and its improved performance with lower memory requirements.
You can uncompress the files with the following command:
%
unzip
filename
This will expand the KWord document file into its component
files.
The text portion of all KWord files are XML
(eXtensible Markup Language) files.
Note
For more information on XML documents, processing and
technology, please visit
All KWord documents consist of at least three files:
-
maindoc.xml
-
This file contains the bulk of the KWord text, tables and formula
information. It is marked with XML tags according to the official
DTD.
A copy of the KWord 1.3 DTD is located at: https://www.koffice.org/DTD/kword-1.3.dtd.
-
documentinfo.xml
-
This file contains the document information. This is information
entered into the dialog boxes when selecting
->
from the menubar. This information
is useful for tracking authors, contact information etc.
The DTD for KOffice 1.3 is located at: https://koffice.kde.org/DTD/document-info-1.3.dtd.
-
mimetype
-
This file contains the mimetype for KWord files. This information
is used by KDE to determine that this is a KWord file.
This file always contains:
application/x-kword
In addition, there may be other files included in the KWord document
file. Pictures, embedded documents and other binary information are stored
within the KWord document as separate files.
For more specific information on KWord file storage or other
internal information, please see The KOffice API and the
General KDE developer information
pages.
