DOC files are created to save various documents, including letters, resumes, essays, and invitations. When you create a document in Word, you can choose to save it in the DOC file format. The program then creates a DOC file to store the document's contents, which can be closed and opened again for further editing. When you are done editing your DOC file you can print it or save it as another file, such as a .PDF or .DOT document.
The DOC file was designated as Microsoft Word's primary format in 1983. Word used the same format until Word 97 when Microsoft released an updated version of the binary format. In 2006, Microsoft replaced the updated DOC file format with the .DOCX file format when it released Word 2007. DOCX files store documents in the Open XML format.
NOTE: Word is the most popular word processing application in the world. It comes with every edition of the Microsoft Office suite and is used in home, academic, and business environments.