How word, gif, doc, & docx file formats came into being!
A created computer file can range from being created in a word processor to a picture captured with the help of a digital camera. If you have been using a computer for a while, then you will understand that the file formats available are not similar irrespective of them looking alike from the outside. To explain this in a better manner here is an example: a Microsoft Word could be in one of a variety of different file formats, and if the right version of Word is not available on your computer, then viewing the content or editing would not be possible. Another instance: although, a majority of digital cameras save images in the JPEG format, yet there is a possibility that they could be stored in different formats. Every format has its own advantage and disadvantage based on which people may use them. You do not have to worry about a file's format most of the times, since by double clicking the file it should open in the relevant application or convert pdf to word program. However, it is possible that another unexpected application gets launched so that the content of the file gets displayed else the file won't open at all. Reading the article further will give you an insight into the way in which various file formats affect your PC.
Why so many file formats exist at first place?
The count of file formats existing now has gone beyond thousand. It might be intriguing for you to think why the computer world needs so many file formats! This is quite funny to know that there is no dire need of using so many formats but over the years every other pdf to word converter software firm decided to update or develop a new format to help computer users. The byproduct of this practice is too many file formats, which in a way has made the life somewhat complicated. GIF or Graphics Interchange Format was developed by a firm, which is almost 20 years old now. It prevails online because of the limited color palette, and good impression leads to different file sizes. The DOC format is synonymous with word processing documents. Rather, over the years that have gone by, word processors have used their own versions of the format. People using the DOC format in today's time know that the proprietary belongs to and controlled by 'Microsoft'. Another file format, which was introduced by Microsoft was Office 2007. It is also known as Officeopen XML, with 'x' added to DOC that became DOCX. It is an Excel spreadsheet file, which became XLSX and so on from XLS.