Minimal installation required to natively view docx files?


  1. blksith0
    Posts : 52
    Microsoft Windows 10 Pro Education N 10.0.19044.2130
       New #1

    Minimal installation required to natively view docx files?


    I have a windows virtual machine setup with very limited resources and space, and I've previously used a browser-based addon to view docx files but that's not cutting it now, so my question is:
    What's the minimum, least space-consuming and resource-using thing I can install just so I can open and view docx files in windows 10?
    I'd prefer not to add any extra office services or background processes to be running all the time.
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  3. fishingfool
    Posts : 114
    Windows 10 21H2 19044.2728
       New #2

    Can't vouch for it but if all you want is a docx viewer then you could try "DocX Viewer". It's a 16.1 mb download.

    Download Free DocX Viewer - free - latest version
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  4. blksith0
    Posts : 52
    Microsoft Windows 10 Pro Education N 10.0.19044.2130
    Thread Starter
       New #3

    Ye that one's okay. XP days.

    Ah, why did Microsoft have to discontinue their Office Viewer apps. I just found these...
    https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/...9-154303e2a3ca
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  6. Callender
    Posts : 6,853
    22H2 64 Bit Pro
       New #4

    I use:

    AbleWord the Free Word Processor and PDF editor

    I've also used (just as a viewer) :

    PDF, DOC, DOCX, DAT, BIN, PHP Viewer - FreeFileViewer

    Then there are quick look apps like Seer with Pandoc plugin but probably QuickLook Portable is easier. (Space bar activated previews of files).

    GitHub - QL-Win/QuickLook: Bring macOS “Quick Look” feature to Windows

    Plugin:

    Available Plugins . QL-Win/QuickLook Wiki . GitHub

    Install Office Viewer plugin instructions. (Works with Portable QuickLook)

    GitHub - QL-Win/QuickLook.Plugin.OfficeViewer: Word, Excel, and PowerPoint plugin for QuickLook.

    Then once plugin is installed and QuickLook is restarted find a .doc or .docx file in explorer and highlight it. Then press the space bar.
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  7. Berton
    Posts : 14,022
    Win10 Pro and Home, Win11 Pro and Home, Win7, Linux Mint
       New #5

    I've had success in doing Custom installs of Office up to 2016 and leaving out what I didn't want or later going into Apps/Programs and Features and do a repair to take some out.

    A note: the .docx, .xlsx and others of Office were a format change starting with Office 2007, another change was adding 64-bit to Office 2010. To use the new format on Office 2000, XP/2002 and 2003 requires a Compatibility Pack addition, may show as File Format Converter.
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  8. cereberus
    Posts : 15,494
    Windows10
       New #6

    Use the online version of word. Can't get more minimalist than that.
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  9. Callender
    Posts : 6,853
    22H2 64 Bit Pro
       New #7

    FYI. I don't have MS Office so I used another machine with Office to create a simple .docx file.

    Here's a screenshot from the machine without MS Office using QuickLook portable.

    Minimal installation required to natively view docx files?-quicklook-preview.jpg

    Then I made a few minor changes to the file and now I see:

    Minimal installation required to natively view docx files?-quicklook-preview-2.jpg

    If that suits your needs the app takes up around 187Mb (Folder size) and here is memory usage when running.

    Minimal installation required to natively view docx files?-process-hacker.jpg

    Then for AbleWord (installed) size is 13.5Mb

    Memory usage:

    Minimal installation required to natively view docx files?-ableword.jpg
    Last edited by Callender; 13 Mar 2024 at 13:03.
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  10. blksith0
    Posts : 52
    Microsoft Windows 10 Pro Education N 10.0.19044.2130
    Thread Starter
       New #8

    Excellent suggestions all. Appreciated.
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