What happens when you convert DOT to TXT
- The DOT is opened by LibreOffice, the open-source office suite, on our conversion server and saved as UTF-8 plain text. Every paragraph keeps its own line, and every language and alphabet is kept.
- Plain text has no formatting, so fonts, bold and italic, tables, images, headers and footers are left out. Table cells come out as lines of text.
- A template opens as a new document based on it, so the result shows the template's own text, styles and page layout.
- This conversion runs on our server: the file is uploaded, converted, and deleted together with the result as soon as the result has been sent back to you. Nothing is kept. Files up to 25 MB are accepted.
How to convert DOT to TXT online
- Press "Choose DOT files" and select one or more files, or drag them onto the box. Files up to 25 MB each can be converted.
- There are no settings to choose: the converter keeps everything the target format can hold.
- Press "Convert to TXT". The file is uploaded to our conversion server, converted in a few seconds, and deleted together with the result as soon as the result is sent back.
- Save each TXT with its download button. Our server has already deleted both your DOT and the TXT by then.
Why convert DOT to TXT?
DOT files usually come from letterheads, forms and company templates from older versions of Word. People convert them to TXT because plain text opens everywhere and is easy to search, copy, edit and paste into other tools.
In short, DOT is good at what it was made for, and TXT is the more practical choice when the file has to open, upload or print somewhere else. DOT opens in Word, where it starts a new document based on it, and in LibreOffice Writer, while TXT opens in every browser, text editor and phone.
How to convert DOT to TXT on Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android
On Windows
Open this page in Chrome, Edge or Firefox, drag your DOT files in from File Explorer, and press Convert. Each TXT is saved to your Downloads folder.
On a Mac
Safari, Chrome and Firefox all work. Drag the DOT files from Finder onto the drop zone and the TXT files land in Downloads.
On iPhone and iPad
Open the page in Safari and tap Choose DOT files. You can pick from Photos or from the Files app. The converted TXT appears in Files, in the Downloads folder.
On Android
Open the page in Chrome, tap Choose DOT files and pick them from Files or your gallery. The TXT is saved to the Download folder, where any file manager can find it.
Best settings for DOT to TXT
There are no settings: the DOT is saved as UTF-8 plain text, the encoding every program reads, with one line per paragraph.
If you want to keep headings, lists and links, convert to HTML or Markdown instead, which have room for that structure.
DOT vs TXT: the differences
| DOT | TXT | |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Word 97 to 2003 template | Plain text |
| Type | word-processing document | document |
| Created by | Microsoft | no single author |
| First released | 1997 | 1963 |
| Compression | Lossless | Lossless |
| What it holds | styles, page setup, boilerplate text and sometimes macros, in the binary Word format | characters only, with no formatting |
| In a browser | opens in Word, where it starts a new document based on it, and in LibreOffice Writer | opens in every browser, text editor and phone |
| Common uses | letterheads, forms and company templates from older versions of Word | notes, logs, extracted text and anything that must open everywhere |
| MIME type | application/msword | text/plain |
About DOT and TXT files
What is a DOT file?
A DOT file is a template: opening it in Word starts a new, untitled document with its styles, text and layout, and leaves the template itself untouched. Normal.dot held the defaults for every new document until Word 2007.
What is a TXT file?
A TXT file holds nothing but characters: no fonts, images or layout. Modern text files are usually UTF-8, which covers every language.
DOT to TXT not working? Common problems
- "Files up to 25 MB can be converted." Server conversions have a size limit. Compress the images inside the file, or split it, and try again.
- "The conversion took too long and was stopped." Very long or complex files can pass the 90 second limit. Split the file and convert the parts.
- The file will not convert. It may be password protected, damaged, or saved in a newer or unusual version of the format.
Convert DOT to TXT from the command line
LibreOffice does the same on your own computer, without opening a window:
soffice --headless --convert-to txt:Text input.dotConverting on your own computer keeps the file entirely local, which is worth it for very large or very sensitive documents. For everything else, the converter on this page does it without installing anything.
DOT to TXT converter FAQ
Will I lose quality converting DOT to TXT?
The words are kept exactly; formatting, tables and images are not, because plain text has none.
Why is the TXT a different size from the DOT?
Much smaller: plain text holds only the words, without formatting, images or the document structure around them.
Are my DOT files uploaded?
Yes, for this conversion. A faithful DOT to TXT conversion needs LibreOffice, the open-source office suite, which cannot run in a browser. The file travels over an encrypted connection, is converted in a private temporary folder, and is deleted together with the TXT as soon as the result has been sent back to you. We do not keep, read or share it.
Can I convert several DOT files to TXT at once?
Yes. Select or drop as many files as you like; they are converted one after another and each gets its own download button.
How do I open a TXT file?
TXT opens in every browser, text editor and phone. TXT is common for notes, logs, extracted text and anything that must open everywhere.
Is this DOT to TXT converter free?
Yes. There is no sign-up and no watermark. Because this conversion uses our server, there is a fair-use limit of 25 MB per file and a number of files per hour, which stops the service being overloaded.
Can I convert DOT to TXT on my phone?
Yes. It works in Safari on iPhone and iPad and in Chrome on Android. The conversion happens on our server, so it is as fast on a phone as on a computer; the TXT is saved to your Downloads folder.