What is the .dot File Extension Used For?

What is the .dot file extension?

The file extension .dot is primarily used by Microsoft Word, which is a popular word processing application that allows users to create documents using a set of rules. .dot files are commonly referred to as Word Document Template files. Template files allow users to predefine how new word documents will open. Users can incorporate a template file to dictate the font size, footers, margins, headers and other common page styles of new Word documents.

.dot files come under the category of Page Layout files and the Mime type is: application/msword, application/x-dot, application/dot, application/doc, application/mswor2sc, application/microsoft_word, application/x-msword, zz-application/zz-winassoc-dot.

Programs that can open .dot files

If you use Windows, you may use the following program to open a .dot file:

  • Microsoft Word

If you use a Mac OS, you may use the following program to open a .dot file:

  • Microsoft Word
  • Planamesa NeoOffice Writer

How to create a Word Template (.dot) file in Word 2007

Some of the templates, such as Normal.dot come included with the Word application. Word allows users to create their own templates. Perform the following steps to create a template file in Word 2007.

  1. Create a Word document that you want to use as your template.
  2. Next, click the File menu, and select Save.
  3. In the File name box, feed a name for your file.
  4. In the Save as type box, select Document Template (*.dot)

    5. Note: When you select the file extension as .dot, Windows automatically saves the file in the Templates folder. Typically, the path to this folder is C:\Documents and settings\user name\Application data\Microsoft\Templates.

  5. Click the Save button.

Now, you can open new Word documents using the saved template. To do this, perform the following steps:

  1. Click the File menu of an already opened Word document and then click New.
  2. In the New Document task pane, select the On my computer option under Templates.
  3. Select the template you created, and then click the OK button.

Besides the Word Template, do any other file types use the .dot file extension?

In addition to the Word Template, other file types that are recorded using the .dot file extension are:

  • Corel Lines Definition File
  • Graph Visualisation File
  • Bert?s Dinosaurs Game File
  • Ribbon Molecular Surface File
  • Graphviz DOT Language File

Cannot open a .dot file? ? What you should do

If you are unable to open a .dot file using the programs installed on your computer, then we recommend that you use FileCure, a program that allows Windows users to access various file types, including .dot files.