Windows Mobile 6.5 Word Mobile Editable Formats

Microsoft Word Mobile in Windows Mobile 6.5 allowed mobile professionals to view, create, and modify documents directly on their handheld devices without converting them on a desktop PC first. While mobile processing power and screen real estate were limited compared to desktop environments, the application offered robust support for standard word processing file extensions. This article outlines the specific file formats that could be edited directly using Word Mobile on Windows Mobile 6.5.

Supported Editable Formats

Word Mobile on Windows Mobile 6.5 (which integrated Microsoft Office Mobile 6.1) provided native viewing and editing capabilities for the following formats:

  • .docx (Office Open XML Document): The default XML-based document format introduced in Microsoft Office 2007. Windows Mobile 6.5 included built-in support to create, open, edit, and save .docx files natively.
  • .doc (Word 97–2003 Document): The legacy binary format used by older versions of Microsoft Word. Word Mobile fully supported opening, altering, and saving these standard binary files.
  • .dot / .dotx (Word Document Templates): Users could open pre-formatted templates directly to create and edit new documents based on existing formatting rules.
  • .rtf (Rich Text Format): Cross-platform text documents containing basic styling—such as bolding, italics, fonts, and colors—could be opened and edited directly.
  • .txt (Plain Text): Standard, unformatted text files could be created, viewed, and modified using Word Mobile as a lightweight text editor.
  • .psw (Pocket Word Document): The legacy proprietary format used by earlier Pocket PC devices. Windows Mobile 6.5 retained backward compatibility, allowing users to open and edit older .psw files, though users were typically encouraged to save them in standard .doc or .docx formats.

Editing Limitations and File Handling

While Word Mobile allowed direct editing of these formats, it did not support every advanced desktop feature. Elements such as complex macros, track changes, embedded objects, advanced shapes, and specific desktop layout features were either preserved in the background without being editable or stripped upon saving if unsupported. Nevertheless, core text, standard bulleting, basic tables, and fundamental font formatting were fully functional across all editable formats.