Choose the format by what needs to happen next
Start with the next step. If you will keep working in Compose, save .compose. If someone else needs to edit in Word, use DOCX. If the document is finished, PDF is usually the right handoff.
If you are unsure, keep a .compose file first. You can create another format from it later without losing Compose-only information.
Use .compose to keep everything editable in Compose
A .compose file keeps the document together with Compose features such as Shelf, Review, sources and document settings. Keep this format when you want to reopen the work in Compose later.
Compose can also open older supported .compose files. Try opening the file normally; you do not need to convert it first.
Use DOCX or ODT when editing continues elsewhere
DOCX is the practical choice when the next person is working in Microsoft Word. It can now carry supported comments, text revisions, citations, sources, notes and bibliography structures as well as ordinary document content. ODT is the open-standard alternative when someone needs to keep editing in another app.
Moving between apps is still not the same as staying in a native file. Keep the .compose source and check complex tables, charts, layout, Review and research structures after the move.
Use Markdown, HTML or plain text for simpler content
Markdown is plain text that uses simple symbols for headings, lists and links. HTML is useful when the destination expects web-page code. Plain text removes formatting and keeps only the words.
All three support import and export in Compose, but none should be treated as a full backup of Compose-specific document features.
Use PDF for a finished document
PDF preserves a designed page result for reading, printing or sharing. Compose can create and preview the exact PDF pages, but PDF is not an editable format that you can import back into Compose.
Keep the source .compose file if you expect to revise the document after publication.
What Compose can import and export
The table below shows what Compose can open and create. “Import” means Compose can open the file for editing. “Export” means Compose can create that file type from the current document.
| Format | Import | Export | Best use |
|---|---|---|---|
| .compose | Yes | Save | Full Compose working document and backup |
| DOCX | Yes | Pro / Teams | Continue editing or reviewing in Microsoft Word |
| ODT | Yes | Yes | Continue editing in apps that support ODT |
| Markdown | Yes | Yes | Simple text files with Markdown formatting |
| HTML | Yes | Yes | Web pages and HTML-based content |
| Plain text | Yes | Yes | Text only, without formatting |
| No | Pro / Teams file delivery | Finished visual document |
Expect some information to be simplified outside .compose
Files other than .compose do not preserve every Compose feature in editable form. DOCX now carries much more Review and citation structure, but Shelf, Version History, editable Compose charts and other app-specific state still stay behind.
Send the format the recipient needs, and keep the .compose file as the complete working copy.