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You can download a document as a Word file in DOCX format. Use this when you need a file to open in Microsoft Word or hand to someone outside your workspace. The export converts the document content into a downloadable file. Code blocks retain a monospace appearance and use syntax colors when their language is supported.

How to download a document as a Word file

  1. Check the code block
  2. Open File
  3. Choose Download
  4. Choose Word document (DOCX)
  5. Find the file

Athena 101 lesson: Work inside your Office files (broader walkthrough)

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Download a Word file

  1. Open the document you want to export. Check that you are viewing the intended asset before downloading it.
  2. Open File in the document toolbar.
  3. Select Download. The format picker lists Word document (DOCX), Markdown and PDF. Download works on a read-only document too.
  4. Select Word document (DOCX). It is marked Default for documents. Wait for the download to finish.
  5. An Export downloaded message appears. The file is named after the document, such as Release notes.docx. The characters \ / : * ? " < > | in a title become _. Open the downloaded .docx file in Word. Review the content and layout before sending it to another person.
Use the format picker for the Word export. The Copy to clipboard as Markdown action produces text for pasting and does not download a Word file.

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Check code blocks

  1. Review code blocks in the source document before exporting. Check that the intended language is associated with each block.
  2. Download the DOCX file and find those blocks in Word.
  3. Check the line breaks, spacing, and text. Code uses a monospace font with one shaded line per line of code. The shading is dark slate with light text. Supported languages export with syntax-colored text. An unknown or missing language exports as plain light text on the same background.

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Good to know

You need access to the document to export it. Download is available in the document toolbar even when the document is read-only. Code-block colors are generated for the Word file from the block’s language. You should review the downloaded result rather than assume every visual detail matches the editor. The download gives you a file to work with in Word; it is not a sharing-permission change for the source asset.