What is a DOT file?
A .DOT file is primarily a Microsoft Word Document Template (Legacy) created by Microsoft. Users save document structures, macros, and formatting in .DOT files to create multiple standard documents. The newer version of this format is .DOTX.
However, a .DOT file can also be a Graphviz Graph Description Language file. Developers and data scientists use Graphviz to write text-based instructions that generate diagrams and network graphs.
Because a .DOT file has multiple possible meanings, viewer.online/dot analyzes .DOT files to identify their exact format and creator software. It shows which programs can open the file and usually previews it.
How to open DOT files?
If your file is a Microsoft Word Document Template (Legacy), you can open it with Microsoft Word, LibreOffice Writer, or Apache OpenOffice. If your file is a graph description, you can open it with Graphviz command-line tools like `dot` or any standard text editor such as Notepad++.
If you want to change the format, we recommend file conversion to sensible target formats on convert.guru. You can convert a Word template to .DOCX or .PDF. You can convert a Graphviz file to .PNG or .SVG.
Best practices and troubleshooting
If you cannot open a .DOT file, check if it contains text or binary data. Opening a graph file in Microsoft Word will display raw code, while opening a Word template in a text editor will show unreadable characters. If you are unsure about the format, use a file analysis tool.
Summary
viewer.online/dot directly opens and previews .DOT files in the browser, eliminating the need to install software or troubleshoot compatibility issues.