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Document format

DOTM converter

A .dotm file is a Microsoft Word template that is allowed to carry VBA macros. Every document created from it inherits both the styling and the macro project, which is what makes it powerful inside an organization and unwelcome arriving by email.

Private for supported formats — processed in your browser

Convert supported files

Runs on your device

Drop DOTM files here

Batch files can each use a different output. Nothing uploads for local conversions.

Working inputs include camera RAW, browser-local audio/video, PDF, CBZ/CBR comics, office documents, ebooks, markup, 3D models, structured text, images, and archives.

Where DOTM comes from

Word 2007 introduced .dotm alongside .dotx when the OOXML formats separated macro-capable files by extension. Word's own Normal.dotm — the default template behind every blank document — is the most widely deployed file of this type in existence, and a long-standing target for macro malware that wants to persist.

How DOTM works

  • Identical package layout to .dotx: word/document.xml plus styles, theme, and settings inside a ZIP.
  • Adds word/vbaProject.bin, and sometimes word/vbaData.xml, holding the compiled VBA project.
  • Documents created from the template receive a copy of the macro project, not a link to it.
  • Novus Convert deletes word/vbaProject.bin and word/vbaData.xml before parsing, so the macro is never read, never interpreted, and never executed.
  • The extracted text is therefore identical to what the same template would yield as .dotx.

When to use DOTM

  • Department templates that automate document assembly on creation.
  • Recovering the boilerplate text from a legacy automated template.
  • Safely inspecting a template received from outside the organization.
  • Migrating away from macro automation by exporting the content first.

Strengths and limitations

Strengths

  • Ships styling and automation as a single distributable unit.
  • Extension declares macro capability up front, so policy can act on it.
  • Open package format means the text is recoverable without Word.

Limitations

  • Macro persistence in Normal.dotm is a classic malware foothold.
  • Widely blocked in transit, so distribution usually needs a managed share instead of email.
  • Automation ages badly and often fails on a newer Word or a different platform.

Compatibility

Word 2007 onward on Windows and macOS uses .dotm natively and prompts before enabling macros. LibreOffice Writer opens the content; Google Docs imports the text and drops the macros. Mobile Word reads but never runs them. In-browser conversion here reads only the text.

The usual docProps core and app parts survive in the package; a plain-text or Markdown export keeps none of them.

Convert DOTM to another format