How do you save a Word document in ASCII (text) format?

To save a Word document in ASCII format, you will need to copy and paste the document into a simple text program such as Notepad. After it is converted, certain formatting features will be gone, such as bold or italicized text.

Under the Edit tab in Word, click "select all". Your text will be highlighted. Then, click "copy" under the Edit tab. Open Notepad and then right click your mouse. Select "paste." Your text will now be in ASCII or plain text format and you can save it as a .txt document. Since your formatting features will be gone, you will probably want to edit the document slightly prior to saving.