TMD File Documentation

Summary

A TextMaker Document is a word-processing file created by TextMaker, the Word-equivalent in SoftMaker Office (a paid Microsoft Office alternative for Windows, Linux, macOS and Android, also sold as Ashampoo Office). The .tmd file holds formatted text, styles, images and tables. Open it with TextMaker or the free SoftMaker FreeOffice; since TextMaker reads and writes DOCX, the simplest cross-app route is to open the .tmd and Save As .docx. Microsoft Word cannot open .tmd directly.

Technical details

FeatureValue
Full nameSoftMaker TextMaker Document
File extension.tmd
MIME typeapplication/x-tmd
Format typeProprietary word-processor document
Container / base formatOlder: proprietary binary; newer SoftMaker Office: ZIP-based package
DeveloperSoftMaker Software GmbH
IntroducedSoftMaker TextMaker, 1990s
Open standardNo (proprietary)
Magic number (hex)No stable public signature; modern ZIP-based files may start with 50 4B 03 04 (PK)
Content heldFormatted text, paragraph/page styles, images, tables, headers/footers, embedded objects
Native appTextMaker (SoftMaker Office / Ashampoo Office)
Free editorSoftMaker FreeOffice (TextMaker module)
Free viewerSoftMaker TextMaker Viewer
PlatformsWindows, Linux, macOS, Android
MS Office compatibilityTextMaker natively reads/writes DOCX and DOC
Newer document format.tmdx (TextMaker document package)
Related extensions.tmdx, .docx, .doc, .odt
Vendor pagesoftmaker.com/en/textmaker-windows
Structure at a glance

A .tmd has no single reliable magic number. Older TextMaker versions wrote a proprietary binary layout; newer SoftMaker Office releases moved to a ZIP-based package, so a recent .tmd can begin with the ZIP header 50 4B 03 04 (PK) — the same signature as DOCX and ordinary ZIP files. Because the PK header is not unique to TextMaker (and older .tmd files do not have it at all), you identify the file by its extension and by the fact that it was created by TextMaker or SoftMaker Office, not by the first bytes. If a .tmd starts with PK, you can rename a copy to .zip to inspect its parts, though only TextMaker renders it correctly.

What is a TMD file?

A TextMaker Document is the native document format of TextMaker, the word processor in SoftMaker Office. SoftMaker Office is a long-established commercial suite from the German company SoftMaker Software, sold as an alternative to Microsoft Office and also rebranded as Ashampoo Office. A .tmd holds the same kinds of content as a Word document: formatted text, paragraph and page styles, images, tables, embedded objects and headers and footers. You typically meet one because someone running SoftMaker Office or Ashampoo Office sent you their file.

Because the format is proprietary and its internal schema is not publicly documented, this is an honest, practical description rather than a byte-level dissection. The important facts are what the file contains, how its container changed across versions, and the one route that reliably makes it usable in other programs: TextMaker’s native Microsoft Office compatibility.

Two generations: binary, then a ZIP package

The .tmd extension has spanned a long product history, and the underlying container changed along the way. Older TextMaker versions stored a document in a proprietary binary layout with no publicly stable signature. More recent SoftMaker Office releases moved to a ZIP-based package, so a modern .tmd can begin with the ZIP local-file-header bytes 50 4B 03 04 (“PK”), the same signature used by DOCX, ODT and any ordinary ZIP.

This has a direct practical consequence: there is no single magic number that identifies a .tmd. An older file will not start with PK, and a newer one that does start with PK is indistinguishable by header alone from a DOCX or a plain ZIP. So you identify the file by its extension and origin (TextMaker / SoftMaker Office), not by inspecting the first bytes. When a .tmd is the newer ZIP-based kind, you can copy it, rename the copy to .zip and browse the internal parts, though only TextMaker interprets those parts into a correctly laid-out document. SoftMaker has also been moving its default toward the newer .tmdx package and toward .docx.

What the document holds

Whatever the container generation, a .tmd stores a full word-processing document. That means the text and its character and paragraph styles (fonts, sizes, weights, indents, spacing), page layout (margins, sections, headers and footers), and embedded content such as pictures, drawings, tables and OLE-style objects. It is the direct counterpart of a Word file: everything you would expect from a formatted letter, report or manuscript, saved in TextMaker’s own representation rather than Microsoft’s or OpenDocument’s.

The reason this matters for opening the file is that the layout and styling are meaningful only to a program that understands TextMaker’s model. Unlike a plain-text file, you cannot usefully read a .tmd in Notepad; the words are wrapped in formatting structures. The document’s fidelity, exact fonts, positioning and object placement, is preserved best in TextMaker itself.

TextMaker’s DOCX compatibility is the key

The single most useful technical fact about .tmd is that TextMaker has strong Microsoft Office compatibility and natively reads and writes DOCX and the older DOC. That is the bridge to every other program. Microsoft Word, Google Docs and LibreOffice cannot open a .tmd directly, because none of them implements TextMaker’s proprietary format. But if you open the .tmd in TextMaker (or the free FreeOffice, or the free TextMaker Viewer) and use File → Save As → Word document (.docx), the result opens anywhere.

SoftMaker Office runs on Windows, Linux, macOS and Android, and is one of the few native, Word-compatible office suites available on Linux, which is often why a .tmd appears in the first place. For read-only needs there is a free TextMaker Viewer; for editing without buying the suite there is SoftMaker FreeOffice, whose TextMaker module opens and edits .tmd. TextMaker also exports directly to PDF for a fixed-layout copy, and to ODT for LibreOffice users.

A shared extension: not always a document

The letters “TMD” are reused by several unrelated formats, so a file with this extension is not guaranteed to be a TextMaker document. The most notable clash is the PlayStation TMD 3D-model format, which stores geometry and vertex data for game objects and appears in PSX games and their PC ports (early Resident Evil, for example); it is opened with model-extraction tools, not a word processor. Some other games use .tmd for level or model data, and a legacy TomeRaider e-book application used .tmd for a compiled reference database. If TextMaker reports that a file is not a document, it is very likely one of these game or e-book assets that needs its own dedicated tool.

FAQ

How do I open a TMD without buying SoftMaker Office?

Download SoftMaker FreeOffice, which is free for personal and business use, and open the .tmd in its TextMaker module. If you only need to read or print it, the free TextMaker Viewer is enough.

Can Microsoft Word open a TMD file?

No. Word does not support TextMaker’s format. Open the .tmd in TextMaker or FreeOffice and Save As DOCX, after which Word, Google Docs or LibreOffice can open the result.

My TMD won’t open as a document, could it be something else?

Yes. The extension is also used by the PlayStation 3D-model format, some game level/model data, and an old TomeRaider e-book database. If TextMaker reports it is not a document, it is probably a game asset needing a different tool.

References