What is the SVD file format?
.svd is an autosave file created by legacy versions of Microsoft Word. SVD files are automatically generated for open documents and written at set intervals to preserve document data against unexpected program or system closure. By default, autosave files from this era were saved to the %AppData%\Microsoft\Word\ path.
The .svd format is structurally identical to a .doc file - both use the OLE2 Compound File Binary Format. The .svd extension simply signals that the file was produced by Word's autosave mechanism rather than a normal save. Files from Word 6, Word 95, and Word 97 may carry this extension; Word 2000 and later switched to the .asd extension for AutoRecovery files.
Data recovery
Data saved in .svd files cannot be accessed directly through the standard Microsoft Word interface. Recovery must be performed using the dedicated option accessed from the File menu, or by renaming the .svd file to .doc and opening it in Word directly. A document will open containing all the data from the original, including the latest changes present at the time the autosave file was last written.
Security & safety
RISK: MEDIUMSVD files, like .doc files, can contain embedded OLE objects and macros (VBA) in the legacy Word Binary Format. Risk is low for pure text autosave files, but medium if the original document contained macros. Open in a protected view or in LibreOffice (which isolates macros better) if the source is untrusted.
Format details
in a nutshell- Singular Value Decomposition data file - Some scientific and mathematical applications (MATLAB, numerical analysis tools) export SVD matrix decomposition results with the .svd extension.
- STATISTICA Data File - Older versions of STATISTICA (StatSoft) used .svd for saved data views/documents.
Programs that open SVD files
Windows3 apps
Microsoft Word
Paid Rename the file from .svd to .doc, then open in Word via File → Open. If Word still refuses, use File → Open and set file type to 'All Files'. 
LibreOffice Writer
Open-source Rename .svd to .doc, then open in LibreOffice Writer. Full support for legacy Word Binary Format. 
Technical details
deep spec| Container | OLE2 Compound File Binary Format (identical to .doc) |
| Byte order | Little-endian |
| Magic bytes | D0 CF 11 E0 A1 B1 1A E1 (OLE2 compound document signature) |
| Encoding | Binary |
| Encryption | Optional (same password encryption as .doc) |
| Typical size | 10 KB - 50 MB (mirrors the original document size) |
| Internal structure | Word Document stream + Summary Information streams (same as .doc) |
| Associated OS | Windows |
| Default save path | %AppData%\Microsoft\Word\ |
| Successor format | .asd (AutoRecovery) in Word 2000+ |
| Recovery method | Rename to .doc and open in Word, or use File > Recover Unsaved Documents |
| Released | ~1994 (Word 6 / Word for Windows 95 era) |
| Latest version | N/A - legacy format; modern Word uses .asd (AutoRecovery) and .wbk (backup) |
SVD conversions
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