On a Mac, you can close all your Word docs, but Word will still be open. On a PC, if you close all your Word docs, the Word application shuts down. Is there a way on a PC to keep Word open even with no specific Word doc open?

If you are using the desktop version of Word on Windows it also stays open when all documents are closed.

Thanks for your reply, Italophile. I've always been a Mac user, and I just don't understand the PC world. When I click that X in the upper-right corner (in any application), it doesn't just close the file, it closes the application.

Not a big deal, I'm just curious if other Mac users have noticed this.

You can use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+W which will close the file but not Word.
Otherwise, you can go under File and choose Close from the backstage.
Create a List of Keyboard Shortcuts in Microsoft Word

Ctrl+F4 (or Ctrl+Fn+F4) would also work if you just want to close the document.

__________________
Stefan Blom
Microsoft Word MVP

Microsoft 365 apps for business
Windows 11 Professional

Thanks to Charles and Stefan! Much appreciated. I should have tried Ctrl+W because it's just like Command-W on a Mac.