---
description: "Learn more about: Document Classes"
title: "Document Classes"
ms.date: "11/04/2016"
f1_keywords: ["vc.classes.document"]
helpviewer_keywords: ["document classes [MFC]"]
ms.assetid: 4bf19b02-0a4f-4319-b68e-cddcba2705cb
---
# Document Classes

Document class objects, created by document-template objects, manage the application's data. You will derive a class for your documents from one of these classes.

Document class objects interact with view objects. View objects represent the client area of a window, display a document's data, and allow users to interact with it. Documents and views are created by a document-template object.

[CDocument](reference/cdocument-class.md)<br/>
The base class for application-specific documents. Derive your document class or classes from `CDocument`.

[COleDocument](reference/coledocument-class.md)<br/>
Used for compound document implementation, as well as basic container support. Serves as a container for classes derived from [CDocItem](reference/cdocitem-class.md). This class can be used as the base class for container documents and is the base class for `COleServerDoc`.

[COleLinkingDoc](reference/colelinkingdoc-class.md)<br/>
A class derived from `COleDocument` that provides the infrastructure for linking. You should derive the document classes for your container applications from this class instead of from `COleDocument` if you want them to support links to embedded objects.

[CRichEditDoc](reference/cricheditdoc-class.md)<br/>
Maintains the list of OLE client items that are in the rich edit control. Used with [CRichEditView](reference/cricheditview-class.md) and [CRichEditCntrItem](reference/cricheditcntritem-class.md).

[COleServerDoc](reference/coleserverdoc-class.md)<br/>
Used as the base class for server-application document classes. `COleServerDoc` objects provide the bulk of server support through interactions with [COleServerItem](reference/coleserveritem-class.md) objects. Visual editing capability is provided using the class library's document/view architecture.

[CHtmlEditDoc](reference/chtmleditdoc-class.md)<br/>
Provides, with [CHtmlEditView](reference/chtmleditview-class.md), the functionality of the WebBrowser HTML editing platform within the context of the MFC document-view architecture.

## Related Classes

Document class objects can be persistent — in other words, they can write their state to a storage medium and read it back. MFC provides the `CArchive` class to facilitate transferring the document's data to a storage medium.

[CArchive](reference/carchive-class.md)<br/>
Cooperates with a [CFile](reference/cfile-class.md) object to implement persistent storage for objects through serialization (see [CObject::Serialize](reference/cobject-class.md#serialize)).

Documents can also contain OLE objects. `CDocItem` is the base class of the server and client items.

[CDocItem](reference/cdocitem-class.md)<br/>
Abstract base class of [COleClientItem](reference/coleclientitem-class.md) and [COleServerItem](reference/coleserveritem-class.md). Objects of classes derived from `CDocItem` represent parts of documents.

## See also

[Class Overview](class-library-overview.md)