How to open an ODF document

Because OpenDocument files are open source, they do not have the problems associated with many vendor-based formats.

Adobe Acrobat is one program that can convert OpenDocument Text (ODT) files into PDFs.

In the business world, OpenDocument file types cover a lot of ground. Word processing files are saved as ODT (OpenDocument Text). Spreadsheet files are called ODS (OpenDocument Spreadsheets). Presentations under ODP (OpenDocument Presentations). OpenDocument Graphics, or ODG, are graphics. Equations and formulas in mathematics are found in ODF (OpenDocument Formula).

Numerous proprietary and open-source programs, including some of the most popular office suites and standalone apps, use the OpenDocument format.

OpenDocument, an XML-based format, was created as an open-source alternative for a range of office software.

One can convert OpenDocument files into other formats, such as Microsoft Word and PDF.

Before sharing OpenOffice documents, you might want to convert them to PDFs in order to maintain compatibility with other programs.

OpenDocument files are text-based and available for download.

Numerous programs are broadly compatible with OpenDocument files.

Numerous programs are broadly compatible with ODF files.

Word processing programs and common applications such as Word, Pages, Google Docs, OpenOffice, TextEdit, WordPad, and others can open ODF files.

Excel is capable of opening ODF spreadsheet files (ODS).

Let’s investigate some ODF file openers.

Open Document Format (ODF) is an open source file format for storing and sharing text, spreadsheets, charts, graphics, and presentations that is zip-compressed and based on the Extensible Markup Language (XML).

OpenDocuments files are saved with extensions that are easily recognizable, much like Microsoft’s proprietary .doc or .xls files.

The objective of ODF is to offer an open standard for data storage that goes beyond vendor-specific proprietary formats and enables any software tool that complies with the standard to handle and access data that is based on ODF.

Calligra Suite, Google Drive, LibreOffice, Microsoft Office (2021 and later), OpenOffice, and Planamesa NeoOffice for the Mac are just a few office productivity tools that support ODF.

In June 2021, Microsoft finally added support for ODF version 1.3. Support for Office LTSC 2021 and Office 2021 subscription-based Microsoft 365 versions became available.

Open a new document in Word, choose Save As, choose a location, and then select the File Type dropdown menu to confirm that Office supports ODF files. Open Document Format needs to be listed as one of the File Type entries.

Now let’s see if anyone can open an ODF file.

OpenDocument files are text-based and available for download.

This implies that regular text editors can be used to open them with ease.

You can quickly save your ODF files in other formats from there as well.

Numerous programs are broadly compatible with ODF files.

Common word processing programs and applications, such as Word, Pages, Google Docs, OpenOffice, TextEdit, WordPad, and more, can readily open ODF files.

Can I open an ODF file in Word? is the next topic.

Word, Excel, and PowerPoint support the Office Open XML (OOXML) format (which uses file extensions .docx, .xlsx, and .pptx) in addition to the ODF 1.3 format (using the file extensions .odt, .ods, and .odp).

Note: As a result of this modification, Office applications can only save in ODF 1.3 format. Files that are ODF 1.2 and older will open as ODF 1.3.

Older versions of Office and other programs that only support the 1.2 format can open files saved in the 1.3 format, but they won’t support the new features when saved.

Here’s how to save your document in the most recent ODF version. With Word:

  1. After choosing the desired folder for the file’s storage, click the SAVE AS TYPE arrow and choose OPENDOCUMENT TEXT (*.ODT) from the list.
  2. Press SAVE.

You can choose to save your worksheet as an OpenDocument Presentation (.odp) in PowerPoint or as an OpenDocument Spreadsheet (.ods) in Excel.

Now let’s examine Microsoft Office’s ability to open ODF files.

The way that data is stored for a specific application is specified by the file format.

Originally, Open XML was created to support the features and functionality of Microsoft Office, and OpenDocument Format (ODF) was created to support the features and functionality of OpenOffice-based productivity suites.

Users of Microsoft Office can now save their Office files in ODF format thanks to Microsoft Office’s support for ODF.

However, users who use unsupported features and save Office files in ODF may notice changes to the file’s functionality and occasionally see a loss of content because Microsoft Office and OpenOffice features aren’t exactly the same or aren’t implemented the same way.

We advise using the Open XML format (.docx/.xlsx/.pptx) for your Office files unless you have a specific reason to use a different format. This format is the default one in all supported versions of Microsoft Office.