How to open ods. LibreOffice vs Excel - what is the best way to open and how to convert an ODS file? Opening in Excel

Users use files daily various formats, and occasionally encounter elements that have unknown extensions. Each of the existing formats has its own specifics, features and properties. Thus, files related to certain programs, may often not be viewed using other software. Objects with the *.ods extension are spreadsheets, but unlike *.xls and *.xlsx documents created in Excel, ODS is considered open format, available for free use without restrictions. However, many users experience difficulties opening such documents, especially when the device does not have the necessary software. In this article, we will look at how and how to open the ODS format.

Options for opening a file with the ODS extension.

The ODS (Open Documents System) file format is used in OpenOffice, LibreOffice Suite, StarOffice editors, it can be freely used and distributed. The file content includes tables, images, text, presentations, and other content. The ODS format, developed on the basis of XML, has become a generally accepted and popular standard in the international community, it can easily replace other well-known closed type formats, for example, created by applications from the Microsoft office suite. This type file has advantages over others used in commercial programs due to its open source structure. Objects can be stored, their contents edited, and transferred. Software already installed on the computer can open a file with the *.ods extension. different ways This can be done depending on the tool used, including by converting to the preferred format.

Opening ODS using Excel

Windows OS users typically use the package Microsoft programs Office, in its arsenal there is Excel, a program that works with tables. Using the software, you can open not only “native” documents, but also ODS type ones. Manipulations in new versions of the software are similar to those for launching other Excel files:

• In the menu, click “Open other books.”
• Click “Browse”, find and select the desired object.
• Confirm the action with the “Open” button.

Once the document is opened, it can be edited exactly like xls and xlsx documents. Starting from the 2010 version of Excel, there should be no difficulties with opening; the manipulations are similar to opening Excel files. Earlier versions will also be able to open ODS, but this will require different steps. For example, Excel 2003 requires the use of a plugin, since this version was created much earlier than the ODS format itself was released (in 2006). At the same time, even in new versions, the correct display of the contents of the document is not guaranteed. In some situations, when editing, not all elements can be imported, then the program will restore the lost data, about which a corresponding message will be displayed, although this will not affect the integrity of the content. You can open an ODS file in new versions of Excel either by following the path “File” - “Open”, then select the required element in the window that appears, or from Explorer. If the object is not displayed in the catalog, switch the format in the same window by setting the desired value.

Another method involves launching an element not from the program, but from Explorer. In the case where OpenOffice Calc is not available on the computer or another application is not specified as a means of working with these documents, they can be launched by double-clicking on the file, Excel will recognize the element as a table and open it. If you have Calc on your device, the document will open in this software. But if there is a need to open the file specifically in Excel, then this can be done by right-clicking on the object and selecting from context menu the “Open with” option, and then from the list – Excel. To always open ODS using the Microsoft tool, you must specify it as the program to open all files of that type. You can set the default application using different methods. The easiest way is from the context menu (right-click on the file) to go to the “Open with” – “Select program” option, then in the window select the desired software from the recommended ones and check the box next to “Use the selected program for all files of this type.”

Now let's look at what should be done when an earlier one is used Office package. So, in Excel 2007, you can start working with a file in the application interface, as in subsequent versions of the software, or by clicking on the shortcut. To use the second option, you need to do the following:

• Launch Excel and go to “Add-Ins”.
• Here we select the appropriate item that allows you to import files in ODF format.
• The same can be done using the File menu, using the option to import a spreadsheet in ODF format.
• In the window that appears, select the required file and open it.

Excel 2003 does not provide support for ODS files, because the program was released earlier than the format, but you can open an element with this extension using the Sun ODF plugin. So, to open objects we perform the following steps:

• Download the plugin (installed as standard).
• After installing it, the Sun ODF Plugin panel appears, where there is a button “Import file in ODF format”, click on it, then on “Import file...”.
• In the window that appears, select an element and click the corresponding button.

Opening ODS in OpenOffice

The OpenOffice office suite is freely distributed and can be downloaded for various operating systems (Windows, Linux, macOS and others, including Android). If there is no Russian interface, you can separately download a localizer for it. Let's look at how to open an ODS file using this software. When the program is running, do the following to run the element:

• On the top panel, click “File”.
• In the menu, select the “Open” option.
• Mark the required *.ods element and click the “Open” button.

The document is available for editing, after which it is saved without problems (the option is in the “File” menu) with the path for saving indicated.

How to open ODS without programs

If you don’t want to bother installing applications, your device doesn’t have the necessary software, and the problem of opening an ODS file is a one-time problem, you can use another method. It is convenient because there is no need to install any programs, but to implement it you will need Google account and internet connection. One of the services of the Good Corporation, namely Google Drive equipped with a built-in document editor that supports, among other things, working with ODS. To open a file of this type, you must log in to the service (create account Google in its absence), after which we do the following:

• Upload the file to Google Drive.
• Open it and select “Open in” on the top panel. Google app Tables."

Now you can perform the necessary editing actions on the files, after which the object is saved in the previous format. The built-in editor also allows you to create ODS type elements in it.

How to open this format on Android

Mobile operating systems also support office software. The AndrOpen Office package has become a popular application on Android; it can be used to edit, insert, and export data to OpenOffice. The application supports a wide range of formats. Package includes text editor, a tool for creating graphic presentations, a level editor, graphic editor, notepad and dynamic tables. So, you can open an object of the type in question in the same way as in other programs that support the format.

We've covered enough tools to view and edit ODS data. However, in some cases it is advisable to convert an element into another format, for example XLS, CSV or HTML, using the tools LibreOffice Calc, IBM Lotus Symphony, Google Sheets or other converters, including online services that allow you to instantly convert a document to the desired format .

ODS format for lately gained great popularity. For those who don’t know, these files contain data from spreadsheets, or, to be more precise, free spreadsheets. Its main competitor is, of course, XLS, with which the well-known Excel program works. But which application works with the ODS format? How to open it? This is exactly what we will talk about in this article.

Programs for working with ODS

Before figuring out how to open an ODS file, let's understand the format itself. The first thing to know is, as mentioned, the free spreadsheet format. It was created in 2006 under the leadership of the OpenDocument office suite development team, and immediately became standardized in all of their programs. At that time, the market was dominated by Microsoft Office with the XLS extension, but their tables were not free, so when the developers learned that the ODS format had appeared, they immediately began to popularize it.

Currently, other program developers have begun to take this format into account, and almost all spreadsheet editors have a function for interacting with ODS. The article will describe three popular methods, and you will know how to open ODS.

Method #1: OpenOffice

It was already said a little higher that ODS is a standard format for the spreadsheet editor from the standard OpenOffice package; therefore, to open a file of this type, you should first of all use the Calc program from this set of programs. Let's look at ways to open of this format on a specific example.

By installing the OpenOffice software package in operating system, all files with the ODS extension will be associated with the Calc program, so to open them you just need to double-click on the desired file. Or use the following instructions:

1. Run file manager"Conductor".
2. Go to the directory with the required file.
3. Double click on it. Or click right click mouse and select "Open".

It is worth clarifying here that this method will only work if the program settings have not been changed by you. IN otherwise, you can return them back or use the following instructions:

1. Launch the OpenOffice program.
2. In the main menu, select "Open". By the way, the same action can be performed by pressing Ctrl+O.
3. In the Explorer window that appears, go to the folder with the ODS file.
4. Select it.
5. Click the "Open" button.

Now you know how to open an ODS file, but this is just the first program of three, so let's move on to the second.

Method #2: LibreOffice

Plastic bag office programs LibreOffice is similar to OpenOffice in many ways, and for good reason. The fact is that they have the same developer, it’s just that at some point the staff was divided in two - one part of the team continued to develop OpenOffice, and the other started creating LibreOffice. It follows that the programs work the same way and the instructions for opening ODS files are similar:

1. Launch Calc from the LibreOffice office suite.
2. Click on the "File" item, which is located on the top panel.
3. From the drop-down menu, select "Open".
4. In the Explorer window that will then appear, go to the directory with the ODS file.
5. Having previously selected the file, click the "Open" button.

As you can see, the instructions are similar to the previous one, the changes concern only the application interface, and even then to a small extent. Now you know how to open the ODS format, let's now move on to the last method.

Method #3: Excel

This program has already been mentioned earlier, as far as you can remember, Excel supports the XLS format, but when the ODS extension began to gain popularity, the development team from Microsoft had to take it into account, accordingly, they added ODS support to their spreadsheet editor. Here's how to open an ODS file in it:

1. Open Excel.
2. Click the "File" button or the Microsoft Office icon (depending on the program version).
3. Select "Open" from the menu.
4. In Explorer, navigate to the folder with the ODS file and open it.

The file will be opened. The program may offer to adapt the format to XLS, in this case click “Yes”. Now you know how to open an ODS file, we hope the article was useful to you.

ODS is a popular spreadsheet format. We can say that this is a kind of competitor to the Excel xls and xlsx formats. In addition, ODS, unlike the above analogues, is an open format, that is, it can be used free of charge and without restrictions. However, it also happens that a document with the ODS extension needs to be opened in Excel. Let's find out how this can be done.

OpenDocument Spreadsheet (ODS), developed by the OASIS community, was intended to be a free and open source analogue to Excel formats. The world saw it in 2006. Currently, ODS is one of the main formats of a number of table processors, including the popular free application OpenOffice Calc. But this format’s “friendship” naturally did not work out with Excel, since they are natural competitors. If you open documents in ODS Excel format standard means knows how, then Microsoft refused to implement the ability to save an object with such an extension in its brainchild.

There can be many reasons to open the ODS format in Excel. For example, on a computer where you need to run a spreadsheet, there may simply not be an OpenOffice Calc application or another analogue, but it will be installed Microsoft package Office. It may also happen that an operation should be performed on the table using tools that are available only in Excel. In addition, some users, among the many spreadsheet processors, have mastered the skills to work at the proper level only with Excel. That’s when the question of opening a document in this particular program becomes relevant.

Opening the format in Excel versions, starting with Excel 2010, is quite simple. The launch procedure is not much different from opening any other spreadsheet document in this application, including objects with the xls and xlsx extension. Although there are some nuances here, which we will discuss in detail below. But in earlier versions of this table processor, the opening procedure is significantly different. This is due to the fact that the ODS format only appeared in 2006. For developers Microsoft opportunity the launch of this type of document for Excel 2007 had to be implemented almost in parallel with its development by the OASIS community. For Excel 2003 it was necessary to release a separate plugin, since this version was created long before the release of the ODS format.

However, even in new versions of Excel it is not always possible to display the specified spreadsheets correctly and without losses. Sometimes, when using formatting, not all elements can be imported and the application has to recover lost data. If problems occur, a corresponding information message appears. But, as a rule, this does not affect the integrity of the data in the table.

Let's first take a closer look at opening ODS in current versions Excel, and then we will briefly describe how this procedure occurs in older ones.

Method 1: launch through the document opening window

First of all, let's focus on launching ODS through the document opening window. This procedure is very similar to the procedure for opening books in xls or xlsx format in a similar way, but has one small but significant difference.

Method 2: launch by double clicking the mouse button

In addition, the standard option for opening a file is to launch it by double-clicking the left mouse button on its name. In the same way, you can open ODS in Excel.

If the OpenOffice Calc application is not installed on your computer and you have not entrusted another program with opening the ODS format by default, then there will be no problems at all with launching this method in Excel. The file will open because Excel recognizes it as a table. But if installed on PC office suite OpenOffice, then when double click mouse button on the file, it will launch in Calc, not Excel. In order to launch it in Excel, you will have to carry out some manipulations.

But the method described above is only suitable for opening an object once. If you plan to constantly open ODS documents in Excel, and not in other applications, then it makes sense to do just that this application the default program for working with files with the specified extension. After this, you will not need to carry out additional manipulations each time to open a document, but simply double-click with the left mouse button on the desired object with the ODS extension.

There is another option to make Excel the default application for opening objects with the ODS extension. This option is more complex, but, nevertheless, there are users who prefer to use it.

1. Click on the button "Start" Windows, located in the lower left corner of the screen. In the menu that opens, select the item "Default Programs".

   

   If on the menu "Start" you do not find this item, then select the position "Control Panel".

   

   In the window that opens Control panels go to section "Programs".

   

   In the next window, select a subsection "Default Programs".



2. After this, the same window is launched that would open if we clicked on the item "Default Programs" directly in the menu "Start". Choosing a position .



3. Window opens “Matching file types or protocols to specific programs”. In the list of all file extensions that are registered in system registry your Windows instance, look for the name ".ods". After you have found it, select this name. Next, click on the button "Change program...", which is located on the right side of the window, above the list of extensions.



4. The familiar application selection window opens again. Here you also need to click on the name "Microsoft Excel", and then click on the button "OK", as we did in the previous version.

   

   But in some cases, you may not find "Microsoft Excel" in the list of recommended applications. This is especially likely if you are using older versions of this program that did not yet have an association with ODS files. This can also happen due to system failures or because someone forcibly removed Excel from the list of recommended programs for documents with the ODS extension. In this case, in the application selection window, click on the button "Review…".



5. After completing the last action, a window opens "Open with...". It opens in the program folder on your computer ( « Program Files» ). You need to go to the directory where the file that runs Excel is located. To do this, move to the folder called "Microsoft Office".



6. After this, in the directory that opens, you need to select the directory that contains the name "Office" and office suite version number. For example, for Excel 2010 this will be the name "Office14". As a rule, only one Microsoft office suite is installed on a computer. So just choose a folder that contains the word "Office", and click on the button "Open".



7. In the directory that opens, look for a file with the name "EXCEL.EXE". If your Windows does not have extensions enabled, it may be called "EXCEL". This is the launch file for the application of the same name. Select it and click on the button "Open".



8. After this, we return to the program selection window. Even if earlier among the list of applications the names "Microsoft Excel" was not, now it will definitely appear. Select it and click on the button "OK".



9. This will update the file type mapping window.



10. As you can see in the file type association window, now documents with the ODS extension will be associated with Excel by default. That is, when you double click on the icon this file left mouse button, it will automatically open in Excel. All we have to do is complete the work in the file type comparison window by clicking on the button "Close".

Method 3: Open ODS format in older versions of Excel

And now, as promised, we will briefly dwell on the nuances of opening the ODS format in older versions of Excel, in particular in Excel 2007, 2003.

In Excel 2007, there are two options for opening a document with the specified extension:

• through the program interface;
• by clicking on its icon.

The first option, in fact, is no different from the similar method of opening in Excel 2010 and later versions, which we described just above. But let’s look at the second option in more detail.

1. Go to the tab "Add-ons". Select an item "Import a file in ODF format". You can also perform the same procedure through the menu "File" by selecting a position "Import a spreadsheet in ODF format".
2. Executing any of these options launches the import window. In it you should select the object you need with the ODS extension, select it and click on the button "Open". After this, the document will be launched.

In Excel 2003, everything is much more complicated, since this version was released before the ODS format was developed. Therefore, in order to open documents with this extension, you must install the Sun ODF plugin. Installation of the specified plugin is performed as usual.

1. After installing the plugin, a panel called "Sun ODF Plugin". There will be a button on it "Import a file in ODF format". We click on it. Next you need to click on the name "Import file...".
2. The import window opens. You need to select the document you are looking for and click on the button "Open". After this it will be launched.

As you can see, opening ODS format tables in new versions of Excel (2010 and higher) should not cause difficulties. If anyone has problems, this lesson will help you overcome them. Although, despite the ease of launch, it is not always possible to display in Excel this document without loss. But in outdated versions of the program, opening objects with the specified extension is associated with certain difficulties, up to the need to install a special plugin.

You can open and save files in the OpenDocument Spreadsheet (ODS) format, which is used by some spreadsheet editors such as OpenOffice.org Calc and Google Docs.

Select File > Open > Computer > Review.

To view only files saved in the OpenDocument format in the list of file types (next to the File name) select item .

Find the file you want to open and then click Open.

Note:

Important: If you need an Excel version of the file, save it in a suitable format (such as XLSX) and then save it again as an OpenDocument Spreadsheet (ODS).

On the list File type select item OpenDocument Spreadsheet (*.ods).

Enter a file name and save it.

When opening or saving worksheets in the OpenDocument Spreadsheet (ODS) format, some formatting may be lost. This is because the OpenDocument Spreadsheet and Excel applications support different features and options, such as formatting and tables. For more information about the differences between OpenDocument Spreadsheet and Excel formats, see Differences between OpenDocument Spreadsheet (ODS) and Excel (XLSX) formats.

Advice:

Open an OpenDocument Spreadsheet in Excel

Note: When you open an OpenDocument table in Excel, the formatting may be different from the formatting in the application that created it. This is due to differences between applications that use the OpenDocument format.

Saving an Excel file in OpenDocument spreadsheet format

More information about the OpenDocument format

When you open or save sheets in OpenDocument Spreadsheet (ODS) format, some formatting options may be lost. This is due to various features and options, such as formatting and tables, that are supported in OpenDocument and Excel spreadsheet applications. For more information about the differences between the OpenDocument spreadsheet format and the Excel format, see Differences between the OpenDocument Spreadsheet (ODS) format and the Excel Online (XLSX) format.

Advice: Before you send a file to someone else, it is recommended that you close the file and reopen it to see what it looks like in the OpenDocument Spreadsheet (ODS) format. To compare the Excel format with the OpenDocument Spreadsheet format, first save the file as Excel format, and then open the Excel version and the OpenDocument Spreadsheet version, preview the files, and check them for differences.

Options for opening ods files in Excel (Excel).
Let's consider several options for opening this format in Excel. It should be said that it still allows you to open Excel, but the company’s management refused to implement the preservation of this format in Excel.
Why open ods in excel at all? This depends on several factors. This may be due to the lack of an application, usually openoffeice calc, the main application that works with the ods format, or it is customary to do analyzes in excel, and when only with the help of its tools this is possible. Since the ods format was invented in 2006, this circumstance causes a number of difficulties with Excel programs released before this year. Working with ods formats in Excel older than 2006 is not particularly difficult. Data may still be lost, this should be monitored, especially since Excel systems let you know about this with a message in the program.

And so let’s first consider the work of opening the ods format in the latest releases of Excel.
One of the easy ways is through the document opening menu.
Opening excel program, looking for “file”. Fig 2.

A standard Excel type window will appear before your eyes, which is designed to open excel files. In it we look for our document in ods format. It is usually located in a folder known to the user.
The next step is to change the position of the format switch. We look at the name of the table as shown in the figure. As a result of the solutions described, we will see ods files.
Select with the mouse required file and click “open” to start the process of activating our ods format file. Fig 4