How to open ods. How to open ODS? Spreadsheet opendocument ods than open

  • 25.02.2022

ODS files are spreadsheets created in Open Office, LibreOffice Suite and Star Office editors. Such software is distributed free of charge.

The name of the ODS extension is short for OpenDocument Spreadsheet. The format is generally accepted, its use is quite popular in the international community. Office programs for creating such files are free, which is another reason for the widespread demand.

What are ODS files

One of the common varieties of ODS are ODF spreadsheets. They are used to analyze, organize and store all kinds of data based on tables, have an interactive basis. In fact, these files are an alternative to XLS and XLSX related to the Excel editor.

Why ODS and what are its advantages

The ODS format has an open source structure, which becomes an important advantage over files used in commercial software. There are no restrictions on the use of this extension, there is a large selection of programs that can work with it. Many of these products are distributed free of charge.

Programs to open ODS files

Users often have the question of how to open the ods. First of all, you can use the corresponding editors of Open Office, LibreOffice Suite and Star Office for this. The most popular table editing product is Excel, all versions after 2007 support the ODS format. You can use Adobe Acrobat and Reader for this document.

The ODS extension characterizes files used for proper storage and transmission of E-mail. This is another type of file related to Outlook Express software.

Convert ODS to other formats

Sometimes it is more convenient to convert the ODS format than open it in its original form. There are the following options (in brackets the optimal software for converting):

  • XLS, Excel spreadsheets (LibreOffice Calc);
  • CSV, text files with tabular data (IBM Lotus Symphony);
  • HTML, markup with table content (Google Sheets).

You can use other converters. Now it is not necessary to download a program to convert the format, there are many solutions online. For example, Zamzar.

How to open ODS files in Excel 2016 2013 2010 2007

Microsoft Office Spreadsheet Editor can open ODS without installing additional plugins. This applies equally to versions. To open an ODS file, follow these steps:

  1. open Excel;
  2. find the menu "Open other books", after clicking, the file navigator will open;
  3. click "Browse" to select the desired file;
  4. after clicking on the file icon, it will open and be ready to use.

Sometimes, after opening, a window pops up with information that some of the information has been deleted due to the impossibility of displaying it. You just need to click "Close", it does not affect the work. No additional preparation is required before opening an ODS file in Excel 2007.

How to open ODS file in Excel 2003

Early versions of Microsoft Office do not support the ODS format. In order for Excel 2003 to open and edit tables of this type, you need to install a special converter. For example, Sun ODF Plugin for Microsoft Office is easy to find on the Internet. Once the plugin is installed, follow these steps:

  1. open Excel;
  2. go to "Tools" > "Add-ons";
  3. click "Browse";
  4. select a plugin (in accordance with the mentioned plugin, odfaddin.xla is searched, located in the folder where it is installed, usually it is located in Program Files)
  5. check the box next to the plugin and click "OK" (usually the mark is set automatically).

The interface will undergo minor changes, the control panel will display two additional buttons for import and export. As a result, working in Excel 2003 is not much more difficult than with built-in support.

How to open Adobe ODS file

To open ODS in Adobe Acrobat or Reader, you must first convert it to PDF. For this, built-in tools are used. You need to go to "File" > "Create PDF" > "From File", and then select the desired file. After conversion, it is ready to use.

How to open Microsoft ODS file

You can open and edit ODS tables using the appropriate package. Excel 2003 requires the installation of a plug-in; the editor versions 2016, 2013, 2010 and 2007 have all the necessary conditions for this right away.

How to open ODS file browsers

Sometimes you want to view the sent documents (including tables) immediately in the browser, without additionally opening any programs. Some browsers immediately have this feature, for others you need to install plugins. You can also use office programs online.

Open ODS file messengers

Most modern managers have built-in capabilities for viewing documents. This makes it possible to view text and tables immediately after receiving in an additional window.

Open ODS file

Spreadsheets can be opened in all relevant office suite editors. Among the free options, Open Office, LibreOffice Suite, and Star Office are the most common.

Ways to open ODS documents

There are several options for how to open ODS. The result of this will not change, just one or another option is more convenient for each person.

Method 1: launch through the window for opening documents

To do this, first open the editor. Then click on "File" and "Open File". In the navigator, select the file, after which you can start working with it.

Method 2: launch by double-clicking the mouse button

You can open the file by double-clicking, this action will launch the editor with an open table. It is carried out in the program that is tied to this format. If you do not want to choose each time how to open ODS, follow these steps:

  1. right-click on the file, select "Properties";
  2. next to the line "Application" find "Change" and click;
  3. select a program;
  4. tick the appropriate box;
  5. click OK.

ODS is an open spreadsheet format based on OASIS. The document consists of columns, rows and cells, the data is stored in XML. It also contains text, images, diagrams. The extension is completely free, which means you can open it absolutely in any spreadsheet program, besides, the format is a direct alternative to the xlsx format, which is used in MS Excel since version 2007. However, since ODS does not belong to excel, it will work he will be bad with it, it is best to view and edit ODS in his "native" programs, which, unlike Excel, are free.

Free programs that can open and edit .ods.

  1. - is part of Gnome Office, distributed free of charge. Can open most spreadsheet formats, including ods. The editor has over 214 unique features not found anywhere else, and thanks to its open source code, you can add your own or edit an existing one.
  2. - A free office suite, from which the .ods extension came. The program has a nice and intuitive interface similar to MS Excel. Open source code allows you to change the functions of the program.
  3. - Spreadsheet editor from the free office suite LibreOffice. It has a nice interface, many functions, support for a vast number of formats. You can also export the table to PDF.

If your computer has antivirus program can scan all files on the computer, as well as each file individually. You can scan any file by right-clicking on the file and selecting the appropriate option to scan the file for viruses.

For example, in this figure, file my-file.ods, then you need to right-click on this file, and in the file menu select the option "scan with AVG". Selecting this option will open AVG Antivirus and scan the file for viruses.


Sometimes an error can result from incorrect software installation, which may be due to a problem that occurred during the installation process. It may interfere with your operating system Associate your ODS file with the correct software application, influencing the so-called "file extension associations".

Sometimes simple reinstall Microsoft Excel may solve your problem by correctly linking ODS to Microsoft Excel. In other cases, file association problems may result from bad software programming developer, and you may need to contact the developer for further assistance.


Advice: Try updating Microsoft Excel to the latest version to make sure you have the latest fixes and updates.


This may seem too obvious, but often the ODS file itself may be causing the problem. If you received a file via an email attachment or downloaded it from a website and the download process was interrupted (for example, by a power outage or other reason), the file may be corrupted. If possible, try getting a fresh copy of the ODS file and try opening it again.


Carefully: A corrupted file can cause collateral damage to previous or existing malware on your PC, so it's important to keep your computer up to date with an up-to-date antivirus.


If your ODS file associated with the hardware on your computer to open the file you may need update device drivers associated with this equipment.

This problem usually associated with media file types, which depend on the successful opening of the hardware inside the computer, for example, sound card or video card. For example, if you are trying to open an audio file but cannot open it, you may need to update sound card drivers.


Advice: If when you try to open an ODS file you receive .SYS file related error message, the problem could probably be associated with corrupted or outdated device drivers that need to be updated. This process can be facilitated by using driver update software such as DriverDoc.


If the steps didn't solve the problem and you are still having problems opening ODS files, this may be due to lack of available system resources. Some versions of ODS files may require a significant amount of resources (eg. memory/RAM, processing power) to open properly on your computer. This problem is quite common if you are using fairly old computer hardware and a much newer operating system at the same time.

This problem can occur when the computer is having a hard time completing a task because the operating system (and other services running in the background) can consume too many resources to open ODS file. Try closing all applications on your PC before opening OpenDocument Spreadsheet. By freeing up all available resources on your computer, you will ensure the best possible conditions for trying to open the ODS file.


If you completed all the above steps and your ODS file still won't open, you may need to run hardware upgrade. In most cases, even with older hardware versions, the processing power can still be more than enough for most user applications (unless you're doing a lot of CPU-intensive work like 3D rendering, financial/science modeling, or media-intensive work) . In this way, it is likely that your computer does not have enough memory(more commonly referred to as "RAM", or RAM) to perform the task of opening a file.

ODS is an open format for spreadsheets made according to the OpenDocument Format (ODF) standard. This format is distributed free of charge and uses the standards of the International Organization for Standardization. The presented format is popular in many world countries due to its support by many programs, including such pillars as OpenOffice and LibreOffice Suite. In this article we will talk about what kind of format it is - ODS, how and with what applications these files can be opened.

What are ODS files?

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ODF spreadsheets (one of the varieties of ODS) are simple, interactive file objects used to parse, organize, and store all kinds of table-based data. Applications that use the ODS format are often able to save files also in the XLSX format, which is more acceptable and native for MS Office family software products. Today we will tell you what programs can open ODS files.

How to open ODS files in Excel 2016, 2013, 2010, 2007?

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ODS resources can be opened with any modern office suite, including MS Office. Office is able to open ODS files even by default, and this does not require the installation of any additional plugins.

How to open an .ods file in Excel 2003?

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In older versions, namely earlier ones, there is no native support for ODS. Instead, you can install the "Sun ODF Plugin for Microsoft Office" converter plugin, after which these files will open successfully and quickly. The presented plugin is available at the following link, you just need to click the "Download" button.

As you can see for yourself, working with ODS resources in Excel 2003 takes a bit of effort. If you first take care of installing a more up-to-date version of Office, then in the future you will not have any problems with support for ODF standard spreadsheets.

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Video instruction

Documents with the .ods extension are Open Document spreadsheet files that were created in the Star Office or Open Office applications. This format was created by the OASIS consortium, is international and is used without restrictions.

More about ODF format (OpenDocument Format)

ods files can contain editable office documents (xls and xlsx files including text files), databases, presentations, drawings.

The goal of the developers of OpenDocument was to create a format that would be an alternative to closed formats such as .

Programs that work with ODS

We recommend using OpenOffice or LibreOffice to open files in the ODS format - both programs are free and provide a full set of functions for working with the format in question. This is the best option, ideologically correct - with open formats, you can and should use free tools. With LibreOffice installed on your computer, there should be no problems opening an ODS file - the necessary associations are already present in the system, and all you need to start working with ODS is to double-click on the file with the left mouse button.

For people who are accustomed to Microsoft products, below are instructions on how to open and work with ods files using the programs included in MS Office.

How to work with ODS using MS Office? Firstly, you can open such a file in Excel 2007 and higher. To do this, in Excel you need to open the "Add-ins" menu and select "Import ODF file" in the drop-down list. The "Import ODF Table" dialog box will appear, where you will need to select the desired ODF file. In this case, you do not have to install any additional add-ons. But what if you need to open ods, and the version of office installed on your computer is old? Let's move on to the second option.

Second way. First, right-click on the ods file, then click on "Open with", then - "Choose a program". Next, select Excel, while marking "Apply to all files of this type" using the pointer. Click OK.

If you have Office 2003 or 2000 on your PC, you will need the Sun ODF converter plug-in. How to connect it to Excel? You need to follow these simple steps:

  1. Open Excel;
  2. We click "Tools", then - "Add-ons", then click on the item "Browse". Next, select the plugin file;
  3. After that, “Sun ODF Plugin” will appear at the top - a new panel. On it there will be an item "Import file .." - you must select it. Then find the required file and click "Open".

Converting to ODS file format excel

If you want to convert your current Excel files to an open format for any reason, you must do the following:

To begin with, it is worth considering that xls and xlsx files are converted to this format differently in different versions of Office.

For Excel 2003 or 2000:

  1. Click the item "Export ODF file";
  2. Choose in the next window where to save the file;
  3. Specify the file name and path where the file will be saved after conversion.

For Excel 2007 and above (2010, 2013, etc.):

  1. On the tool ribbon, select "Add-ons";
  2. Click "Export ODF file";
  3. Then select the save path and name the file.

It is worth considering that in cases where there are calculated values ​​(formulas, etc.) in the source file, it is worth double-checking them in the final file. Also, there may be problems when using complex formatting, which can “go” during the conversion process.

ods files are completely free to use, which is their main advantage. As you can see, working with files of this format in LibreOffice, OpenOffice and Excel products is very simple if you know some of the features.