When you save a file from Microsoft Excel 2010 in the OpenDocument Spreadsheet (.ods) format, and then open it again in Excel 2010, you might notice some formatting differences between the Excel 2010 version and the OpenDocument version. Likewise, you might also see formatting differences when you open an OpenDocument file in Excel 2010. This is because of the different features that the file formats support.
Note The differences you will experience when you work with the two file formats are generally constrained to formatting differences and feature availability. Data and content will convert, but how you format and interact with the data and content might be different between the formats.
If you want to switch your default file format to or from ODF or OpenXML (or other formats), do the following:
- Click the File tab.
- Under Help, click Options.
- Click Save, and then under Save workbooks, in the Save files in this format list, click the file format that you want to use by default.
What happens when I save a Excel 2010 presentation in the OpenDocument Spreadsheet format?
The table below shows which Excel 2010 features are fully, partially, or not supported in the OpenDocument Spreadsheet (.ods) format.
- Supported Both Excel 2010 and the OpenDocument Spreadsheet format support this feature. Content, formatting, and usability will not be lost.
- Partially Supported Both Excel 2010 and the OpenDocument Spreadsheet format support this feature, but formatting and usability might be affected. No text or data is lost, but formatting and how you work with text or graphics might be different.
- Not Supported The feature in Excel 2010 is not supported in the OpenDocument Spreadsheet format. If you plan to save your Excel 2010 document in the OpenDocument Spreadsheet format, do not use this feature or you risk losing content, formatting, and usability of that part of your document.
For information about graphic features Microsoft Office 2010 that are fully, partially, or not supported in the OpenDocument Format, see the Graphic Elements table at the end of this article.
Note If you are using Microsoft Excel Starter 2010, not all the features listed for Excel 2010 are supported in Excel Starter. For more information about the features available in Excel Starter, see Excel Starter feature support.
| Area |
Subarea |
Level of Support |
Comments |
| Formatting |
Row Heights/Column widths |
Supported |
Appearance should be similar. |
| Formatting |
Cell |
Supported |
|
| Hyperlinks |
|
Supported |
There might be issues with Hyperlink styles. |
| Formatting |
Cell styles |
Supported |
|
| Print |
Print Ranges |
Supported |
|
| Print |
Repeat Rows/Columns |
Not Supported |
|
| Print |
Page breaks |
Supported |
|
| Print |
Header/Footer |
Partially Supported |
When you save the file in .ods format and open it again in Excel, Image, First page or Odd/even options are not supported. |
| Formulas |
|
Supported |
|
| Formulas |
Names |
Partially Supported |
When you save the file in .ods format and open it again in Excel, Local Names, Named expressions, and names to discontinuous ranges are not supported. |
| Cell Comments |
|
Partially Supported |
Comments with content are round-tripped. Formatting on the comment might not be supported when you save the file in .ods format and open it again in Excel. |
| Data Tools |
Group & Outline |
Supported |
|
| OLE Objects |
|
Supported |
|
| Settings |
Window Settings |
Not Supported |
|
| Settings |
Sheet/Book settings |
Not Supported |
|
| Protection |
Sheet Protection |
Partially Supported |
When you save the file in .ods format and open it again in Excel, protection without a password is supported. However, files with a password-protected sheet cannot be saved or opened. |
| Protection |
Information Rights Management (IRM) |
Not Supported |
Files with IRM turned on cannot be saved. |
| Protection |
Encryption |
Not Supported |
Files with of this type protection cannot be saved. |
| Data Tools |
Data Validation |
Partially Supported |
When you save the file in .ods format and open it again in Excel, some formula type Data Validation cannot be saved. |
| External Data |
Web Queries |
Supported |
|
| External Data |
QueryTables |
Partially Supported |
Some settings, such as inserted columns, are not supported. |
| Tables |
Total Rows |
Not Supported |
|
| Tables |
Table Styles |
Not Supported |
|
| Data Tools |
Sort |
Partially Supported |
Some advanced settings are not supported. |
| Data Tools |
Subtotal |
Partially Supported |
When you save the file in .ods format and open it again in Excel, the formulas themselves are supported, but the settings for re-applying are not supported. |
| Data Tools |
Filter |
Partially Supported |
Basic filtering is supported, but the Filter features added in Excel 2010 are not supported. |
| PivotTable |
Styles |
Not Supported |
|
| PivotTable |
Layout |
Partially Supported |
When you save the file in .ods format and open it again in Excel, some layouts, such as compact axis, are not supported. |
| PivotTable |
Calculated fields |
Not Supported |
|
| PivotTable |
Grouping |
Partially Supported |
|
| PivotTables |
OLAP Pivots |
Not Supported |
|
| Data Tools |
Consolidation |
Not Supported |
|
| Shared Workbooks |
|
Not Supported |
|
| Charts |
Data labels |
Partially Supported |
When you save the file in .ods format and open it again in Excel, some Data Labels are not supported. |
| Charts |
Data tables |
Not Supported |
|
| Charts |
Trendlines |
Partially Supported |
When you save the file in .ods format and open it again in Excel, some Trendlines are not supported. |
| Charts |
Error bars |
Partially Supported |
When you save the file in .ods format and open it again in Excel, some Error Bars are not supported. |
| Charts |
Drop Lines |
Not Supported |
|
| Charts |
Hi-Low lines |
Not Supported |
|
| Charts |
Leader lines on data labels |
Not Supported |
|
| Charts |
Filled Radar Charts |
Not Supported |
|
| Charts |
Legends |
Partially Supported |
When you save the file in .ods format and open it again in Excel, some settings are not supported. |
| Charts |
PivotCharts |
Not Supported |
. |
| charts |
Chart Sheets |
Not Supported |
|
| Charts |
Pie of Pie or Bar of Pie |
Not Supported |
|
| OLAP Formulas |
|
Not Supported |
|
| charts |
Shapes on charts |
Not Supported |
|
Graphics Features
The table below shows which Excel 2010 graphics features are fully, partially, or not supported in the OpenDocument Format (.ods).
- Supported The Excel 2010 format and the OpenDocument Format support this feature. Graphics using this feature generally appear and behave the same in either format.
- Partially Supported The Excel 2010 format and the OpenDocument Format support this feature, but graphics might appear different between the formats. No data is generally lost between the formats, but formatting and how you work with these graphics might be different.
- Not Supported Because of the unique differences of features and implementation between the Excel 2010 format and the OpenDocument Format, this feature is not supported in OpenDocument Format. If you plan to save your document in an OpenDocument Format, do not use these features in Excel 2010.
| Basic Shapes |
Level of support |
Comments |
|
| Shapes |
Supported |
|
|
| Text boxes |
Supported |
Supported except for objects inside text boxes. The objects inside the text box are dropped when you open an OpenDocument file. |
|
| WordArt |
Partially Supported |
ODF does not support the WordArt options in Excel. As a result, WordArt is converted to a text box on save. The text and base text color are maintained but WordArt effects and formatting are lost. |
|
| 3D shapes options |
Not Supported |
|
|
| Pictures |
Supported |
Supported except for the insert and link option that are not supported in ODF. |
|
| SmartArt diagrams |
Supported |
Converted to a group of shapes. |
|
| ActiveX controls |
Not Supported |
|
|
| Excel form controls |
Not Supported |
|
|
| Objects in charts |
Supported |
Converted to a group containing the chart and objects. |
|
| Signature line object |
Not Supported |
|
|
| Camera tool/paste as picture link object |
Not Supported |
|
|
| Ink annotation |
Supported |
The ink annotation is converted to an Enhanced Metafile (EMF) image. |
|
| Group of objects |
Supported |
Some objects cannot be grouped together in Excel 2010, so the objects are ungrouped when you open the OpenDocument file. This includes a chart, picture, shape, or text box grouped with an OLE object. |
|
| Object visibility |
Not Supported |
Invisible objects become visible after saving the file in .ods and opening again in Excel 2010. |
|
| Object borders |
Supported |
Not all border styles are supported. Border styles that are not supported are saved as the default border style (black, solid line). |
|
| Object fills |
Supported |
Supported except that gradient fills with more than two stops lose all stops after the first two. |
|
| Line formatting |
Supported |
Not all line and line end styles are supported in ODF. Styles that are not supported are saved as the default, black solid line and open arrow type, respectively. |
|
| Picture cropping |
Supported |
Regular cropping of a picture is supported. However, cropping a picture with a shape is not supported. |
|
| Picture recoloring |
Partially Supported |
Some picture recoloring has the equivalent in ODF, such as black and white. Other picture recoloring does not have an equivalent and is flattened. The picture appears the same but the recoloring can no longer be changed or removed. |
|
| 3D picture options |
Not Supported |
|
|
| Picture styles |
Partially Supported |
Borders are partially supported, but might not look the same. |
|
| Themes |
Not Supported |
|
|
| Hyperlink on shape |
Not Supported |
|
|
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