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Differences between the OpenDocument Spreadsheet (.ods) format and the Excel (.xlsx) format
 

When you save a file from Microsoft Office Excel 2007 in the OpenDocument Spreadsheet (.ods) format, and then open it again in Excel 2007, you might notice some formatting differences between the Excel 2007 version and the OpenDocument version. Likewise, you might also see formatting differences when you open an OpenDocument file in Excel 2007. 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 is 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:

  1. Click the Microsoft Office Button Office button image, and then click Excel Options.
  2. Click Save, and then under Save workbooks, in the Save files in this format box, click the file format that you want to use by default.

What happens when I save a Excel 2007 presentation in the OpenDocument Spreadsheet format?

The table below shows which Excel 2007 features are fully, partially, or not supported in the OpenDocument Spreadsheet (.ods) format.

  • Supported   Both Excel 2007 and the OpenDocument Spreadsheet format support this feature. Content, formatting, and usability will not be lost.
  • Partially Supported   Both Excel 2007 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 2007 is not supported in the OpenDocument Spreadsheet format. If you plan to save your Excel 2007 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 Office 2007 graphic features that are fully, partially, or not supported in the OpenDocument Format, see the Graphic Elements table at the end of this article.

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 2007 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 2007 graphics features are fully, partially, or not supported in the OpenDocument Format (.ods).

  • Supported   The Excel 2007 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 2007 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 2007 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 2007.
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 a freeform shape.
Group of objects Supported Some objects cannot be grouped together in Excel 2007, 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 2007.
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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