More free conversions, where you upload. The Fylane extension does the same work inside any upload form, on its own free share every day.Add to Chrome
How to convert Word to ODT
- Drop the file.
- Nothing to choose.
- Press Convert and download.
What happens to your file
The document is opened by LibreOffice on Fylane’s servers and saved as ODT with its text, headings, lists, tables and pictures; layout that the target format cannot express is simplified rather than invented. The file is deleted on schedule.
As with the reverse direction, you may not need this. LibreOffice opens .docx files natively and has for years — you can double-click a Word document and start editing. Convert when you want the document actually stored as OpenDocument: a public body that requires the open standard, a workflow that should not depend on Microsoft’s format, or an archive you want readable in twenty years.
ODT is the open ISO standard behind LibreOffice, OpenOffice and Google Docs exports. Because it is a published specification rather than one company’s format, it is the safer of the two to keep a document in for the long term, which is why a good many governments mandate it.
Questions
Can LibreOffice open a Word file without converting it?
Yes, directly — .doc and .docx both. Convert when you want a genuine .odt file, usually because a standard or an archive policy asks for one.
Will the formatting survive?
Almost all of it, because ODT and DOCX describe the same things. Tracked changes and comments carry over. Word-only features such as some SmartArt become pictures, which keeps how they look and loses the ability to edit them as diagrams.
What is the difference between ODT and DOCX?
Both are zipped XML describing a document. DOCX is Microsoft’s, ODT is the OpenDocument standard used by LibreOffice, OpenOffice and Google Docs. In practice they are close enough that a document moves between them without drama.
Do my macros come across?
No. Word macros are VBA and LibreOffice uses Basic; the two are not the same language and nothing is translated. Keep the original if the macros matter.
How do I go the other way?
The ODT to Word page, which also explains why you often do not need it — Word has opened OpenDocument files since 2007.
Do it once, not on every form
Fixing a file here means downloading it and going back to the form. The Fylane extension does this work inside the form instead, on the file you already have.
And it keeps the result. The next application that asks for a résumé, a cover letter and a photo fills all three from one tap, each one refitted to what that site accepts.
Your files stay in the browser, encrypted, on your machine. Nothing is uploaded to keep them and nothing is sent anywhere to fill a form.
Related tools
Do this in code
curl -X POST https://api.fylane.dev/v1/jobs \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $FYLANE_API_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"file_id": "<file id>",
"operation": "convert",
"options": {
"to": "odt"
}
}'The same operation, convert — Documents into another document format: Office, text and HTML to PDF by default, or by `to` into docx, odt, rtf, txt, html, xlsx, ods, csv, pptx, odp, md or epub (Markdown and EPUB through pandoc). Images to WebP. Upload first with the quickstart; every option is on the operations page. 500 free credits a month, then $5 per thousand.