Differences between the OpenDocument Text (.odt) format and the Word (.docx) format used by Word Online
When you edit a file in the OpenDocument Text (.odt) format by using Word Online, and then open it again in Word 2010, you might notice some formatting differences between the original version and the edited version. Likewise, you might also see formatting differences when you open an OpenDocument Text file in Word Online. This is because of the different features that the file formats support.
Note: The differences you will experience when you work with two file formats are generally limited to formatting differences. Data and content will convert, but how you format and interact with the data and content might be different between the formats.
What happens when I edit a document in the OpenDocument Text format?
The following table shows which Word Online feature areas are supported or partially supported in the OpenDocument (.odt) format.
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Supported Both Word Online and the OpenDocument Text format support this feature. Content, formatting, and usability will not be lost.
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Partially Supported Both Word Online and the OpenDocument Text 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.
For information about graphic features that are fully, partially, or not supported in the OpenDocument Format, see the Graphics Features table later in this article.
| Area | Subarea | Level of support | Comments |
| Collaboration | Mail Merge | Supported | The connection to the data source must be established again if the document is edited by another ODF application. |
| Content | Cross References | Supported | |
| Content | Equation Editor | Supported | |
| Content | Equations | Supported | |
| Content | Footnotes-Endnotes | Supported | Custom separators not supported. |
| Content | Header-Footer | Supported | |
| Content | Index | Supported | Multiple columns indices not supported. |
| Content | Insert Break | Partially Supported | Continuous section breaks might lose some properties, such as top/bottom margins, headers/footers, borders, and line numbering. |
| Content | Office Art | Supported | See Graphics Features table for details. |
| Content | Page Numbering | Supported | |
| Content | Pictures | Supported | Pictures from a document created in OpenOffice are not displayed. |
| Content | Tables | Partially Supported | Tables with more than 64 columns are not supported. |
| Content | Text boxes | Partially Supported | Text boxes cannot be nested. |
| Content | Table of Contents (TOC) | Partially Supported | TOC loses items labeled with a SEQ field. |
| Editing | AutoCorrect | Supported | |
| Editing | Cut-Copy-Paste | Supported | |
| Editing | Drag and Drop | Supported | |
| Editing | Envelopes and Labels | Supported | |
| Editing | Selection | Supported | |
| Editing | Undo-Redo-Repeat | Supported | |
| File Operations | WSS Integration | Supported | |
| Formatting | Borders and Shading | Supported | Patterns on shading not supported. |
| Formatting | Bullets and Numbering | Supported | Spacing between number/bullet and text might be slightly different. |
| Formatting | Drop Caps | Supported | Anchors to some regions of the margin are not supported. |
| Formatting | Highlighter | Supported | The highlighting is converted to character background color when you save the document. |
| Formatting | Horizontal Lines | Supported | |
| Formatting | Paragraph | Supported | |
| Formatting | Reveal Formatting | Supported | |
| Formatting | Styles | Supported | There is an increase in the number of styles after you save the document in .odt format, and all formatting in ODF is style based. |
| Formatting | Tabs | Supported | Positional tabs are not supported. |
| Formatting | Text Columns | Supported | Some properties associated with the section might be lost, for example, top/bottom margins, headers/footers, borders, or line numbering. |
| Formatting | Text Orientation | Partially Supported | The following text orientation formats are supported: |
| Formatting | Positioning | Partially Supported | The position of some text boxes, frames and shapes might change depending on the type of anchor used. |
| Infrastructure | Bookmarks | Supported | |
| Infrastructure | Fields | Partially Supported | Fields that are not supported are converted to plain text. |
| Infrastructure | Hyperlinks | Supported | Documents from OpenOffice do not have the hyperlink style applied but are still functional. |
| Infrastructure | OLE | Partially Supported | Objects embedded in document created in OpenOffice are not displayed. The image type is not supported, and the link is relative. |
| International | IME | Supported | |
| International | Two Lines in One | Supported | |
| Printing | Supported | ||
| Proofing | Language AutoDetect | Supported | |
| Proofing | Language Properties | Supported | |
| Proofing | Spelling | Supported | Areas of text that that are marked "don't check spelling or grammar" will lose that property. Spelling and grammar will now be checked for that text. |
Graphics Features
The following table shows which graphics features are supported or partially supported in the OpenDocument Format (.odt).
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Supported Both Word Online and the OpenDocument Format support this feature. Graphics using this feature generally appear and behave the same in either format.
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Partially Supported Both Word Online 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.
| Basic Shapes | Level of support | Comments |
| Shapes | Supported | |
| Text boxes | Supported | Supported except for objects in text boxes that are partially supported for Word 2010. SmartArt graphics, shapes, or text boxes inside a text box are not supported and are lost when you open the file. |
| WordArt | Supported | |
| 3D shapes options | Supported | |
| Pictures | Supported | Supported except for the insert and link option that are not supported by ODF. |
| Objects in charts | Supported | Converted to a group containing the chart and objects. Word 2010 cannot support a group containing a chart so the objects are ungrouped when you open the file in Word 2010. |
| Ink annotation | Supported | The ink annotation is converted to an Enhanced Metafile (EMF) image. |
| Group of objects | Partially Supported | Some objects cannot be grouped together in Word 2010, so the objects are ungrouped when you open the OpenDocument file. This includes anything grouped with a chart, and a picture grouped with a shape, text box, or OLE object. |
| Object visibility | Partially Supported | Invisible objects become visible after saving the file and opening again in Word 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 for 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 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. |
| Picture styles | Partially Supported | Borders are partially supported, but might not look the same. |
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