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 for the web, 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 for the web. 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 for the web feature areas are supported or partially supported in the OpenDocument (.odt) format.

• Supported    Both Word for the web and the OpenDocument Text format support this feature. Content, formatting, and usability will not be lost.

• Partially Supported    Both Word for the web 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. Picture border styles are not supported. They are converted to a solid line.
Formatting	Bullets and Numbering	Supported	Spacing between number/bullet and text might be slightly different. Spacing between list items increased to match line spacing of document. Default bullets in OpenOffice change appearance when .odt file is opened in Word for the web.
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: rltb: right to left, top to bottom lrtb: left to right, top to bottom tbrl: top to bottom; right to left Text orientation in a table cell is not 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. Fields that are supported continue to be retained as fields. SEQ fields are not supported and affect the behavior of TOCs and captions.
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).

• Supported     Both Word for the web and the OpenDocument Format support this feature. Graphics using this feature generally appear and behave the same in either format.

• Partially Supported     Both Word for the web 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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