Post History

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/18995
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

### A Quick Note

I asked if this was an okay topic [over on Meta](https://writers.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/1072/question-about-file-format-differences-on-topic/1073#1073), and they said it should be okay, as long as I "describe the writing-related context -- what you're writing, who (if anybody) you're collaborating with or submitting it to, etc. -- how you use those files. And you already know to steer clear of opinion surveys."

In light of these points, I did try my best to fulfill all those criteria below, and I also made sure to check out the [On-Topic Summary](https://writers.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/875/writers-se-on-topic-summary) over on Meta. And, as I stated on my Meta post, "I chose Writers.SE over other sites because I would be using this primarily for writing; go figure."

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### The Question

I'm a huge supporter of [FOSS](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_and_open-source_software) (Free and Open-Source Software), and so I would love to use [ODF](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenDocument) (`.odt`, `.ods`, `.odp`, etc.) as opposed to [OOXML](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_Open_XML) (`.docx`, `.xlsx`, `pptx`, etc.), but I'm not sure if it's got the features I need. I'm not a hugely complex user, but I'm not exactly inexperienced, either. I guess I'd be more of an intermediate user?

Anyway, I did a fair share of research on my own, I assure you. Most of that stuff I looked at are listed at the bottom under Sources.

So my question is this: given the information listed here, would it be okay for me to switch to OpenDocument Format, or would it be better for me to just stick with Office Open XML? Or, if an answer to that question isn't possible, then which is the _best_ option of these two?

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### Some Info About Myself & How I'd Use the Stuff \*

1. I write a lot, typically nonfiction but occasionally fiction.

2. I need endnote and footnote support.

3. I would prefer, though I do not need, Android support. Does [WPS Office](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=cn.wps.moffice_eng) support it? Fully or partially? I've already contacted them, but I don't know how much info they may "conveniently" forget to leave out, you know, so I'm asking all of you in case you know something I should know. :)

4. What's the compatibility like with Word? What about Excel? PowerPoint? Access?

5. Can ODS files support formulæ?

6. SmartArt and graphs (in both Word and Excel)?

7. I don't really collaborate, so it's cool if the feature-set's not that great with that, but I do need to be able to reliably send the file to someone. This is almost **certainly** a _must_. I read in one of those Reddit threads cited below that an option could be to send a PDF, but that's a problem because you can't easily edit a PDF. So although it's a way I could work around compatibility shortcomings, it's not perfect and, thus, not exactly preferred. Doesn't have to be perfect. Just perfect _enough_. Lol.

8. Compatibility with popular extensions, such as those for LibreOffice, MS Office, and Google Docs/Sheets/Slides?

9. Compatibility with Google Docs? Sheets? Slides?

10. Are PowerPoint animations possible? If so, how compatible are they with LibreOffice Impress, MS PowerPoint, or Google Slides?

11. LibreOffice has compatibility with MediaWiki. If I wanted to back up a draft or whatever, could I? (Note: I've never used that feature before, so for all I know, backing up a draft or post or whatever may not even involve ODF filetypes, but just in case they did, and I ever decided one day I wanted to try it out, I'd like to know.)

12. Any other pros you can think of?

13. Any other cons you can think of?

14. Any other neutral points I should know of?

15. Chrome OS compatibility? (I don't use Google Drive, but I have a Chromebook so it'd be nice to be able to edit, or at the very least _view_, ODF files on it.)

16. Can you view ODF files on Dropbox?

17. OneDrive compatibility?

18. Linux compatibility? (Specifically Ubuntu.)

19. Mac OS X compatibility?

20. Do you like Jell-O? :3

\*This list is not exhaustive, but it is the best I could do at the moment.

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### Sources

**Reddit**

1. ["Office Suites with OpenDocument Support (ODT, ODS, ODT). They Exist?"](https://www.reddit.com/r/AndroidQuestions/comments/tuxe1/office_suites_with_opendocument_support_odt_ods/), via [/r/AndroidQuestions](https://www.reddit.com/r/androidquestions)

2. ["Support OpenDocument Format (ODF)"](https://www.reddit.com/r/technology/comments/82xa5/support_opendocument_format_odf/) (comments section only), via [/r/Technology](https://www.reddit.com/r/technology)

3. ["Can Someone Please Kill .Docx"](https://www.reddit.com/r/LinuxActionShow/comments/1f9w8s/can_someone_please_kill_docx/), via [/r/LinuxActionShow](https://www.reddit.com/r/linuxactionshow)

4. ["OpenDocument Foundation Drops Support for ODF, Looks for Alternative Format"](https://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/5yqqz/opendocument_foundation_drops_support_for_odf/)

(This one gave me a freaking heart attack, until I realised it was 7 years ago. x.x ), via [/r/Programming](https://www.reddit.com/r/programming)

**Wikipedia**

1. ["OpenDocument"](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenDocument)

2. ["Office Open XML"](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_Open_XML)

3. ["Comparison of Office Open XML and OpenDocument"](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_Office_Open_XML_and_OpenDocument)

4. ["OpenDocument Adoption" \> "United States"](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenDocument_adoption#United_States)

5. ["OpenDocument Software" \> "Text Documents (.ODT)"](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenDocument_software#Text_documents_.28.odt.29)

6. ["OpenFormula"](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenFormula) ¹

7. ["MathML"](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MathML)

**Other**

1. ["Differences Between the OpenDocument Text (.ODT) Format and the Word (.Docx) Format"](https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Differences-between-the-OpenDocument-Text-odt-format-and-the-Word-docx-format-d9d51a92-56d1-4794-8b68-5efb57aebfdc), via Microsoft Office Support [official page]

2. ["InfoWorld Reality Check: ODF vs. OpenXML"](http://www.infoworld.com/article/2639468/techology-business/odf-vs--openxml.html), via InfoWorld

3. ["Whatever Happened to Open Document File Format Support?"](https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/docs/S6IkdnuH91E), via Google Docs Help Forum

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¹ It's not a huge consideration, but as OpenFormula is apparently related to MathML, and MathML is related to LaTeX, and I'm hoping to get started learning LaTeX in my free time soon, I thought maybe I should read it...

Original score: 6