How Do I Open an ODT File?

By: Dachary Carey

Wondering "how do I open an ODT file?" You can manipulate OTD files in two ways: either by utilizing the source software or by converting the files to open in a different program.

What is an ODT File?
ODT is the extension for an OpenOffice.org text file. OpenOffice is an open source productivity suite, which includes the ability to create and edit spreadsheets, word processing files, databases, presentations and graphics. OpenOffice is an alternative to Microsoft Office and has many of the same features. Plus, it's completely free. ODT is the text file format used for word processing in OpenOffice; basically, the OpenOffice equivalent of a Microsoft Word file.

Use OpenOffice to open ODT files.
If you want to go right to the source, you can use OpenOffice to open ODT files. Because this is a free software suite, it costs you nothing to download and use it, only the time and hard drive space. You can download this productivity suite from OpenOffice.org. Once you download it, follow the prompts to install the software. From there, you can open an ODT file in OpenOffice just like you would any other word processing file. You can either double-click on the ODT file to open it, or select the file and use the Open With dialog box.

Use TextMaker Viewer to view and print ODT files.
If you don't want to install a whole new productivity suite, you can use the utility TextMaker Viewer to view and print ODT files. It's specifically designed to work with just word processing files, so it won't open any other OpenOffice formats, but it gives you the ability to open ODT files without having to install an entire productivity suite.

Import and edit with Google Docs.
Another option to open and edit ODT files is to import the file to Google Docs and use the Google Doc viewer to edit the file. Google Docs is a free Web-based word processor. If you have a Gmail account, you can use Google Docs along with Google's other free tools. You can access Google Docs from your Gmail account, or you can go to docs.google.com to use Google Docs to open and edit your ODT file. Simply upload the file, and then you can edit, save and print it in Google Docs. When you're finished, you can download it as an OpenOffice file, a RTF file, a PDF, a Word file or a text file.

Convert ODT to work with existing word processing software.
Finally, you can convert ODT files to work with your existing word processing software. Different word processing software programs have different procedures to convert ODT files. Some programs have plug-ins you can download that enable you to open ODT files in your software. In other cases, you may need to use a third-party converter to turn the ODT file into something you can open. Consult your word processing software manufacturer to find out whether a plug-in exists to open ODT files with your program, or whether you need to use a third-party converter.

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