Question 1

What opens an ODT file without LibreOffice?

Accepted Answer

Microsoft Word on Windows and on a Mac opens .odt files, though complex layouts can shift. Google Docs opens one uploaded to Google Drive, and TextEdit on a Mac opens simpler ones. LibreOffice itself is free for Windows, Mac and Linux. On a phone or tablet, this page is the quickest way to read one.

Question 2

Does it look exactly like the original?

Accepted Answer

It shows the text and its formatting, not the printed page. Page breaks are marked with a line rather than splitting the text into pages, headers and footers are left out, and the fonts are close matches rather than the exact ones. For an exact copy of the layout, ask the sender for a PDF.

Question 3

Why is a chart or drawing missing?

Accepted Answer

Charts, drawings and other embedded objects are stored as separate objects inside the file. Where LibreOffice saved a picture of one alongside it, that picture is shown; where it did not, the object is left out.

Question 4

Can it open a password-protected ODT?

Accepted Answer

No. A protected document is encrypted, and this page says so rather than showing nothing. Open it in LibreOffice or Word, which ask for the password.

Question 5

Is the document sent to a server?

Accepted Answer

No. The file is unpacked and read by this browser tab on your own device, and nothing in it is sent to this site or anywhere else. Pictures inside the document are shown from the file itself.

Free online ODT viewer: read OpenDocument text files