While OnlyOffice supports the Open Document Formats (ODF) such as odt, ods and odp, the Microsoft file formats such as docx, xlsx and pptx are the default when saving documents and are highlighted in the document creation icons on the home screen. Those who prefer ODFs files by default have to change the format each time a new document is saved.
The idea would be to have an option in the settings, which allows changing the default file format. Ideally like Microsoft Office a screen on first startup of the application asking for the users preference. This rather simple change would make working with OnlyOffice much easier.
Of course this implies that the Open Document Format should also be as well supported as the Microsoft File Formats. Often, when I save documents as ODF files, I lose formatting and have to rework the document after. Of course this is a long term effort which requires commitment to open file formats.
Thank you very much for your thoughtful suggestion and for supporting open formats.
At the moment, ONLYOFFICE editors use OOXML as the native file format, which is why new documents are created and saved as DOCX, XLSX, and PPTX by default, and there is currently no built‑in option to change this default to ODF in the desktop settings. The possibility to choose a different default format (including ODT/ODS/ODP) has already been discussed with our development team and is registered in our internal tracker, but for now there are no plans to implement this change while OOXML remains the main working format and ODF is handled via conversion.
We really appreciate your idea of adding a setting that would let users select their preferred default format, and we have added your topic as another vote to the existing internal request so the team can clearly see that this need is still relevant. As for ODF quality, we are continuously working on improving ODF import and export so that formatting is preserved better, and we are ready to investigate specific issues if you encounter them.
If you have particular examples where saving to ODF noticeably breaks formatting, you are welcome to share sample files – such real‑world cases are very helpful for us when planning further improvements to ODF support.
Hi @Marix, thanks for having taken the time to answer me and thanks for sharing additional insights of how OnlyOffice works and why OOXML is currently the default format.
From your explanation I understand that ODF is handled through conversion as of today and isn’t edited natively. If I run across another document with formatting issues, I’ll share it, much appreciated.
There seems to be indeed a rising appetite for a truly open file format, so it’s an interesting topic to watch.
I think the ubiquity of Microsoft’s format has given rise to the need of a compatible alternative suite of editors that maintains file integrity and interoperability.
If I am working with OpenDocument formats I actually use LibreOffice. However I also need something that really works well with Microsoft’s formats, and that’s why I use OnlyOffice.
I think Marix is highlighting the fact that it’s hard to do both at once reliably because the formats are different enough that they always have to be converted between and are not directly equivalent.
Thank you both for sharing your thoughts and experience on this topic. We really appreciate the discussion and the different perspectives on working with OOXML and ODF formats.
We understand the interest in broader ODF support and in having more flexibility around default file formats. This suggestion has already been registered in our internal tracker, and we have added this discussion to the existing request as well.
As for formatting issues, we are continuously working on this area, and specific real-life examples are always helpful for our team. If you come across any document where the formatting changes noticeably after saving to ODF, please feel free to share it with us for analysis.