How to open an .odt file on a Windows PC

Open it in Write by Zaweba. Write reads OpenDocument text (.odt) files with its own reader, shows them on real pages, and lets you edit and save them back as .odt, or as .docx if the person you are sending to prefers that. It is free, works offline and needs no account.

Where .odt files come from

The .odt extension stands for OpenDocument Text. It is the standard format of LibreOffice Writer and OpenOffice Writer, and some schools, councils and public bodies use it because it is an open standard. So a form from a council website, a newsletter from a club that runs LibreOffice, or an old essay saved on a family laptop can all turn up as .odt.

Windows does not come with a program that edits these files properly, which is why a double-click often brings up a question about which app to use. Write answers that question.

Opening the file step by step

Start Write and open the file from the File menu, choosing the .odt file as you would any document. Write builds the document from the file's contents and lays it out as pages, with headers, footers, footnotes, tables and pictures where the file has them. The same layout engine draws the screen, the printer and PDF export, so what you see is what you will print.

From there it is an ordinary document. Type, correct, add a table, run the UK English spell check, or change the styles. Nothing about it being an .odt file limits what you can do while it is open.

Choosing how to save it

When you save, you have a real choice to make. Saving as .odt keeps the file in the format it arrived in, which is right if you are sending it back to someone who uses LibreOffice or a system that expects OpenDocument. Saving as .docx gives you the format most people and most offices expect. Write's own format, .zawr, is a .docx inside, so that works for your own copies too.

If you pick a format that cannot hold everything in the document, Write lists what would be lost and asks before it saves. That way a careful layout never quietly loses a feature because of a format choice made in a hurry. Read the list, and if anything on it matters, save as .docx or .zawr instead and keep the .odt as a second copy.

Sending it on without a word processor at the other end

Sometimes the person receiving the document only needs to read it. In that case, Export as PDF gives a file with the same layout as the screen, fonts embedded and real text that can be selected and searched. Export as HTML makes one self-contained web page file that opens in any browser. Either is a kinder thing to email than a format the recipient may not be able to open.

If an .odt looks different from the original

OpenDocument files can be made by several programs, and each has its own small habits. Fonts are the most common cause of differences: if the file asks for a font your PC does not have, Windows substitutes another and lines can break in new places. Installing the font, or changing the style to a font you do have, usually puts it right. Check page breaks before you print anything long, since a slightly different font can move a heading onto the next page.

Once you have Write installed, .odt files stop being a puzzle. Open them, edit them and send them back in whichever format suits the person at the other end.