ODF (OpenDocument Format): Introduction and Translation

What is the ODF format? A guide to help you fully understand and easily master ODF translation from scratch.

Have you ever received files with the extensions .odt, .ods, or .odp and felt confused, unsure which software to use to open them? Don't worry—these are neither rare nor strange files. What you've encountered is actually ODF, a powerful and increasingly popular open document format.

This article serves as a straightforward and accessible manual, guiding you to fully understand what ODF is, the common file types it includes, and how to find a proven method for translating such documents.

ODF: Not just free, but designed for enduring freedom.

ODF, short for OpenDocument Format, is more than just a file format—it embodies a philosophy. Its core objective is to provide a fully open office document standard that is not controlled by any particular software vendor. This means that whether it is ten or twenty years from now, the documents you create today can still be easily accessed and edited, without the risk of losing valuable information due to discontinued or incompatible software.

This format is developed and maintained by the authoritative OASIS (Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards), and has been established as an international standard (ISO/IEC 26300).

What is the core appeal of the ODF format?

Truly open: Anyone can use this standard for free to develop software, breaking down the barriers of commercial software and fostering innovation and competition.
Remarkable compatibility: Whether you use Windows, macOS, or Linux, you can always find office software that supports ODF. Well-known applications such as LibreOffice, Apache OpenOffice, and even Google Docs and the latest version of Microsoft Office have fully embraced ODF.
Comprehensive functionality: It is not a single format, but a whole family that can meet your needs, from writing reports and creating spreadsheets to designing presentations.

Introducing the Main Members of the ODF Family

The ODF family is like a toolbox, containing specialized tools for different tasks. The most common include:

.odt (OpenDocument Text) This is perhaps the most well-known member of the ODF family. You can think of it as the open alternative to Microsoft Word’s .docx file. Whether you are writing articles, preparing reports, or taking notes, this is the right choice.
.ods (OpenDocument Spreadsheet) When you need to work with data and charts, .ods is the tool for the job. It is the counterpart to Microsoft Excel’s .xlsx and serves as a powerful assistant for creating financial statements, budget analyses, and data statistics.
.odp (OpenDocument Presentation) Preparing a speech or product demonstration? .odp is your ideal companion, functionally comparable to Microsoft PowerPoint’s .pptx, helping you create professional and visually engaging slides.
Other members In addition to the three main types mentioned above, the ODF family also includes .odg for vector graphics, .odf for mathematical formulas, and .odb for databases. Although these are not as common as the first three, they also demonstrate the comprehensiveness of the ODF format.

How can you easily translate ODF documents? A personally tested and effective method

When working with multilingual documents, translation is an unavoidable step. Our team often needs to translate ODF format files at work, especially .odt and .ods. Frankly, it took some effort to find a tool that could both preserve the original formatting and provide high-quality translations.

After trying several methods, we ultimately chose O.Translator, an online translation tool. It is not the earliest, but in our experience, it is the most user-friendly, especially with its outstanding support for the ODF format.

Why do we recommend it?

The translation quality is unexpectedly good It incorporates leading AI models such as Gemini Pro and GPT-4. More importantly, it appears to be optimized for contextual understanding of documents, producing translations that are very fluent and much less stiff than typical machine translations—almost comparable to the initial drafts we receive from human translators.
“Try before you buy”—completely risk-free This feature is truly very user-friendly. You can directly upload your document, and the website will immediately generate a free preview of one or several translated pages. If you are satisfied with the result, you can then consider paying to have the entire document translated. If you are not satisfied, simply close the page. The uploaded document will also be completely deleted, so you have nothing to worry about.
Controllable and editable translation results For certain specialized terms, personal names, or company names, we can use its “glossary” feature to ensure translation accuracy. This avoids a lot of unnecessary communication and rework. We have previously shared how to use AI to translate PDF documents; the logic for handling ODF documents is actually quite similar.

If you have an ODF document that needs processing, feel free to try it yourself.

Upload your document now for a free translation preview.