Open ODS File

Open ODS File on Mac OS

The ODS format, like ODT, belongs to the group of "Open Document Formats" or according to its acronym, ODF.

ODS files are the standard format for spreadsheets created with OpenOffice Calc or Libreoffice.

In this case, Microsoft's counterpart represents the XLS or XLSX format.

This free format is an ISO standard and is used worldwide for its wide support of software, including free programs.

However, not all ODS functionalities are available, for example, in Apple Mac Numbers. Similarly, there are some features and formatting options specific to Numbers that are not available in OpenDocument spreadsheets.

Like any office program, the free and open source versions are not identical to their equivalents from Microsoft or any other proprietary office line just like Apple iWork. For this reason, it is recommended to ask the recipients of the files which format they prefer to avoid the need for conversion.

Upon receiving the files in the ODS format not supported by your programs, you can download the OpenDocument spreadsheet application.

OpenDocument spreadsheet files can be opened and edited with any LibreOffice-compatible program, including: NeoOffice (Mac) and LibreOffice (Mac & Windows).

ODS files can also be opened in Microsoft Excel and saved as XLS or XLSX files, but not includes Mac Numbers.

To open an ODS file with all the data and formulas you need to install any OpenDocument Standard software, just like Open Office or Libre Office or some other program that understands ODS format, but if you don't have the time to install any software, or just need a quickly data get and obtain the basic structure of an old file:

1. Right-click the ODS file and select Open With -> Other
2. Select TextEdit app
3. Select all of the content
4. Paste it into a new Numbers spreadsheet

Note: you should consider that the formulations will not have correct results, however, at least you will already have a start to start working on a new spreadsheet on your Mac.