Have you been sent documents in ODG format and can’t find a program that can open them? Don’t worry: contrary to what you might think, the solution is just a click away!
ODG are vector graphics documents created in OpenDocument, a file format born as a “free” alternative to the proprietary Microsoft Office ones, on which it is possible to work without using commercial software. The most popular software to view, edit and create documents of this type is LibreOffice, a well-known open source productivity suite compatible with all major operating systems (born from a rib of OpenOffice, another historic suite of the same type). But there are also other solutions available.
So if you want to know more, I invite you to continue reading this tutorial. In the following lines, in fact, you will find indicated the most common tools used to open and modify ODG files and the instructions to use them at best. I’m sure that, in the end, you’ll be happy and satisfied with what you’ve learned, as well as having finally succeeded in opening ODG files on your computer, your smartphone and / or your tablet. Want to bet?
Program to open ODG
Are you looking for a program to open ODG and do not know what resource to turn to? Then take into consideration the ones I’ll tell you about in the following chapters: there are programs for Windows, macOS and Linux. The choice is yours.
How to open ODG files with LibreOffice
As I told you at the beginning of this guide, the most popular programs to open ODG files are OpenOffice and LibreOffice: the latter was born from a “rib” of the first, but I recommend it for the features it offers and the fact that its development continues more quickly. LibreOffice (as well as OpenOffice) is a famous productivity suite of open source nature, totally free and compatible with Windows, macOS and Linux. It is considered by most to be the best no-cost alternative to Microsoft Office.
To use it, you must first download the software on your computer. Therefore, go to the LibreOffice website and click on the Download version x.x.x button.
Once the download is complete, if you are using Windows, open the .msi file and in the window that appears on your desktop, press the Run button. After that, click the Next button, select the Typical option and press the Next, Install, Yes and Finish buttons to finish the setup.
If you are using macOS, open the .dmg package, drag the LibreOffice icon to the Applications folder, right-click on it and select Open from the menu that appears. Click on the Open button in response to the warning on the screen to launch LibreOffice and bypass the restrictions imposed by Apple on applications from non-certified developers (this should only be done on first launch).
Then, again on macOS, visit the LibreOffice website again and click on the Translated User Interface button, in order to get the Italian translation of the suite (on Windows it is already included). Once the download is complete, close LibreOffice (using the key combination cmd+q), open the new .dmg package obtained, right-click on the LibreOffice Language Pack executable inside, select Open from the menu that appears and click on the Open and Install buttons.
Then select /Applications/LibreOffice.app from the window that opens and click the Install button. If you get a warning about permissions while doing so, press the Yes button, identify me, enter your Mac user account password and click the OK button, twice in a row.
At this point, regardless of your operating system, launch LibreOffice (via the shortcut added to the Windows Start menu or by clicking on its icon in the macOS Launchpad), then click on the Open File button located at the top left of the window, select the ODG file you want to open and press the Open button.
Alternatively, if you have already opened a file in LibreOffice, click on the File menu at the top left, select Open and proceed in the same way as I showed you earlier. Moreover, considering that LibreOffice is set as the default program for opening ODG files, you should be able to open ODG files by simply double-clicking on their icons.
If this is not the case, you can remedy it by following the instructions I have provided in my guide on how to change default program on Windows and macOS.
Within a few moments, Draw, the suite’s default drawing application for opening ODG files, will be launched and your document will finally be visible. If you wish, you can then edit it using the tools at the top of the program window and in the sidebar on the left. For example, you can add drawings, change the formatting of the text and much more.
If you have made changes to your document and want to save them, click on File, located in the upper left corner, select Save and you are done. If you want to save the changes by creating a new document, choose the Save As option and indicate the name you want to assign to the file and the location where you want to store it in the new window that appears.
How to open ODG files with Word
In addition to what I have already indicated in the previous lines, you can open ODG files with Word, the famous commercial program for word processing available on both Windows and macOS operating systems and part of the Microsoft Office package.
If Word is already installed on your PC, launch it by selecting the shortcut in the Start menu (on Windows) or by clicking on the icon of the software attached to the Launchpad (on macOS). Otherwise, first download and install the program by following the instructions that I have provided in my tutorial dedicated specifically to this topic.
Once you see the main window of the software on your screen, click the Open item on the left sidebar and select the ODG file saved on your computer you wish to open by double-clicking on its location or pressing the Browse button, selecting the option to view all file types from the drop-down list, clicking on the document and finally pressing the Open button.
Alternatively, if you have already opened a file in Word, you can open your ODG document by clicking on the File menu at the top left of the window, selecting Open and proceeding in the same way as I indicated earlier.
Once opened, the file can also be edited using the tools located at the top, in the various tabs. For example, you can edit the texts and their formatting, insert images, drawings and so on. If you want to save any changes you made, click on the File menu at the top left, select the Save item and press the Yes button in response to the warning that may appear on the screen.
How to open ODG files online
Logically, it should be possible to open ODG files online using services like Word Online, the web version of the famous word processing program included in the Office package and other similar solutions (e.g. Google Docs). Well, unfortunately this is not the case: the services in question do not support opening ODG files.
To get around this, however, you can rely on PDF24 Tools, a free online service that works from any browser and is easy to use, which, as you can guess from its name, is primarily designed for viewing PDFs, but also allows you to view various file formats, including ODG. Note that, to use it, no registration is required and that all documents uploaded to the service are removed from the company’s servers within a short time.
To use it for your purpose, what you need to do is to connect to the PDF24 Tools home page and drag the ODG file you wish to open into the browser window. Alternatively, click on the Choose file link and select the document “manually”. If the file is located on Google Drive or Dropbox, you can upload it directly from there by selecting the corresponding icons.
Wait a few moments for the file to be uploaded to the service, then press the Show button at the bottom and you’ll be able to view it in the browser window. Easier than that?
App to open ODG
You don’t have your computer at hand and would like to know if there is any app to open ODG files acting from smartphone or tablet? Well, of course there are! You can find some of them listed below.
OOReader (Android/iOS)
OOReader is a free app that does one thing but does it great: it lets you view (but not edit) all LibreOffice files. It’s available for both Android and iOS and is very easy to use.
To use it, download it from the Android Play Store or iOS App Store, press the Install/Obtain button and, if you’re using iOS, authorize the download via Face ID, Touch ID or Apple account password.
Then, regardless of the mobile platform you use, launch the app by pressing the Open button that appears on the display or its icon that has been added to the home screen.
Now that you see the main screen of OOReader, tap on the [+] button, located in the upper right corner, choose the location where the ODG document of your interest is saved (through the menu that appears) and take the file from there. If necessary, authorize the app to access your files, after which you can finally view the document on the device’s screen.
I would also like to point out that by tapping on the icon with the sheet at the top right, you can choose, depending on your needs and preferences, whether to share the file, convert it to PDF, print it, rename it or delete it.
AndrOpen Office (Android)
If you’re using an Android device, you can also turn to AndrOpen Office, a free application that takes all the features of OpenOffice, the open source office suite with which LibreOffice, the program I told you about in the step at the beginning of this guide, shares part of the source code. Unfortunately, however, its user interface is not really optimized for touch.
Anyway, if you want to try out the app, first download and install it from the Play Store. Then, tap on the Install button and the Open button that appears on the display, in order to launch AndrOpen Office. Alternatively, tap on the corresponding icon that has been added to the drawer.
At this point, tap on the Allow item to allow the application to access the multimedia content on your device, then select the Open item at the bottom, indicate the location where the ODG file you want to open is located and select it.
Then, your ODG document will be opened in the app and you can finally view (and possibly edit) it using the AndrOpen Office editor. If you are asked to proceed with the download of the Italian language pack, please accept it.
Note that the app can eventually be upgraded with the Professional Pack which, however, is for a fee (costs €6.99) and allows you to add extra features, such as the removal of advertisements.