ODT to PDF
Make a PDF from an ODT document that anyone can open, ready to email, print or upload. ODT is the standard format for LibreOffice and OpenOffice, and Word and Google Docs can save in it as well; the conversion takes place on your own device, so your file is never sent anywhere.
How to use it
- Pick one ODT document or several (up to 5 at a time), or drop them into the box.
- On your first visit the converter downloads, which is about 78 MB. On later visits it is ready at once.
- Download each PDF on its own, or download them all together in one ZIP file.
What the PDF keeps
Text, headings, lists, tables, pictures, footnotes, page numbers, headers and footers are all carried across, laid out the way the document is set up. The words stay as genuine text, so the PDF can be searched and copied from. The converter is LibreOffice, the free office suite whose own format is ODT, running in your browser. Files saved by other programs, such as Word or Google Docs, may come out a little differently, and fonts the converter cannot use may be swapped, which can shift the layout.
The converter is a full document engine of about 78 MB, shared with the Word, Excel and PowerPoint tools, and it is downloaded first. The page then locks itself and only then opens your document, so from that point it cannot send or fetch anything online and your file cannot leave your device even by accident. Pictures linked from elsewhere on the internet are not fetched. Your browser usually keeps the converter so later conversions start much faster, though it may clear it to save space. Wi-Fi is a good idea. It is designed for computers: on a phone it can be slow or stop, and phone files are capped at 10 MB.
Edits, comments and other file types
Tracked changes follow whatever the document was last set to show. If changes were visible when it was saved, the PDF shows them marked up, with deleted words still in place; if they were hidden, you get the final text. To be certain, accept or reject them first. Comments do not appear in the PDF.
Templates (.ott) and single-file ODT documents (.fodt) convert in exactly the same way. Documents with a password cannot be converted, so save a copy without it first. Macros are never run.
Questions and answers
What exactly is an ODT file?
ODT stands for OpenDocument Text, an open standard format for word-processing files. LibreOffice Writer and OpenOffice use it as their usual format, and Microsoft Word and Google Docs can both open and save it.
What kinds of file can I use?
Documents ending in .odt, templates ending in .ott and single-file documents ending in .fodt. For OpenDocument spreadsheets, use ODS to PDF; for presentations, use ODP to PDF.
Do comments show up in the PDF?
No, comments are left out. Tracked changes appear or not according to the document's own display setting.
Why is my first conversion slower than later ones?
Your browser has to fetch the converter, around 78 MB, the first time. It normally holds on to it afterwards, and conversions then take a few seconds.
Does TeddyPDF upload my file?
No. Your browser does all the work, on your own device. Before it opens your file, this page shuts off its own ability to send or fetch anything, and your browser holds it to that. Once the software a tool needs has loaded and the privacy lock is on, the work carries on even with your Wi-Fi off. How the lock works.