What is an ODS File?
An ODS file is a spreadsheet created with the free OpenOffice Calc spreadsheet program. Apart from formulae, which control the way the data kept in those cells should be computed, it preserves the data in cells arranged in the shape of a table including columns and rows. Other spreadsheet formats, including the XLSX file format used by Microsoft Excel and the NUMBER file format used by Apple Numbers, are similar to ODS files.
Discover ODS file opening methods.
ODS files can be opened with OpenOffice Calc, the free spreadsheet tool included with the OpenOffice suite and Apache OpenOffice, the free replacement developed by communities. OpenOffice Calc can also create ODS files. Microsoft Excel can also open ODS files; but, some functionality and formatting could be lost in the process. Apple Numbers allows ODS files to be opened; but, only macOS versions of the program starting with Numbers 5 have this functionality.
Apart from the above-mentioned programs, several web browsers like Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Microsoft Edge feature ODS file opening functionality right inside the browser window. Should a web browser fail to open a file, one can use a file converter such as Zamzar or FileZigzag. This will let you translate the ODS file into another spreadsheet format, say XLSX, which is more widely used.
Alternatively, opening ODS files in the browser window can be achieved by using a free online spreadsheet program such as Google Sheets or Zoho Sheets. These apps provide the same basic features as desktop computer spreadsheet programs, hence they are not necessary to install. If you would want to save the file in another format, such as XLSX, you can also use them.