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View Full Version : .odt to .rtf conversion without losing my formatting?

redcedar
10-21-2009, 06:13 AM
So, I don't use Windows anymore. And while I have a Mac, my last legal copy of Word for it is...old. Old enough that I'm not sure it will run on my current copy of OS X.

So instead, when I have to format something, I use OpenOffice. And for pretending to be Word, it does a pretty good job, especially since it's free. Unfortunately, its native save-format is OpenDocument Format, and it doesn't matter how nicely formatted my manuscript is for submission in ODF, because everybody wants RTF or DOC.

Unfortunately, converting to those in OpenOffice eats my line spacing for lunch. Repeatably. Reliably. Maddeningly.

Has anybody got a good .odt to .rtf converter that won't be dumb about formatting? (Free would be a plus. Running on *nix or OS X 10.6 is a requirement.)
Matera the Mad
10-21-2009, 07:53 AM
Google is your friend. AbiWord? IBM Lotus Symphony?
redcedar
10-21-2009, 05:16 PM
Google is your friend. AbiWord? IBM Lotus Symphony?
Google may tell me the software exists, but OpenOffice is supposed to be able to do this conversion on its own - and it doesn't. So I was looking more for a firsthand account of, "I have this thing and it actually does what you're asking for," than a "This is what exists and might solve your problem."

I certainly could download everything out there that's supposed to work and try it, but I'm not yet at that level of procrastinating about my writing. ;)
WWWWolf
11-10-2009, 11:54 PM
Unfortunately, converting to those in OpenOffice eats my line spacing for lunch. Repeatably. Reliably. Maddeningly.

Uh... does RTF format itself even support line spacing consistently? Or anything consistently? Every application that supports RTF seems to open every RTF file a little bit differently.

Most people I've seen are more concerned about being able to get the text rather than get the exact formatting. If someone wants exact formatting, I'll send them a PDF.
Foxy
11-11-2009, 12:58 AM
Have you tried NeoOffice, redceder? It's a free download, and saves in MS Word doc format just fine, or at least it does on my machine.
WWWWolf
11-11-2009, 09:43 PM
Have you tried NeoOffice, redceder? It's a free download, and saves in MS Word doc format just fine, or at least it does on my machine.

NeoOffice is basically the same program as OpenOffice.org. (Basically an alternate version from a bygone era when OpenOffice.org didn't have a native OSX user interface.)
Foxy
11-11-2009, 10:46 PM
Yep, I know NeoOffice is based on OpenOffice, but it is still being supported and updated by its developers. This from the NeoWiki web site:

* NeoOffice includes support for Word 2007 (.docx), Excel 2007 (.xlsx), and PowerPoint 2007 (.pptx) files using code from the odf-converter project. Office 2008 includes native support for reading and writing OpenXML file formats. OpenOffice.org Aqua includes support for opening these document types but not for saving them.

When I save a document in Word doc format and then open it in Word on my XP PC it has retained the formatting.

As it is free, I just thought receder might want to check it out and see if it cures the formatting problem.
Shadow_Ferret
11-13-2009, 07:34 PM
Weird. When I convert to either Word doc or RTF, my line spacing stays just fine.

The font changes. And in Doc form I lose my indents, but otherwise, line spacing is the only thing that DOESN'T change.

What program are you OPENING the resaved documents in?
Foxy
11-13-2009, 08:35 PM
Shadow Ferret, are you addressing your question to me or receder?

If it is me, I save the document by selecting Word 97/2000/XP (.doc) from the Save As drop down menu in NeoOffice. The saved document will open in Word 2003 on my PC exactly as I saved it.

If the question was for receder, make like I never said a thing.
Shadow_Ferret
11-13-2009, 08:41 PM
Ah. I have Word 97. It doesn't open exactly as I saved it in OpenOffice for me. But that's good to know that it opens in the newer versions just fine. Because I waste a lot of time reformatting everything in Word when I submit it.

ETA: Oh, but you're using NeoOffice, so that might be the difference.

And my question was to the OP.
Foxy
11-13-2009, 08:52 PM
Oops! Sorry for butting in ...


I'll get my coat.
:)
redcedar
11-14-2009, 09:15 PM
Weird. When I convert to either Word doc or RTF, my line spacing stays just fine.

The font changes. And in Doc form I lose my indents, but otherwise, line spacing is the only thing that DOESN'T change.

What program are you OPENING the resaved documents in?

OpenOffice. Word. Whatever the rest of my writer's group is using. If I save in OO as an .rtf and then open it again, on average, 50% of my paragraphs are now single spaced...and the remainder are still doublespaced.

I'll have to look at NeoOffice.