Convert ODT to PDF

Convert ODT to PDF to lock down the layout of a LibreOffice document: pages break once and for all, and the recipient needs no office suite to open the file.

What happens when you convert ODT to PDF

Not everyone can read ODT. Send one to somebody running nothing but Microsoft Word and they either see a document with shifted indents or cannot open it at all. The format is not at fault; support for it outside LibreOffice and OpenOffice is simply uneven.

PDF removes the compatibility question entirely. Page breaks, margins and hyphenation are fixed at conversion time, and the document looks the same in a browser, on a phone and in print.

• Paragraph styles, headings and numbering carry over as they were defined.
• Tables and images stay in their places.
• Running heads and page numbers are preserved.
• A font missing from the system is swapped for the closest match, which can nudge lines slightly.
• Text remains text: it can be selected and searched.

How to convert ODT to PDF

1. Upload your ODT file on this page.
2. Pick PDF as the output format.
3. Click “Convert”.
4. Download the finished document.

Who ends up receiving it

• Send a CV or a letter to someone who only has Microsoft Office installed.
• Submit work to a platform that accepts a single format.
• Prepare a contract for signing so the text is not edited on the way.
• Hand artwork to a print shop, which works with PDF rather than ODT.

Limits

• File size: up to 50 MB as a guest, up to 100 MB with a free account.
• The resulting PDF is not editable, so keep the source ODT.
• An ordinary document converts in seconds.

Worth checking in the source

1. Page through the document in print preview: that pagination is what reaches the PDF.
2. Look at any unusual typefaces, since a missing font is replaced with a similar one.
3. Check numbering and running heads — after conversion there is nowhere left to fix them.

Other directions for ODT

• A colleague needs to edit it in Word: use the ODT to DOCX converter.
• The text is going on a website: markup comes from the ODT to HTML converter.
• Only the contents matter: the ODT to TXT converter pulls them out.

FAQ

Do tables and images survive?

Yes, they carry over along with their position on the page.

Why does a font look different in the PDF?

When the typeface is missing from the system, the closest available one is substituted. This shows up most on rare or custom fonts.

Can the text be edited in the PDF?

No, the document is fixed. Make edits in the source ODT and convert again.

How does ODT differ from DOCX?

ODT belongs to LibreOffice and OpenOffice, DOCX to Word. A separate direction handles moving between them.