How to SAVE AS xlsx using OpenOffice Calc?

Flow · Newbie Joined: 09 Jan 2009 Posts: 2

Hi,

I know OpenOffice 3.0 can open xlsx (Excel 2007) files. But after opening and editing the xlsx file, can I save the file as xlsx (i.e. without changing the file extension)?

(When I click "save", xlsx does not show up under the list of file extensions.)

Can someone tell me how I can save the file (after editing) as xlsx, so I don't have to change the file extension after editing? Thanks.

Villeroy · Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2009 12:37 am Post subject:

Simply save as xls. There is no extra-value in saving as xlsx. Other software developers can deal with the old obscurities better than with the new ones.
MS failed to establish their pseudo-standard "Office Open XML" which has been invented to undermine the open XML-standard created by OpenOffice.org. The similarity in naming says it all.
Next service release of MS Office is reported to support the internationally standardized and well established file format of OpenOffice.org. Meanwhile you may suggest to install an office plug-in from the original vendor of that standard: http://www.sun.com/software/star/odf_plugin/ (just in case Microsoft retries to sabotage our file formats).
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Flow · Newbie Joined: 09 Jan 2009 Posts: 2

According to the person who gave me the spreadsheet, the spreadsheet uses some formulas that may not be supported in older (pre-2007) versions of Excel. So I'm worried that saving as xls may change how the spreadsheet works.

Edit: Indeed, when I try to save as xls, I get the message that "This document may contain formatting or content that cannot be saved in the Microsoft Excel 97/2000/XP file format".

Villeroy · Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2009 1:58 am Post subject:

The supported functions depend on the spreadsheet application rather than file format. Which exact functions does he mean? If the functions work in Calc, they should work with Excel 2003 as well. OOXML is just another way to encode the very same contents as the binary functions did.
Add-in functions impose other problems regardless of the used application since not everyone has the same set of add-ins installed.

But this is a typical issue with Microsoft users. They always assume that everybody has the latest shit from Microsoft installed.
But today Office 2007 has a comparatively small market share due to the flop of the Vista operating system and the hardware resources required by Vista and Office 2007 for almost no extra value.
If someone uses all the features of his new toy he can not expect that others can handle the result on their computers.

EDIT: Every application gives a warning that foreign file formats may strip some of the features. You get the same warning when you save a spreadsheet as plain text, which can only store the current sheet's plain data without formulas nor formatting.
There are very few features uniquely in OpenOffice.org, but not representable in the Excel file formats, regardless of xls or xlsx.

I'm fairly shure that saving a working xlsx as xls where you just edited some values, formulas or common things will not destroy anything.
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dkerber · Newbie Joined: 16 Sep 2009 Posts: 3

So is saving as .xlsx a planned enhancement? Or if not, does anybody know of a 3rd-party plugin or other way of generating .xlsx files directly from OOo? We have one customer who does not want xls's; they are requiring .xlsx format, and we're hoping not to have to buy Excel 2007 just for them.

D

Villeroy · Posted: Wed Sep 16, 2009 11:07 am Post subject:

This has been answered over and over again. MS wants to stay compatible with itself and meanwhile I think the rest of the world should do them this favour.

No, this brand new highly complex file format (6,000 pages of technical specs, compared to 700 pages ODF specs) is impossible to implement by any software company other than Microsoft.
StarOffice/OpenOffice.org struggle since 20 years with the binary xls/doc/ppt and still they are not implemented perfectly.

You may use an experimental branch of OpenOffice.org that has been developed mainly by Novell (MS partner): http://go-oo.org
If that filter does not work well enough there is an online converter http://zamzar.com

Just another question: Why should OOo help to spread OOXML file formats that have been "invented" to kick OpenOffice.org right in the ass (just notice the name "Office Open XML").
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dkerber · Newbie Joined: 16 Sep 2009 Posts: 3

Villeroy · Posted: Wed Sep 16, 2009 12:24 pm Post subject:

Proprietary file formats are the main reason why users are stuck to one software. Obscure file formats and all their implications are the main source of confusion, anger and disappointment among non-techie users.
Every software that produces OOXML helps to spread this pestilence.
The widely accepted ODF standard and the PDF export option are the most important reasons to install OpenOffice.org.

MSOffice is cheap enough and for most people it's better than than the rest. If you want the same as MSO accept MS being the co-owner of your data then you should definitively install Microsoft Office and never dare to ask for anything else. The latest version or some very cheply availlable older version.
OOo supports the features that can be stored in doc/xls/ppt almost fully. OOo as a program does not support all the new features that are possible to describe in OOXML.
MS Office supports 100% doc/xls/ppt, OOo 98% (?). Therefore doc/xls/ppt is the better exchange format between OOo and MSO and a few other applications.
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dkerber · Newbie Joined: 16 Sep 2009 Posts: 3

Villeroy · Posted: Wed Sep 16, 2009 1:30 pm Post subject:

Just send them xls. I can't see a technical reason not to do so. If you can wrap it in xls, they receive 100% of it.
What do they expect? Until today MSOffice 2007 has a very small market share compared to version XP or 2003.
14% of WIndows boxes have OOo installed.
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XUbuntu 9.04, OOo 3.1.1(Sun), Sun Java 1.5.0_06