And inside you will see all the files described above. You can easily open the ods file in the archiver if you change the extension to zip. Thus, we have seemingly one file, but with all the necessary "content" of the document inside.
The essence of the format is that it uses a container - ZIP archive, which contains inside XML - the document itself, metadata files, graphics and multimedia files. In the context of this article we are interested in the ODS format, but it is built on the same concept as the rest of the ODF format group. Odt - for word processor, ods - for tabular processor, odp - for electronic presentations and others. This format represents a whole family of formats for different products: In 2006, the ODF format received the ISO/IEC 26300 standard. But in the beginning of two thousand years the group of companies decided to create their own standard for electronic documents, which would allow them to completely abandon Microsoft Office. A file in this format is a container that contains a document, metadata, multimedia data and graphics.Īs already mentioned, Microsoft Excel has long been a monopolist in the field of spreadsheet processing and largely due to its closed data format. If we dig a little deeper, the basis of the BIFF format was the Interchange File Format (IFF), developed in 1985. Therefore, Excel had no competitors for quite some time. Before xlsx in 2007, it was the main format for storing Excel documents. The xls file is actually a BIFF binary format.
Until 2007, Microsoft Excel used its proprietary data format with XLS extension.īesides tables with the data and formulas, file xls can store vector and raster drawings, charts and macros (scripts). This continued from the early nineties until 2006, when a significant competitor of appeared.
Historically, the world giant of the Microsoft software market has monopolized the niche of tabular processors.
The purpose of this article is to examine file formats of these table processors and to understand which of them should be used in this or that situation. But perhaps the most famous of them are Microsoft Excel and OpenOffice Calc. It is thanks to this that we all open a tabular editor when you need to "patch up" the estimate for repairs in the apartment, or just write a list of guests for your wedding.Īt the moment there are quite a few similar tabular processors.
Perhaps there is not a single PC user who has not heard the word Excel. The main advantage of such programs is that they do not require specific knowledge in accounting, it is enough to study the program a little to use its basic functionality, which is enough for most users. Tabular processors are used everywhere, as well as tables once. Such program allows you to keep records of data in tables, make various calculations and conversions. Spreadsheets are built not as an entity, but as an application program, also called a tabular processor. It also solved the problem of data storage and transfer. This allowed you to quickly perform calculations and analyse huge amounts of data. Convenient data organization and calculation methods were combined with computers' computational abilities. Spreadsheets became a symbiosis of past and present technologies. And it was not until the end of the 20th century that they acquired a completely different quality. For a long time, tables have been a constant tool in accounting and statistics.
For centuries, they have been used to present similar data for record-keeping, counting amounts, and data analysis.
If you need a bit more style added to your work, you can employ the Apache OpenOffice Draw feature and add anything from simple diagrams to dynamic 3D illustrations.Īpache OpenOffice For Windows also allows the seamless manipulation of databases that enable you to produce and modify tables, queries, forms, and many types of reports right from within the application.Want to generate tables for a user - Excel or OpenOffice Calc? October 8, 2020 It includes a fully functioning spreadsheet that has the ability to analyze, calculate, and present your data with excellent graphics or numerical reports and a full-service word processor for double-checking and completing the job at hand. It features everything you need to be productive at the office or home and is very similar to LibreOffice and NeoOffice. The UI is clear and does include many of the same features as some of its counterparts. Apache OpenOffice For Windows is a free, Open Source MS Office alternative with a Word-compatible word processor, a complete Excel-compatible spreadsheet program, and more.Īpache OpenOffice For Windows will be easy to learn and use, especially if you're currently utilizing another office software package, as it will have a quite familiar feel to it.