Convert ODT to DOC — Free Online Converter

ODT (OpenDocument Text) is an open ISO standard (ISO 26300) word processing format used natively by LibreOffice, Apache OpenOffice, and other open-source office suites. DOC is Microsoft Word's legacy binary format (1997-2003) built on the OLE2 compound document structure. Converting ODT to DOC translates an open-standard document into the older Microsoft format for compatibility with systems that predate modern office software.

The conversion maps ODT's XML-based ODF elements to DOC's binary formatting records: <text:p> paragraphs become Word paragraph sprms, <table:table> elements become binary table definitions, and ODF style attributes are translated to their closest DOC equivalents. The resulting DOC file opens in every version of Microsoft Word ever released.

Some legacy systems — court filing portals, government forms, legacy ERP document modules — specifically require DOC format and will not accept ODT. If you create documents in LibreOffice using ODT but must submit to one of these systems, DOC conversion is necessary. These systems were built before ODT existed and have not been updated to accept open formats.

DOC is also the safe choice when you are unsure what version of Word the recipient uses. While all modern Word versions support ODT, older versions (2003 and earlier, or 2007 without service packs) cannot open ODT files. DOC opens everywhere without compatibility packs or plugin installations.