LibreOffice Files

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by Rex Djere on April 1, 2012 · 1 comment

in Training

Files

1. File Types
LibreOffice can store a collection of data in files. LibreOffice supports text documents, spreadsheets, presentations, drawings, and databases. It can also save files as HTML and XML.

The native file formats for the LibreOffice applications are as follows:

Application Name Application Type Native File Format
Writer Word Processor .odt
Calc Spreadsheet .ods
Impress Presentation .odp
Draw Drawing .odg
Base Database .odt

Figure Files.1: LibreOffice Native File Formats

LibreOffice also has the capability to save files on non-native formats such as Microsoft Office file formats. These include .doc (Word document), .xls (Excel document), and .ppt (Powerpoint document). LibreOffice cannot save to the Microsoft Access database file format (.mdb).
LibreOffice can export files from all of its applications to the popular .pdf file format. Pdf files offer a very good way of distributing files created in LibreOffice in a read-only format.

2. File Operations
LibreOffice can process files graphically or using a command-line interface. Graphical processing is the more popular option for most users, but the command-line option is very powerful. The command-line option is often employed on Linux servers or other Unix-like server environments. The command-line option is invoked by running LibreOffice is headless mode. In headless mode, LibreOffice can operate without a graphical X server. In headless mode, LibreOffice is often used as a back-end server to perform operations such as converting document files from one format to another. For example, the Linux command below would convert the Open Document text file Files.odt in user bob’s working directory to a pdf file named Files.pdf. The command was successfully tested in a Fedora 16 terminal.

[bob@fedoralaptop ~]$ /usr/bin/libreoffice –headless –invisible –convert-to pdf Files.odt

Figure Files.2: LibreOffice Headless Conversion of an Odt File to a Pdf File

Please see the Headless article for more details on the headless operation of LibreOffice.

Graphical file operations in LibreOffice are done using the File menu option in its top Menu toolbar. Expanding the File option gives the user the ability to open, save, print, and export documents. The user can also see file properties and perform other important file functions.

Figure Files.3: Highlighting the LibreOffice File Menu Option

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