I'm creating an exercise spreadsheet in LibreOffice 5.0.5.2 on a Linux computer and I'd like to have this spreadsheet available on a Mac. Which format should I save the spreadsheet for it to be available to a Mac? Can the Numbers app on a Mac open any version of a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet?
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Format to save spreadsheet?
- Thread starter ardchoille50
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Not sure about "any version" or what versions you can Save As in that release of LibreOffice, but I'd be surprised if one or the other didn't work just fine for what you're doing.
More of a possibility of complications with a complex spreadsheet.
More of a possibility of complications with a complex spreadsheet.
Have you tried opening it in Numbers? Best way to find out is to try it out and report back it if worked or not.
Also, see if Libre Office can save to another format. Sometimes programs can save to multiple format, like Word can do doc/pdf/etc.
Is there a 'save as' in Libre Office? If so, what format options are given?
The format options given are in the screenshot below:
I sent myself a few test documents and tried to open them in the Numbers app on my iPhone 6. The only one that opened in Numbers was the .xlsx format (last option in the list). Is the iOS version of Numbers pretty much the same as the OS X version of Numbers? If it will open on the iPhone, will it open on a Mac?
I would assume so. I don't use Numbers since I have MS Office, however I would think that if you were able to open it on your iPhone it should open on a Mac. If you want to post a link to that doc, I can test it for you. You can leave it blank or have a few samples in it.
Otherwise, maybe someone else who uses Numbers on both iOS and OS X can chime in to confirm.
Edit: I actually don't have Numbers on my Mac, sorry. Thought it was installed.
Last edited:
So then .xlsx is the right choice. If Numbers on iOS can open the file, so will Numbers on MacOS.
I wonder why .csv didn't work for you though.
Ah, thank you for that confirmation. As far as the .csv format, I might have done something wrong.. I'm just now learning about spreadsheets and LibreOffice.
I just opened LibreOffice 5.x.
I created a new spreadsheet, then saved it to the desktop in .odf format (Open Doc).
I then launched Numbers, and brought up the "open" dialog.
Numbers does not recognize the .odf ss as an "openable" file.
I returned to LibreOffice and saved the SS into "Microsoft Excel 2007-2013 XML" .xlsx format.
Numbers is able to recognize and open the file when saved this way.
I created a new spreadsheet, then saved it to the desktop in .odf format (Open Doc).
I then launched Numbers, and brought up the "open" dialog.
Numbers does not recognize the .odf ss as an "openable" file.
I returned to LibreOffice and saved the SS into "Microsoft Excel 2007-2013 XML" .xlsx format.
Numbers is able to recognize and open the file when saved this way.
Thank you for this information, very helpful.
It seems that .xlsx is a standard of sorts, while .odf (Open Document Format) is not.
XLSX is a "standard" format which happens to be just one of many. It also happens to be the default format for MS Excel. Since Numbers and Libre Office can open this format, the best practice would be to save your files in XLSX format for maximum compatibility.
Yeah, I'm going through and saving all of my .ods/.odt files in .xlsx format. Thank you
Yeah, I'm going through and saving all of my .ods/.odt files in .xlsx format. Thank you
Saving as XLSX is not as intuitive as it should be: to save to XLSX, select FILE>EXPORT TO>EXCEL, and select XLSX format under ADVANCED OPTIONS. Also, keep in mind that if you are going to open the file in Excel (or another spreadsheet application), your formatting my be interpreted differently - but this is easy to fix.
Oh, I was using Save As, I didn't even think about Export. Yeah, I've already noticed that the backgrounds of some of my cells have been cleared. I'll have to learn which settings are compatible with .xlsx.