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# Can LibreOffice open DOCX, XLSX and PPTX files? Office compatibility both ways
- URL: https://thelibreoffice.com/open-docx-in-libreoffice/
- Published: 2026-11-01T18:18:29.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-06T09:09:19.000Z
- Description: Open received Office files, preserve the original and save the right return copy. Check conversion risks and the different conditions for opening ODF files in Microsoft Office.
- Author: Clara Mitchell
- Tags: Office files and PDF

LibreOffice opens and saves Word DOCX files in Writer, [Excel XLSX files in Calc](https://thelibreoffice.com/libreoffice-calc-vs-excel/), and PowerPoint PPTX files in Impress. It also handles the older DOC, XLS and PPT formats. You can edit a received file and send an Office-format copy back, but opening successfully does not establish that every layout detail, formula or revision will survive unchanged.

The [documented Office format support](https://help.libreoffice.org/latest/en-US/text/shared/guide/ms%5Fuser.html?ref=thelibreoffice.com) covers these routes. LibreOffice's [default OpenDocument formats](https://help.libreoffice.org/latest/en-US/text/shared/00/00000021.html?ref=thelibreoffice.com) are different:

| App     | Office formats it opens and saves | Native master |
| ------- | --------------------------------- | ------------- |
| Writer  | DOC, DOCX                         | ODT           |
| Calc    | XLS, XLSX                         | ODS           |
| Impress | PPT, PPTX                         | ODP           |

First establish what the recipient needs: an editable document returned in the same format, a file for review, or a finished page to read. That choice determines what you save.

## Open the file from inside LibreOffice

My rule is to edit a working copy and leave the received original untouched. LibreOffice's [normal Save command overwrites a file with the same path and name](https://help.libreoffice.org/latest/en-US/text/shared/guide/doc%5Fsave.html?ref=thelibreoffice.com), so the original is your recovery point.

With LibreOffice open, choose **File > Open**, select the working copy and open it. A DOCX should open in Writer, an XLSX in Calc and a PPTX in Impress. This is the [direct opening route in LibreOffice Help](https://help.libreoffice.org/latest/en-US/text/shared/guide/ms%5Fuser.html?ref=thelibreoffice.com).

If double-clicking launches Word or another app, start with that route inside LibreOffice. It separates format support from the application associated with the file type. A different default app is not, by itself, a reason to convert the file or reinstall the suite.

![A received DOCX kept apart from a working DOCX and a separate return DOCX.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/9c/24/9c242d4a-d681-457b-a6d6-574ebc08020c/content/images/2026/11/43-libreoffice-a06-docx-file-roles.webp)

Keep the received DOCX. Edit a separate working copy, then reopen the saved return copy before sending it.

## Save a return copy in the required format

Decide where the editable master belongs before converting. For new work created in LibreOffice, retain an ODT, ODS or ODP master and create a separate Office copy for delivery. LibreOffice's [Save As guidance warns that external formats can lose formatting](https://help.libreoffice.org/latest/en-US/text/shared/01/01070000.html?ref=thelibreoffice.com). For an Office document you received, preserve that original Office file; do not insert an ODF conversion merely to make a backup.

1. **With the edited working copy open, choose File > Save As.** In the Tabbed interface, the documented route is **File**, then a long-click on the **Save** icon, then **Save As**.
2. **Choose a destination and a separate filename.** Use the file-format selector, described as **Save as type** or **File type** in Help, to select the Word format with the DOCX extension, the Excel format with XLSX, or the PowerPoint format with PPTX. If an older format is explicitly required, select DOC, XLS or PPT instead. Do not rely only on typing an extension into the name box.
3. **Click Save.** If a format warning appears and the recipient needs the selected Office format, choose the option that keeps that Microsoft format. Switching to ODF would produce a different deliverable. A warning is conditional: the **Warn when not saving in ODF or default format** preference and your chosen default affect whether it appears.
4. **Close the return copy and reopen that saved file.** Inspect its important content, then ask the recipient to check it in their editor when fidelity matters. Verify which filename you reopened so you do not accidentally inspect the unchanged master.

![Save As File name and File type fields, with Report-return as the example name and the ODF selection to change.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/9c/24/9c242d4a-d681-457b-a6d6-574ebc08020c/content/images/2026/11/43-libreoffice-a06-docx-save-file-type.webp)

For a DOCX return copy, change File type from the ODF selection to a Word format. A separate filename keeps the received original intact.

The [format selection and Save sequence](https://help.libreoffice.org/latest/en-US/text/shared/guide/export%5Fms.html?ref=thelibreoffice.com) applies to the return copy. File dialogs can be [native to the operating system or built into LibreOffice](https://help.libreoffice.org/latest/en-US/text/shared/01/01070000.html?ref=thelibreoffice.com), so their layout can differ. The essential check is the selected file type, the destination and the separately saved file, not a particular dialog's appearance.

LibreOffice's [format-warning setting](https://help.libreoffice.org/latest/en-US/text/shared/optionen/01010200.html?ref=thelibreoffice.com) explains why a missing prompt is not proof that you saved the intended format. Keep the explicit format check in the sequence.

## Check the parts conversion can change

A quick read of the opening paragraph is not enough for a document with complex structure. The official [Office conversion guidance](https://help.libreoffice.org/latest/en-US/text/shared/guide/ms%5Fimport%5Fexport%5Flimitations.html?ref=thelibreoffice.com) identifies these areas for inspection:

- **Writer:** tables, frames, multiple columns, fields and revision marks. Check page breaks and review content before sending an edited agreement or report.
- **Calc:** important formula results, pivot tables, charts and conditional formatting.
- **Impress:** master backgrounds, grouped objects, spacing and multimedia effects.

An unavailable font can also be substituted. LibreOffice's [font replacement guidance](https://help.libreoffice.org/latest/en-US/text/shared/optionen/01010700.html?ref=thelibreoffice.com) notes that replacement does not change the font settings stored in the document. Inspect the displayed result and important symbols; a familiar font name in the file is not enough.

Comments and tracked changes deserve their own check. Do not convert an active Word review document to ODT casually: Microsoft documents that [saving a Word document as ODT accepts all tracked changes](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/word/differences-between-the-opendocument-text-odt-format-and-the-word-docx-format?ref=thelibreoffice.com). The same table says tables inside comments lose their structure, although their content remains. These are Word-to-ODT conditions, not a claim that every LibreOffice DOCX exchange loses comments or revisions.

The six extensions in the matrix do not cover every Office variant. For legacy files containing VBA or separate macro-enabled files, opening and saving is not proof that automation still works. LibreOffice documents [different macro objects and methods](https://help.libreoffice.org/latest/en-US/text/shared/guide/ms%5Fuser.html?ref=thelibreoffice.com) and only limited support for some Excel VBA code. Its [VBA preservation settings](https://help.libreoffice.org/latest/en-US/text/shared/optionen/01130100.html?ref=thelibreoffice.com) also distinguish saving original code from executing it. Retain the untouched macro-containing original, and do not enable unknown code as a compatibility check.

## Make Microsoft formats the saving preference

If most new files go to Office users, you can change the default separately for text documents, spreadsheets and presentations. This sets a saving preference; it does not convert an existing folder of files.

1. **Open the options.** On Windows and Linux, choose **Tools > Options**; from the Tabbed interface, the **Tools** tab has an **Options** button. On macOS, choose **LibreOffice > Preferences**. Open **Load/Save > General**.
2. **Find Default file format and ODF settings.** In **Document type**, select the kind of document you are configuring. In **Always save as**, choose the corresponding Microsoft format with the required extension, such as DOCX for text documents.
3. **Repeat for the other document types you need, then confirm the options.** Create a new document of the relevant type and inspect its proposed format when you first save it. Use **Save As** whenever an individual file needs another format.

![Load/Save General Document type set to Text documents (Writer), above the Always save as ODF selector.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/9c/24/9c242d4a-d681-457b-a6d6-574ebc08020c/content/images/2026/11/43-libreoffice-a06-docx-default-format.webp)

In Load/Save General, choose the Document type first, then change Always save as to the required format. Repeat for spreadsheets or presentations if needed.

Those controls and platform routes come from the current [Load/Save General settings](https://help.libreoffice.org/latest/en-US/text/shared/optionen/01010200.html?ref=thelibreoffice.com). Changing the default does not remove conversion limitations, so retain a master and inspect the delivery copy when the document matters.

## Can Word, Excel and PowerPoint open LibreOffice files?

On Windows, Microsoft's current support pages describe opening and saving [ODT in Word](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/word/use-word-to-open-or-save-a-document-in-the-opendocument-text-odt-format?ref=thelibreoffice.com), [ODS in Excel](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/excel/use-excel-to-open-or-save-a-worksheet-in-the-opendocument-spreadsheet-ods-format?ref=thelibreoffice.com) and [ODP in PowerPoint](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/powerpoint/use-powerpoint-to-save-or-open-a-presentation-in-the-opendocument-presentation-odp-format?ref=thelibreoffice.com). Each warns that formatting can differ. Agree on the return format instead of assuming that either direction is lossless.

**Office for Mac has an additional condition.** Before permitting conversion of a sensitive file, confirm that its owner or your organization allows Microsoft's online conversion service. Microsoft's [ODF instructions for Office for Mac](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/collab-files/view-opendocument-format-odf-files-in-office-for-mac?ref=thelibreoffice.com) require an internet connection and permission to convert the file. The opened file is read-only; the recipient must use **Save As** to make an editable DOCX, XLSX or PPTX copy. If that service is unsuitable, send the required Office-format copy from LibreOffice instead.

## Send an editable file or a PDF?

Send DOCX, XLSX or PPTX when the recipient needs to continue editing in that format. For a document they only need to read or print, [send a PDF instead](https://thelibreoffice.com/libreoffice-pdf-editor/). LibreOffice's [PDF export is intended to retain the original formatting for viewing and printing](https://help.libreoffice.org/latest/en-US/text/shared/01/ref%5Fpdf%5Fexport.html?ref=thelibreoffice.com) with supporting software. Inspect the exported pages before delivery.

When editing and appearance both matter, send the agreed editable file plus a PDF showing the intended page layout. Name them clearly so the recipient knows which to edit.