Free online ODS to CSV converter

CSV is commonly required for database, accounting, CRM, and device imports that cannot read OpenDocument spreadsheets. Exporting an .ods workbook to CSV produces a plain-text table that these systems can parse.

ODS format

ODS stands for OpenDocument Spreadsheet, the spreadsheet format in the OpenDocument Format standard. It is the native workbook format of LibreOffice Calc and Apache OpenOffice Calc, and is also used by Collabora Office and other office suites; Microsoft Excel can open many ODS files.

An .ods file is a compressed package containing worksheet cells, formulas, styles, charts, comments, named ranges, and other spreadsheet features. It can contain multiple worksheets in one file.

CSV format

CSV is a plain-text format for tabular data. Each record is normally stored on one line, and fields are separated by a delimiter, usually a comma. A CSV file does not have a single universal dialect: receiving systems may require commas, semicolons, tabs, a particular quote character, or a specific text encoding.

CSV works well for a single flat table because it is compact, can be processed by scripts and databases, and can be opened in a text editor. It does not support workbook structure or spreadsheet presentation features.

Convert an ODS file to CSV

To convert without installing software, upload the .ods file to 101convert.com, choose CSV as the output format, and download the result. Check the exported file before importing it into another system, especially when the workbook contains multiple sheets or non-English text.

LibreOffice Calc gives direct control over the exported worksheet, delimiter, and encoding:

1. Open the .ods file in LibreOffice Calc.
2. Select the worksheet to export. A CSV file represents one worksheet only; export each required sheet separately.
3. Choose File → Save As, enter a filename ending in .csv, and select Text CSV (.csv) as the file type.
4. Confirm Use Text CSV Format when Calc warns that formatting and other features will be lost.
5. In the export dialog, select the delimiter required by the destination. Use commas only when the receiving application expects comma-separated fields; semicolons are common in locales that use decimal commas.
6. Use double quotes as the text delimiter unless the import specification requires another setting. Select UTF-8 unless the destination requires a legacy encoding.

For repeatable conversion on a computer with LibreOffice installed, use headless mode:

libreoffice --headless --convert-to csv --outdir output input.ods

The output directory must exist. LibreOffice's CSV export produces one sheet, so prepare the workbook with the intended sheet selected and verify the output; use separate exports or a spreadsheet-aware script when every sheet is required.

Data and compatibility limits

CSV retains cell values as text fields, but it does not retain formulas, styles, colors, column widths, merged cells, charts, images, comments, filters, data validation, or named ranges. Formula cells are exported as their calculated results rather than as formulas.

Spreadsheet applications may interpret values automatically when opening or importing CSV. Identifiers such as 00127, postal codes, long account numbers, and date-like values can be changed if the destination treats them as numbers or dates. Configure those destination columns as text, and inspect the CSV in a text editor when exact values matter.

Fields containing a delimiter, line break, or double quote must be quoted. A literal quote inside a quoted CSV field is represented by two quotes, for example "He said ""yes""". Do not remove these quotes manually, as doing so can shift columns during import.

Dates, decimal values, and currency may be exported using the workbook's locale-dependent display format. Match the delimiter, decimal separator, date format, encoding, and header-row setting to the import specification of the receiving system.