All about FODT files
LibreOffice's open text format in a flat XML structure
FODT saves a text document as a single XML file, making it the flat counterpart to the widely used ODT format. The difference: ODT packs content, formatting, and embedded media into a ZIP archive. With FODT, everything is stored openly in an XML structure, including any embedded images, which are encoded in Base64 and stored directly within the document.
The format is supported by LibreOffice and Google Docs. A FODT file cannot be opened in Microsoft Word.
FODT offers a real advantage in only a few scenarios. Developers occasionally use it to version control document templates in Git because changes to the XML file can be easily compared. The format can also be useful for automated document generation on servers because it eliminates the need to create a ZIP file. It is of little use for everyday purposes, especially since images significantly inflate the file size.
In my experience, the vast majority of FODT files are created unintentionally due to selecting the wrong format when saving in LibreOffice. Conversion to ODT, DOCX, or PDF is possible at any time.
Last updated on April 25, 2026 by Sören Ramspeck with the experience of more than 128,393,936 converted files since 2013.
Convert, open and edit FODT files
Details about FODT files
- Software for opening FODT files
- LibreOffice Google Docs
- Software for editing FODT files
- LibreOffice Google Docs
- MIME-type for FODT
- application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.text-flat-xml
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