ODP File: How to Open, Edit and Convert OpenDocument Presentations in New Zealand

If someone in New Zealand has sent you a file ending in .odp and a double-click did nothing useful, you have received an OpenDocument Presentation — a slide deck saved in a free, open standard rather than in Microsoft’s PowerPoint format. ODP files turn up constantly in Aotearoa’s schools, universities, councils, non-profits and open-source-friendly businesses. The good news: you can open, edit and convert an ODP file without buying any software. This guide explains what an ODP file actually is, how it is built, which free and paid tools open it, and how to convert it cleanly to PowerPoint or PDF.

What is an ODP file?

An ODP file is a presentation — a set of slides — saved in the OpenDocument Format (ODF), an open, royalty-free file standard maintained by the international standards body OASIS (the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards). The “.odp” extension is the presentation member of the ODF family, alongside .odt for text documents and .ods for spreadsheets. Because the standard is public, any developer can build software that reads and writes ODP files, which is why so many free tools support it.

The format is also an international standard. ODF is published as ISO/IEC 26300, and the current version, ODF 1.4, was approved by OASIS on 3 December 2025. That standardisation is the reason ODP files are trusted for long-term archiving: an open, documented format stays readable for decades, even if a particular software vendor changes its pricing or disappears.

What does an ODP file contain?

Technically, an ODP file is a ZIP archive — a compressed package — that bundles several plain-text XML files together. If you rename an .odp file to .zip and open it, you will typically see components such as content.xml (the actual slide text and objects), styles.xml (fonts, colours and layouts), meta.xml (document metadata like author and dates), settings.xml, a META-INF/manifest.xml listing everything in the package, a small uncompressed mimetype marker, and any embedded images stored as ordinary JPEG or PNG files. In short, a single ODP file holds your slides, their formatting, embedded pictures and metadata in one portable container.

ODP versus PPTX: what is the difference?

An ODP file and a PowerPoint .pptx file do the same job — they store slide shows. The difference is ownership. PPTX is Microsoft’s format (technically the Office Open XML standard, ISO/IEC 29500), while ODP is the vendor-neutral OpenDocument standard that no single company controls. Apple’s Keynote, by contrast, uses its own .key extension. Modern versions of PowerPoint, Google Slides, LibreOffice and Apache OpenOffice can all move slides between ODP and PPTX, so the two formats are largely interchangeable for everyday use — with a few formatting caveats covered further down.

Why New Zealand organisations use the ODP format

The ODP format is popular in Aotearoa for practical, cost-driven reasons rather than ideology. Three benefits stand out.

• No licensing cost: Schools, community groups, marae committees and small businesses can create and share presentations without requiring the recipient to buy a paid subscription. The free suites that use ODP natively cost nothing.
• Long-term readability: Because ODF is a documented ISO standard, an ODP file archived today will still open years from now. That matters for public agencies, libraries and research bodies with record-keeping obligations.
• Cross-platform support: ODP files open on Windows, macOS, Linux and ChromeOS, and inside a plain web browser through Google Slides — handy for mixed-device workplaces and BYOD classrooms.

If you are weighing up free office software more broadly, our roundup of OpenOffice alternatives compares the main suites side by side.

How to open an ODP file for free

You do not need to buy anything to open an ODP file. Several mature, free tools handle the format natively — here are the best options for New Zealand users, from desktop suites to browser tools.

LibreOffice Impress and Apache OpenOffice (desktop)

The most reliable way to open an ODP file exactly as intended is a free office suite that uses OpenDocument as its native format. LibreOffice Impress is the presentation app inside LibreOffice, the most widely used open-source suite — the latest release, LibreOffice 26.8, arrived in August 2026. Its counterpart in Apache OpenOffice is OpenOffice Impress. Both install on your computer, run fully offline, and open, edit and save ODP files with no ads, no account and no paywalled features. If you regularly receive ODP files, installing one of these is the cleanest solution; you can download LibreOffice for free, or read our overview of OpenOffice Impress first.

Google Slides (in your browser)

If you would rather not install anything, Google Slides opens ODP files in a web browser. Upload the file to Google Drive, then open it with Google Slides (right-click the file, choose “Open with”, then “Google Slides”), and Drive converts it for editing. Google Slides can also download presentations back out as ODP, PPTX or PDF, so it works both as a viewer and a converter. This is a good fit for shared or collaborative work, since several people can edit the same deck at once. Do note that very complex layouts can shift slightly during the conversion — always skim the result.

Microsoft PowerPoint and Microsoft 365

If you already have Microsoft PowerPoint, you can open ODP files directly — no separate tool required. PowerPoint 2013 and every later version (including Microsoft 365 and PowerPoint for the web) can open, edit and save the OpenDocument Presentation format; recent releases support the newer ODF versions, with PowerPoint LTSC 2024 handling ODF 1.4. Just choose File → Open and select the .odp file. Because PowerPoint translates the file into its own engine, some effects may not survive perfectly, so keep an original copy before you make major edits. For teams already on Microsoft’s platform, our guide to Microsoft in New Zealand covers the wider ecosystem.

On a phone or tablet

To open an ODP file on the move, the simplest path is the free Google Drive and Google Slides apps on iOS or Android: upload the file, open it in Slides, and export a PowerPoint or PDF copy from the menu if you need one. LibreOffice-based mobile viewers and Microsoft’s PowerPoint mobile app can also display ODP files. For giving the talk itself, our tips on using Presenter View in PowerPoint apply to Impress and Slides too.

How to convert an ODP file to PowerPoint or PDF

Converting an ODP file before you send it is often the safest move — especially for a client proposal, a tender or a marked assignment — because it removes any doubt about whether the recipient can open it. The two most useful targets are PowerPoint (.pptx), if the file still needs editing, and PDF, if it is a finished deliverable.

Convert ODP to PowerPoint (.pptx)

The most reliable conversions come from the tools that understand both formats natively:

1. In LibreOffice Impress or OpenOffice Impress, open the ODP file, then choose File → Save As (or “Save a Copy”) and pick “PowerPoint 2007-365 (.pptx)” as the file type.
2. In Google Slides, open the file and choose File → Download → Microsoft PowerPoint (.pptx).
3. In PowerPoint itself, open the .odp file and use File → Save As, choosing the PowerPoint Presentation (.pptx) format.

After converting, open the new .pptx once to check that fonts, tables and images survived the change before you send it on.

Save or export an ODP file as PDF

For a finished presentation that no one needs to edit, PDF is the gold standard: it locks the layout so the file looks identical on any device.

• In LibreOffice Impress or OpenOffice Impress, use File → Export As → Export as PDF.
• In Google Slides, choose File → Download → PDF Document (.pdf).
• In PowerPoint (after opening the ODP), choose File → Save As or Export and select PDF.

Exporting to PDF flattens your text, images and tables into a fixed, non-editable file, so it renders the same on an office monitor or a phone screen. The same File → Export route works for other OpenDocument files too — see our walkthrough on how to convert ODT documents to PDF.

Common problems and formatting mistakes to avoid

Most ODP headaches come from moving files between different programs, and nearly all of them are avoidable. Watch for these common issues.

• Fonts change or text overflows: If a deck uses a font that is not installed on your computer, the program substitutes another one, which can push text out of its boxes. Fix it by installing the missing font, or by switching the slides to a widely available font such as Arial, Calibri or Liberation Sans before sharing.
• Animations and transitions are lost: Complex animations, 3D effects and embedded audio built in one suite often do not carry across to another and may flatten into static slides. If effects are essential, deliver the file in the format it was built in, or export a PDF or video.
• Tables and charts shift slightly: Dense tables and charts can pick up minor border or spacing changes during conversion. Always open the converted file and tidy any misaligned cells before sending.
• Editing the only copy: A frequent mistake is converting a file and overwriting the original. Keep the source ODP untouched and save conversions as new files, so you can always go back.

How to tell whether a file really is an ODP file

Sometimes a file has the wrong extension or none at all, and you need to confirm it is genuinely an ODP file before trusting it. Because every ODP file is a ZIP package, it begins with the standard ZIP “file signature” — the bytes 50 4B 03 04 (which appear as the characters “PK” if you view the file’s start). This signature, shared by all ZIP-based formats, is documented in Wikipedia’s reference list of file signatures. A more practical check: rename a copy of the file to .zip and open it — if you see files like content.xml, styles.xml and a mimetype entry reading “application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.presentation”, it is a valid ODP file. If it will not open as a ZIP at all, the file is probably corrupted or mislabelled.

Security and privacy when handling ODP files

ODP files deserve the same caution as any document. The format itself is safe, but two points are worth knowing. First, ODP files can contain macros — small embedded programs — so only enable macros in files from people you trust, and keep your office suite’s macro security set to prompt you. Second, if a presentation contains personal information, New Zealand’s Privacy Act 2020 obliges organisations to keep that information secure and use it only for its intended purpose; that duty applies whether the file lives on a laptop or in a cloud editor. For sensitive decks, LibreOffice Impress and PowerPoint both let you set a password when saving (in Impress, tick “Save with password” in the Save As dialog), which encrypts the file so only people with the password can open it.

Who should use the ODP format?

The ODP format suits anyone who values cost-free, future-proof, cross-platform presentations. Students and teachers can share lecture slides without licensing barriers; public agencies and non-profits get a stable archival format; and small businesses can build professional decks on free software and still hand a PowerPoint or PDF to clients who expect one. If your workplace is standardised entirely on Microsoft 365, staying in PPTX may be simpler day to day — but even then, knowing how to open and convert the ODP files you receive means an incoming file never stops your work. For related file types, see our guide to the ODS spreadsheet format.

Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

What is an ODP file and why did I receive one?

An ODP file is a slide-show presentation saved in the open, free OpenDocument Format maintained by the standards body OASIS. You most likely received one because the sender used free software such as LibreOffice Impress, Apache OpenOffice or Google Slides, which use ODP as their standard presentation format instead of Microsoft’s PowerPoint format.

How do I open an ODP file for free?

Install LibreOffice or Apache OpenOffice and open the file in Impress, or upload it to Google Drive and open it with Google Slides in your web browser. All three are free, and all open, edit and save ODP files without any subscription. On a phone, the free Google Slides app will open it too.

Can Microsoft PowerPoint open ODP files?

Yes. PowerPoint 2013 and every later version, including Microsoft 365 and PowerPoint for the web, can open, edit and save ODP files. Choose File then Open and select the .odp file. A few advanced effects may not translate perfectly, so keep a copy of the original before making big changes.

How do I convert an ODP file to PowerPoint or PDF?

Open the file in LibreOffice Impress, Google Slides or PowerPoint, then use Save As or Download and choose PowerPoint (.pptx) if it still needs editing, or PDF if it is finished. PDF locks the layout so the file looks the same on any device. Always open the converted file once to check the formatting.

Why did the fonts or layout change when I opened an ODP file?

This usually happens when the presentation uses a font that is not installed on your computer, so your software substitutes a different one and text can shift or overflow. Install the missing font, or switch the slides to a widely available font such as Arial or Calibri, and the layout will settle down.