How to Convert ODT to PDF

ODT is the OpenDocument Text format — what LibreOffice Writer, OpenOffice, and a few other editors save by default. It's a fine format to write in, but a poor one to send: plenty of people don't have software that opens it cleanly, and those that do may reflow your layout. Converting to PDF gives you a fixed, universal file that opens and prints identically for everyone.

This guide covers converting an ODT document to PDF and the options that decide what the finished file includes.

Before you start

• Fonts affect the result. If your document uses an unusual font, the conversion depends on that font being available; otherwise it substitutes a similar one, which can shift spacing slightly. Common fonts are safest.
• Decide what should carry over. Comments and heading bookmarks are optional in the output (below) — worth a moment's thought before you convert, especially if the document has editorial comments you don't want in the shared version.

The steps

1. Open Blackpdf's ODT to PDF tool and drop your .odt file in.
2. Set the Conversion Options:
   • Quality — High, Medium, or Compressed. High keeps images crispest; Compressed produces the smallest file. Medium is a sensible middle for most documents.
   • Include comments — turn this on only if you want the document's comments to appear in the PDF. For a clean shared copy, leave it off.
   • Bookmarks from headings — generates PDF bookmarks from your heading styles, giving readers a clickable outline. Handy for long documents.
   • Page range — convert All pages, or set a Custom range to export just part of the document.
3. Click Convert to PDF.
4. Download the result.

Tip: if the document is a long report, turn Bookmarks from headings on — readers get a navigable outline in the PDF's sidebar for free, straight from the heading styles you already used.

Common questions

Will my formatting, tables, and images stay intact?

Yes — the conversion renders the document as laid out, so headings, tables, lists, and images carry through. The main variable is fonts: an unavailable font gets substituted, which can nudge spacing.

How do I keep comments out of the shared PDF?

Leave Include comments off. It's the default posture for a clean copy — editorial comments stay in your working ODT, not the version you send.

What does "Bookmarks from headings" actually do?

It builds the PDF's clickable outline (the sidebar table of contents) from your Heading 1/2/3 styles. If your document uses proper heading styles, this makes long PDFs much easier to navigate.

Which Quality should I choose?

High for documents with images you want sharp or that will be printed; Compressed when a small file matters more than image fidelity; Medium as a balanced default.

Can I convert only some pages?

Yes — set Page range to Custom and specify the pages. Or convert everything and extract the pages you want afterwards.

Wrap-up

The flow is short:

1. Drop your .odt into ODT to PDF.
2. Set Quality, decide on comments and heading bookmarks, pick the page range.
3. Click Convert to PDF and download.

ODT is great to write in and awkward to share — PDF fixes that. For the similar Microsoft format, see Word to PDF; for rich text, see RTF to PDF.