Question about formatting compatability. OpenOffice / Word

[mxmaniac]

This may be a newbie question, but I've done some googling and didn't quite find the answer.

Are there any particular steps to take to ensure that the formatting stays the same when opening a document in OpenOffice, compared to Word or LibreOffice?

For example, I recently made a relatively basic resume in Word 2013, nothing fancy or complex, but neatly packed into 2 pages and nicely formatted. Saved as a .doc. However when I open it in OpenOffice, the line spacing is different, making the pages not break where I want them to, and its 2 1/2 pages instead of 2. When I opened it in LibreOffice it was different as well. So same doc file, 3 different software, 3 different results. Primarily its just the line spacing though, and the font just seems to have a different look even though its the same.

This is after previously creating my resume in an older version of open office, something like 3.1. Saving it as a .doc and then sending it to a potential employer. While it looked beautiful on my screen, when they printed it (I'm guessing with word), the formatting was all messed up.

Am I missing something, or doing something wrong? Or is that just how things are? Is there a way to ensure documents will look identical between word and OpenOffice?

[RusselB]

There's no way of guaranteeing an exact match.
There are several different things that could be affecting the format of the document.
These include, but are not limited to, a different font, a different size of font, bolding, underlining, margin & tab settings.
The closest that you can get for guarantee to all 3, is to use a standard font (Arial and Times New Roman are usually safe choices).
Whenever you save a document in a non-native format, which is ODF (.odt for Writer documents), there is a chance of loss of formatting.
There is, by default (unless you turned it off), a warning about this in OpenOffice when you save in a non-native format.

[mxmaniac]

I wish everyone out there used the .odt format. However, in my case, I have to use the .doc format because it is the most common and accepted one. It just seems so strange that something as simple as a text document can be so different. Shouldn't 11pt font for example be the same size on all software? Shouldn't margins, line spacing, and other things be the same?

Or does microsoft have some sort of proprietary methods, or something else which prevents others from duplicating exactly?

[Hagar Delest]

If the document has not to be edited, then export to PDF, it ensures that the rendering will be the same.

Indeed, MS Office is very likely to be designed to prevent any interoperability, that's the way to keep the market shares.

[mxmaniac]

I may just have to go the pdf route whenever possible, although I'm sure sometimes a .doc will be needed.

As an update, I just did some more back and forth between word 2013 and Open office. I verified things like line spacing set to 1 font is Times New Roman, font size is 11pt. But for whatever reason, seemingly identical paramaters produce very different results in both software. (mainly just the line spacing) Its strange, I'd think it would be more standard, sort of how in real life, an inch is an inch no matter what tape measure you use (assuming its not a defective one). I feel like I may have to just guess what software the end user will be using, and use that one to make the document.

[RoryOF]

The best exposition of line spacing in OpenOffice is
Now revealed! Secrets of line spacing in OpenOffice.org Writer

A useful tip is to send a document in .pdf format as well as .doc, although I cannot see why any company should legitimately request a CV (=resumé) in editable format - they have no business altering it in any way.

[acknak]

... seemingly identical paramaters produce very different results in both software. ...

This should not happen. There may (likely) be some differences but most will be small.

If you have a sample that behaves this way, it might be helpful to attach it here. There may be a different approach that gives better compatibility.

One cause of formatting changes is when the document is being viewed on different systems, with different fonts available.

... I cannot see why any company should legitimately request a CV (=resumé) in editable format ...

My understanding is that some companies use software to process (index, for example) application materials and the software requires .doc format. Further, the software may reject .doc when it doesn't come from MS Office.

If compatibility with MS Office is critical, you have to use MS Office.

[John_Ha]

Are there any particular steps to take to ensure that the formatting stays the same when opening a document in OpenOffice, compared to Word or LibreOffice?

I would have thought that if the document is not heavily formatted you should be able to set an AOO Style which closely replicates the Word format. Essentially, you need to be sure the text and paragraph properties (and any other entities used) are as similar as possible.

If you upload an example of a doc file and the equivalent odt file (128kB max for each file, or use a file share site like Mediafire) it may be possible to make some suggestions.

Edit: One other point. Don't forget that the font shown in the Writer toolbar is the font which the document is asking for which may not be the font being used. If the PC does not have that font installed, then the Operating System substitutes a font, but the user is not told. The Add-on TestFonts is very useful to identify all the fonts being called for in the document and which are being substituted by what because fonts are missing.