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Andy Wolber Explores Online Word Processors' ODF Support
TechCurmudgeon writes with a look at how well Google Docs and Microsoft Word Online are at dealing with documents that start (or are exported) in Open Document Format. Does using proprietary document formats make any more sense than buying a coffee maker that uses only one type of coffee, or an ebook you can only read on one device, or a nail that you can only hit with one type of hammer? Why do we use document formats that lock us into only one specific piece of software? Why are we limiting ourselves to only one type of tool? "Control of a format or distribution channel can make it harder to use a competitive solution. That's one problem of proprietary formats: a switch costs you time and/or money. You don't want to buy a new coffee maker to try different coffee, a new e-reader to read a different book, or new software to edit a new document. Open formats or distribution channels make it easier for people to choose a different solution. ... Fortunately, Google re-enabled support for ODF in December 2014. That means you can leverage the collaborative capabilities of Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides, then export your completed work to a file in an open, non-proprietary format." Spoiler alert: On balance, both Google Docs and Word Online handle ODT files reasonably well.
The spoiler alter tells us both Google docs and MS Word Online "handle ODT files reasonably well".
Unfortunately the test is done in very simple files, and we all know that as document grow bigger and more complex, the ability to reasonably well transfer them from one software to another vanishes. But this should not be a surprise considering MS Word itself is unable to cope with big .doc files and will corrupt them at some time.
I stopped using Microsoft Office in 1998 and never looked back. Glad to see an open format becoming a real contender. Would it be crazy to wish that everyone could just use .txt files for most everything and end this word processor madness? I wonder what percentage of documents were written with unnecessary markup that could have just been a plain text / markdown had there been an accessible and widely recognized WYSIWYG word processor that wrote natively to markdown?
The PC platform also lacked any form of DRM, and is flooded with all manner of software much of which is either low quality or in many cases downright malicious, and yet the platform is very successful.
A lack of DRM or other stupid platform restrictions is overall a good thing, albeit with some side effects.
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