OASIS Open Document Format for Office Applications (OpenDocument) TC

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Developing an XML-based file format specification for office applications

Svante Schubert, Chair
Patrick Durusau, patrick@durusau.net, Chair
Francis Cave, francis@franciscave.com, Secretary

Table of Contents

Announcements

Overview

The OpenDocument Format (ODF) is an open XML-based document file format for office applications to be used for documents containing text, spreadsheets, charts, and graphical elements. The file format makes transformations to other formats simple by leveraging and reusing existing standards wherever possible. As an open standard under the stewardship of OASIS, OpenDocument also creates the possibility for new types of applications and solutions to be developed other than traditional office productivity applications.

For more information, see the TC Charter and FAQ

The OpenDocument TC works closely together with the OASIS ODF Adoption Technical Committee which provide expertise and resources to educate the marketplace on the value of the OpenDocument OASIS Standard.

Subcommittees

TC Liaisons

TC Tools and Approved Publications

Technical Work Produced by the Committee

Open Document Format for Office Applications (OpenDocument) Version 1.3 OASIS Standard was approved by the members of OASIS on 27 April 2021. See the announcement at https://www.oasis-open.org/2021/06/16/opendocument-v1-3-oasis-standard-published/

Open Document Format for Office Applications (OpenDocument) Version 1.3 Committee Specification 02 was approved by the TC on 30 October 2020. See the announcement at https://www.oasis-open.org/2020/12/04/open-document-format-for-office-applications-opendocument-v1-3-from-the-opendocument-tc-approved-as-a-committee-specification/

Open Document Format for Office Applications (OpenDocument) Version 1.3 Committee Specification 01 was approved by the TC on 25 December 2019. See the announcement at https://www.oasis-open.org/news/announcements/open-document-format-for-office-applications-opendocument-v1-3-from-the-opendocum

Open Document Format v1.0 was approved as an OASIS Standard on 1 May 2005. It is available in PDF and in OpenOffice.org XML formats.

Open Document Format v1.0 Approved Errata 01 was approved by the ODF TC on 24 November 2008 and is available for download in ODF, PDF and HTML formats.

Open Document Format v1.0 Approved Errata 02 was approved by the ODF TC on 20 September 2010 and is available for download in ODF, PDF and HTML formats.

Open Document Format v1.0 (Second Edition) specification was approved as a Committee Specification on 19 July 2006. It is available in OpenDocument and in PDF formats.

Open Document Format v1.0 has been approved by ISO/IEC JTC1 as an International Standard ISO/IEC 26300:2006.

The specification defines three Relax-NG schemas:

  1. The schema for office documents (defined in chapters 1 to 16),
  2. the normative schema for the manifest file used by the OpenDocument package format (defined in chapter 17), and
  3. the strict schema for office documents that permits only meta information and formatting properties contained in this specification itself (defined in appendix A).

These three schemas are also available separately:

  1. OpenDocument v1.0 Relax-NG Schema (extracted from chapter 1 to 16 of the specification)
  2. OpenDocument v1.0 Manifest Relax-NG Schema (extracted from chapter 17 of the specification)
  3. OpenDocument v1.0 Strict Relax-NG Schema (extracted from appendix A of the specification)

Open Document Format v1.1 was approved as an OASIS Standard on 2 February 2007. It is available in OpenDocument, PDF and XHTML (zipped) formats.

The three schemas defined by the Open Document Format v1.1 specification are also available separately:

  1. OpenDocument v1.1 Relax-NG Schema (extracted from chapter 1 to 16 of the specification)
  2. OpenDocument v1.1 Manifest Relax-NG Schema (extracted from chapter 17 of the specification)
  3. OpenDocument v1.1 Strict Relax-NG Schema (extracted from appendix A of the specification)

Open Document Format v1.1 has been approved by ISO/IEC JTC1 as an Amendment to International Standard ISO/IEC 26300:2006 - see ISO/IEC 26300:2006/Amd 1:2012

Open Document Format v1.1 Approved Errata 01 was approved by the ODF TC on 11 July 2013 and is available for download in ODF, PDF and HTML formats.

Open Document Format v1.2 was approved as a OASIS Standard on 29 September 2011

Available documents:

Open Document Format v1.2 has been approved by ISO/IEC JTC1 as a three-part International Standard:

This specificaction is part of the publicly available standards at ISO.

Accessibility Evaluation of the OpenDocument v1.0 specification

The ODF Access Requirements report has been created by the Accessibility Subcommittee and has been approved by the OpenDocument TC.

Open Document Format v1.1 Accessibility Guidelines Version 1.0

The Open Document Format v1.1 Accessibility Guidelines Version 1.0 have been created by the Accessibility Subcommittee and after public review have been approved by the OpenDocument TC as a Committee Specification. They are available in OpenDocument, PDF and HTML formats.

OpenDocument Metadata Use Cases and Requirements Document

The Metadata Use Cases and Requirements document has been created by the Metadata Subcommittee and has been approved by the OpenDocument TC. It is available in OpenDocument and PDF formats.

Wiki for the OASIS OpenDocument TC member collaboration

External Resources

Although not produced by the OASIS OpenDocument TC, the following information offers useful insights into its work.

opendocument.xml.org logo

OpenDocument XML.org is a community-driven site hosted by OASIS that provides reliable background information on the standard. The site also serves as a community bulletin board and directory where readers post news, ideas, opinions, and recommendations. It incorporates wiki functionality to let users edit and add new pages to the site. The public is encouraged to contribute content.

Mailing Lists and Comments

office: the list used by TC members to conduct Committee work. TC membership required to post. TC members are automatically subscribed; the public may view archives.

office-comment: a public mail list for providing input to the OASIS office Technical Committee members. Send a comment or view archives.

opendocument-users: an unmoderated, public mail list that provides an open forum for developers to exchange ideas and information on implementing the office OASIS Standard. Subscribe or view archives.*

*To minimize spam, you must subscribe to this list before posting.

Additional Information

Standing Rules

The TC has approved the following standing rule on 28 February 2011:

  1. Any substantive additions, deletions or changes to the ODF specification must be initiated by a TC member by submitting a Proposal. For all proposals, a JIRA issue must exist. For all proposals, TC members should follow the Proposal Instructions[1].
  2. A TC member wishing to make a Proposal (the Proposer) should first announce their intention to make a Proposal as defined by the Proposal Instructions[1] or on the ODF TC's mailing list. Detail is not needed at this point, but such notification is recommended in order to let other interested TC members know that someone is working in this area and to prevent duplication of effort.
  3. The Proposer controls the content of the Proposal and the pace at which the Proposal advances towards approval. As it is discussed, TC members may propose changes to the Proposal. However, the control of the proposal remains at the proposer.
  4. When the Proposal is ready for broader discussion within the TC, the Proposer must notify the TC as defined by the Proposal Instructions[1], or post a link to it to the TC's mailing list to solicit feedback.
  5. When the Proposer wishes for the Proposal to be discussed in a TC meeting, he or she must notify the TC as defined by the Proposal Instructions[1], or on the TC's mailing list.
  6. When the completion of a proposal has been announced, when the proposal is detailed enough to be integrated into the specification, when no objections are raised in the issue within one week, and if the TC's schedule for Committee Specification Drafts permits this, the TC editors may integrate the proposal. Already integrated proposals may be revised or amended by subsequent proposals. No proposal shall be voted on unless it formally meets the definition of "contribution" as defined by OASIS IPR Policy. A proposal shall be considered detailed enough if it contains the exact text to be added top the specification and the exact changes to the schema (where required), or instructions to the TC editor how the exact text and schema changes can be derived.
  7. When above conditions are met but objections are raised to a proposal, the Proposer may request a vote to accept his or her Proposal.
[1] http://www.oasis-open.org/committees/document.php?document_id=41285

The TC has approved the following standing rule on 12 October 2009

In accordance with OASIS Technical Committee Process 2.13, the OASIS ODF TC will allow motions to open electronic ballots to be made, seconded and discussed on the TC's mailing list

For technical assistance regarding this OASIS TC web page, contact webmaster@oasis-open.org.

Providing Feedback: OASIS welcomes feedback on its technical activities from potential users, developers, and others to better assure the interoperability and quality of OASIS work.