ODF: Great standard, but what works?

Ben Martin
linux.conf.au/schedule/present...
ODF is an open standard for storing office documents like
text, spreadsheets, drawings, and presentations.While ODF1.2
has been a standard for years, most tools do not fully
implement the entire specification. See how many current
generation office suites implement and or ignore the features
of the ODF specification. I'll also cover some open source
tools which you can use to check how well your own documents
are preserved across many different office suites. Some
results are available at
autotests.opendocumentformat.org/

I have been working on tools to help you work out what is
supported by each office application and see how a document
is presented on a platform that you do not have access to.
odfautotests runs hundreds of tests that have been derived
from the ODF standard, with each test aimed at showing how well each office application preserves a specific attribute or element of the ODF standard.
So for example you can see at a glance what
office application will throw away ruby text, and also see
how the ruby text is presented. While you might not care
about ruby text, returning an updated document to a Japanese
client with it stripped out will likely lead to tension.
odfserver is a new tool created this year to allow files to
be uploaded to a central server and have numerous office
applications load and save each file to test compatibility.
These testing tools are useful for a few groups of people. End users looking to use ODF and knowing what is properly perserved in their document. Small tests showing failing attributes are gold for developers who can then formulate plans as to which parts of the specification should be supported by their project next.