OpenDocument Format Set as Default File Extension when Saving Office Files

Question

I noticed that newly created Excel, Word, and PowerPoint files were defaulting to .od* file types when saving.

What I expected:

•              Word = Word Document (*.docx)

•              Excel = Excel Workbook (*.xlsx)

•              PowerPoint = PowerPoint Presentation (*.pptx)

What I got:

•              Word = OpenDocument Text (*.odt)

•              Excel = OpenDocument Spreadsheet (*.ods)

•              PowerPoint = OpenDocument Presentation (*.odp)

Learn more about OpenDocument here:

OpenDocument - Wikipedia

You can manually change the default save format, but it is on a per-user, per-client basis. So every user would have to change the default save format for Excel, Word, and PowerPoint.

![](https://learn-attachment.microsoft.com/api/attachments/c788e14c-48b1-4291-8441-ea64e467c478?platform=QnA"https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/solutions/apps-config-step-3?view=o365-worldwide" title="learn.microsoft.com" rel="ugc nofollow">Step 3. Configure Microsoft 365 | Microsoft Learn

I edited that section and changed the default to Office Open XML Format (and changed the update channel). Intune is trying to push out the modified app configuration to appropriate groups, but devices where Office applications are open present an error. The few devices that the update was successfully pushed to now have the appropriate default file types for Word, Excel, and PPT. Will likely just have to wait until the next monthly channel update comes along so that everyone gets on the same page.

Answer 1

Dear Annie,

We appreciate your sharing the experience and the possible solution of the issue with the detailed information here.

It may help other community members who encounter the similar issues in their environments.

Welcome to share any updates at your convenience.

Thanks for your effort and time.

Have a nice day!

Sincerely

Cliff | Microsoft Community Moderator

Answer 2

this change is terrible, give us an option to save in the native MS file formats... honestly what is the point of buying the MS suite anymore if we can even default save in the appropriate file format...

Answer 3

this change is terrible, give us an option to save in the native MS file formats... honestly what is the point of buying the MS suite anymore if we can even default save in the appropriate file format...

The original poster included the solution in her reply: an incorrect setting in the admin center.

Note that if you have a personal subscription, just change the default file type at File > Options > Save.

Also, remember that the default file format applies to new, untitled documents. If you save a new document using an existing document as a starting point, via the Save As dialog box, Word suggests whatever file format is the current one. But you can choose any supported file format that you want.

Answer 4

Thanks so much for your excellent investigating. You made my day not having to find that :)