Table of Contents

• The Authoritative fork of Org mode's ODT exporter
  • Installation
    • Ensure that you are using the enhanced ox-odt and not the ox-odt that comes with upstream emacs or org-mode
    • What to do if the ox-odt from previous step is not the enhanced ox-odt
      • If you use Emacs' package.el ...
      • If you use straight.el ...
      • If you use Doom Emacs' straight.el ...
      • If you use a git checkout of this repo ...
      • If you have lost all hope of using this exporter ...
  • User Manual
  • Blog-style articles
  • Getting Help
  • FAQs
• Miscellaneous
  • Good Resources for learning LibreOffice

The Authoritative fork of Org mode's ODT exporter

This is a fork of Org's ODT backend and adds many useful improvements to that backend. This fork is authoritative because it is maintained by the original author of that backend.

Installation

Add https://kjambunathan.github.io/elpa/ to package-archives. Once that is done, you can install the exporter withM-x list-packages.

(custom-set-variables
 '(package-archives
   (quote
    (("gnu" . "https://elpa.gnu.org/packages/")
     ("ox-odt" . "https://kjambunathan.github.io/elpa/")))))

In the Emacs *Packages* menu, the entry for the ODT backend looks like

ox-odt             9.2.1.205     available  ox-odt     OpenDocument Text Exporter for Org Mode

Ensure that you are using the enhanced ox-odt and not the ox-odt that comes with upstream emacs or org-mode

1. Visit an org file: C-x C-f somefie.org

2. Export it to odt: C-c C-e o o

3. Switch to *Messages* buffer: C-x b *Messages*. Inspect the path of styles file.

   Here is a sample run on my setup.

   ODT Zip Dir is /tmp/odt-fLRSbZ/
   Formatting LaTeX using mathml
   Embedding /home/kjambunathan/src/org-mode-ox-odt/testing/examples/odt/publish/org-mode-unicorn.png as Images/0001.png...
   ----> ox-odt: Content template file is /home/kjambunathan/.emacs.d/elpa/ox-odt-9.5.3.437/etc/styles/OrgOdtContentTemplate.xml**
   Wrote /tmp/odt-fLRSbZ/content.xml
   ----> ox-odt: Styles file is /home/kjambunathan/.emacs.d/elpa/ox-odt-9.5.3.437/etc/styles/OrgOdtStyles.xml**
   Wrote /tmp/odt-fLRSbZ/styles.xml [2 times]
   Wrote /tmp/odt-fLRSbZ/meta.xml
   Wrote /tmp/odt-fLRSbZ/mimetype
   Wrote /tmp/odt-fLRSbZ/META-INF/manifest.xml
   Create OpenDocument file ‘3jacmbl0nfj0.odt’...
   Using schema ~/.emacs.d/elpa/ox-odt-9.5.3.437/etc/schema/od-schema.rnc
   Running zip -mX0 3jacmbl0nfj0.odt mimetype
   Running zip -rmTq 3jacmbl0nfj0.odt .
   Created /home/kjambunathan/src/org-mode-ox-odt/testing/examples/odt/publish/3jacmbl0nfj0.odt
   
   

   The path of the styles files suggests that ox-odt is coming from /home/kjambunathan/.emacs.d/elpa/ox-odt-9.5.3.437/ which is exactly what you want.

What to do if the ox-odt from previous step is not the enhanced ox-odt

If you use Emacs' package.el ...

1. Add the following to the very end of your init file

   (progn
     (require 'package)
     (setq load-path
       (cons
        (package-desc-dir (package--get-activatable-pkg 'ox-odt))
        load-path))
     (load-library "ox-odt"))

2. Re-start Emacs

3. Ensure that you are using the enhanced ox-odt and not the ox-odt that comes with upstream emacs or org-mode

If you use straight.el ...

      (use-package ox-odt
        :straight (org-mode-ox-odt
                   :host github
                   :repo "kjambunathan/org-mode-ox-odt"
                   :files ("lisp/ox-odt.el"
                           "lisp/odt.el"
                           "etc"
                           "docs"
                           "contrib/odt/LibreOffice")))

If you use Doom Emacs' straight.el ...

1. Add the snippet you see below to ~/.doom.d/packages.el,

      (package! ox-odt
                :recipe
                (
                 :host github
                 :repo "kjambunathan/org-mode-ox-odt"
                 :files ("lisp/ox-odt.el"
                         "lisp/odt.el"
                         "etc"
                         "docs"
                         "contrib/odt/LibreOffice")))

2. Do ~/.emacs.d/bin/doom sync.

Doom-emacs uses straight.el, so it may be like this in the straight.el way.

If you use a git checkout of this repo ...

Assuming that you have checked out the source under ~/src/ directory, add the following at THE VERY BOTTOM of your user-init-file

(setq load-path (cons "~/src/org-mode-ox-odt/lisp/" load-path))
(load-library "ox-odt")

If you have lost all hope of using this exporter ...

1. Identify the most recent version of ox-odt from the org-mode-ox-odt ELPA. At the time of writing this note, it is ox-odt-9.5.3.456.tar.

2. Download ox-odt-9.5.3.456.tar and untar it

~$ cd ~/Downloads/

~/Downloads$ wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kjambunathan/kjambunathan.github.io/master/elpa/ox-odt-9.5.3.456.tar

~/Downloads$ tar xvf ox-odt-9.5.3.456.tar 

3. Add the following at THE VERY BOTTOM of your user-init-file

(progn
  (setq load-path
	(cons
	 ;; Replace this path with where `ox-odt.el' can be found
	 "~/Downloads/ox-odt-9.5.3.456/"
	 load-path))
  (load-library "ox-odt"))

4. Restart Emacs

User Manual

See Top (OpenDocument Text Exporter for Emacs’ Org Mode).

If you are an existing user of OpenDocument exporter, start with What is New (OpenDocument Text Exporter for Emacs’ Org Mode).

If you want a /near complete/, but a /crude/ list of features start with List of features that are exclusive to The Enhanced OpenDocument Exporter for Org mode.

Blog-style articles

If you want a blog-style, informal introduction to some of the features of this exporter, you may want to look at the following articles:

• Create a stylesheet for your OpenDocument files, and inline the XML definitions right in your Org file–Think HTML_HEAD, or HTML_HEAD_EXTRA but for ODT / DOCX files
• Create tables with paragraph-like content in Org mode, with the least amount of hassle
• Use Starmath—NOT LaTeX, NOT MathML—when exporting Org mode files to LibreOffice
• Mix Starmath and LaTeX / Mix English and Tamil in same Org file (or) How to conditionally export text using Macros and Drawers in Org mode

Getting Help

1. Consult the manual Top (OpenDocument Text Exporter for Emacs’ Org Mode).
2. Search Issues page. Whenever a new feature is added, I add a very user-friendly note to how that feature may be put to use.
3. If you have an issue or feature request, open an issue at Issues page
4. If you have a question, you can visit Discussions page

FAQs

1. Will you merge this repo to upstream Orgmode or GNU Emacs?

   Never

2. Will you put this repo on MELPA or GNU ELPA?

   Never

3. Do you accept Pull Requests?

   I prefer bug reports and feature requests.

Miscellaneous

Good Resources for learning LibreOffice

If you would like to customize the look of a document produced by this exporter, a good familiarity with LibreOffice—this means working with styles—is a must.

LibreOffice comes with good set of User Guides. If you find that these guides are too detailed for your immediate needs, you may want to start with one of these:

1. Students' Guide to OpenOffice Writer
2. Writing a Thesis in OpenOffice.org
3. Self-Publishing using LibreOffice Writer 6: How to use free software to write, design, and create ebooks and PDFs for print-on-demand books. For more recent versions, see Taming LibreOffice Resources for intermediate & advanced users.