What happens when you convert ODG to PDF
- The ODG is opened by LibreOffice, the open-source office suite, on our conversion server and exported to PDF with its layout: one PDF page per drawing page, with shapes and text kept as vectors.
- Where the file uses a font our server does not have, a metric-compatible one is used instead: Carlito for Calibri, Caladea for Cambria and Liberation fonts for Arial, Times New Roman and Courier New, so lines break where they did. Unusual or decorative fonts may look different.
- Password-protected files cannot be converted, because they cannot be opened without the password.
- This conversion runs on our server: the file is uploaded, converted, and deleted together with the result as soon as the result has been sent back to you. Nothing is kept. Files up to 25 MB are accepted.
How to convert ODG to PDF online
- Press "Choose ODG files" and select one or more files, or drag them onto the box. Files up to 25 MB each can be converted.
- There are no settings to choose: the converter keeps everything the target format can hold.
- Press "Convert to PDF". The file is uploaded to our conversion server, converted in a few seconds, and deleted together with the result as soon as the result is sent back.
- Save each PDF with its download button. Our server has already deleted both your ODG and the PDF by then.
Why convert ODG to PDF?
ODG files usually come from diagrams, flowcharts, posters and floor plans made in LibreOffice Draw. People convert them to PDF because a PDF looks the same on every device and is what forms, portals and printers ask for.
In short, ODG is good at what it was made for, and PDF is the more practical choice when the file has to open, upload or print somewhere else. ODG does not open in browsers; LibreOffice Draw opens it, and few other programs do, while PDF opens in every browser's built-in viewer.
How to convert ODG to PDF on Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android
On Windows
Open this page in Chrome, Edge or Firefox, drag your ODG files in from File Explorer, and press Convert. Each PDF is saved to your Downloads folder.
On a Mac
Safari, Chrome and Firefox all work. Drag the ODG files from Finder onto the drop zone and the PDF files land in Downloads.
On iPhone and iPad
Open the page in Safari and tap Choose ODG files. You can pick from Photos or from the Files app. The converted PDF appears in Files, in the Downloads folder.
On Android
Open the page in Chrome, tap Choose ODG files and pick them from Files or your gallery. The PDF is saved to the Download folder, where any file manager can find it.
Best settings for ODG to PDF
There are no settings: the ODG is printed to PDF with its own page size, margins and layout.
Check the PDF before deleting the ODG. Simple documents convert exactly; unusual fonts and complex layouts are where differences appear.
ODG vs PDF: the differences
| ODG | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | OpenDocument drawing | Portable Document Format |
| Type | image | document |
| Created by | OASIS | Adobe |
| First released | 2005 | 1993 |
| Compression | Lossless | Lossy or lossless |
| Transparency | Yes | No |
| Animation | No | No |
| Vector or raster | Vector | Vector |
| Colour | vector shapes, text and embedded images on one or more pages | any colour, pages can mix text, vectors and images |
| In a browser | does not open in browsers; LibreOffice Draw opens it, and few other programs do | opens in every browser's built-in viewer |
| Common uses | diagrams, flowcharts, posters and floor plans made in LibreOffice Draw | documents, forms, invoices and print-ready files |
| MIME type | application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.graphics | application/pdf |
About ODG and PDF files
What is an ODG file?
ODG is the native format of LibreOffice Draw, a ZIP of XML files like the other OpenDocument formats. A drawing can have several pages, and outside LibreOffice and OpenOffice hardly any program opens it.
What is a PDF file?
A PDF fixes the layout of every page so it looks the same on any device. Converting a PDF to an image renders each page to pixels; converting an image to PDF wraps it as a page.
ODG to PDF not working? Common problems
- "Files up to 25 MB can be converted." Server conversions have a size limit. Compress the images inside the file, or split it, and try again.
- "The conversion took too long and was stopped." Very long or complex files can pass the 90 second limit. Split the file and convert the parts.
- "This file is not really in ODG format." The converter checks every file before it runs anything, so a file of another format renamed to .odg is refused. Choose the page for its real format.
Convert ODG to PDF from the command line
LibreOffice does the same on your own computer, without opening a window:
soffice --headless --convert-to pdf input.odgConverting on your own computer keeps the file entirely local, which is worth it for very large or very sensitive documents. For everything else, the converter on this page does it without installing anything.
ODG to PDF converter FAQ
Will I lose quality converting ODG to PDF?
The PDF looks like the ODG printed: text stays sharp and selectable, and images keep their resolution. Fonts our server lacks are replaced with close equivalents, which can change the look of unusual fonts.
Why is the PDF a different size from the ODG?
A PDF embeds the fonts and images it uses, so it may be larger or smaller than the ODG depending on its pictures. Text-only files usually make small PDFs.
Are my ODG files uploaded?
Yes, for this conversion. A faithful ODG to PDF conversion needs LibreOffice, the open-source office suite, which cannot run in a browser. The file travels over an encrypted connection, is converted in a private temporary folder, and is deleted together with the PDF as soon as the result has been sent back to you. We do not keep, read or share it.
Can I convert several ODG files to PDF at once?
Yes. Select or drop as many files as you like; they are converted one after another and each gets its own download button.
How do I open a PDF file?
PDF opens in every browser's built-in viewer. PDF is common for documents, forms, invoices and print-ready files.
Is this ODG to PDF converter free?
Yes. There is no sign-up and no watermark. Because this conversion uses our server, there is a fair-use limit of 25 MB per file and a number of files per hour, which stops the service being overloaded.
Can I convert ODG to PDF on my phone?
Yes. It works in Safari on iPhone and iPad and in Chrome on Android. The conversion happens on our server, so it is as fast on a phone as on a computer; the PDF is saved to your Downloads folder.