How to convert ODG (LibreOffice Draw) to PDF

How to convert ODG to PDF

Open the tool, click "Open converter," upload the .odg file, wait and click "Baixar PDF" (the converter window is in Portuguese; the button means "Download PDF"). The PDF comes out ready to share, print or open on any device and keeps the page size, the shapes, the text and the colors of the drawing. Unlike most AtlasDocs tools, this conversion happens on our server, and the file is discarded right after.

1. Open the tool and click "Open converter." The message "Preparing the converter… it may take a few seconds. Please wait." shows while the service loads.
2. Inside the converter window, upload the .odg file from LibreOffice Draw. One file at a time, up to 200 MB.
3. Wait for the conversion, done on our server, and click "Baixar PDF." The file keeps the name of the .odg.
4. Open the PDF and check the drawing before attaching or printing it.

Why the .odg gets stuck when you share it

The .odg is the drawing format of LibreOffice Draw, a free and very capable program, but not one everybody has. People who use only Microsoft Office, a phone or a browser usually can't open an .odg. And when it does open in another program, the drawing can slip. A PDF solves this because it has become the universal language of documents: it opens on any device, freezes the look and prints with no surprises. Got a CorelDRAW .cdr instead of an .odg? It also becomes ODG or PDF: see how to open CDR without CorelDRAW.

What the tool does (and what it doesn't)

• Input: an .odg drawing from LibreOffice Draw. Output: a PDF with the page size, the shapes, the text and the colors of the original.
• Runs on our server: the file is sent for the conversion and discarded afterward. That is why you click "Open converter" and wait a few seconds.
• Does not edit the drawing: if you need to change a box or a label, do it in Draw before converting.
• Does not replace a check: open the PDF and go over fonts, text and alignment before sending.
• Accepts .odg only; any other file type is refused with "Formato não suportado." (unsupported format). Limit of 200 MB per file; above that, "Arquivo muito grande! Máximo: 200MB" (file too large). If the conversion fails, the window shows "Erro na conversão" (conversion error) with the reason. The converter window is in Portuguese.

Before converting: three things to check in Draw

• Check the page size and orientation in Draw: the PDF follows the page, so a poster built on a portrait A4 sheet comes out as portrait A4.
• Keep every object inside the page area. Anything scattered in the gray area, off the sheet, is not part of the page and should not show up in the PDF.
• If the drawing has several pages, open the PDF and check that all of them came through, in the right order.
• Have LibreOffice installed? Draw itself exports to PDF from the File menu. This tool is for when you are on a phone, don't have the program at hand or received the .odg from someone else.

Just need to see the drawing, without converting?

If you received an .odg and only want to look at what's inside, use the Office viewer: it opens OpenDocument, Word, Excel and PowerPoint files right in the browser through the "Open viewer" button. It also runs on our server, with the same discard notice. The viewer's details are in how to open Word, Excel and PowerPoint online without Office.

What about the other LibreOffice files?

This tool is for drawings (.odg) only. Writer texts (.odt), Calc spreadsheets (.ods) and Impress presentations (.odp), as well as Word, Excel and PowerPoint, go to PDF through the Office document conversion, which also happens on our server. The steps are in how to convert Word, Excel and PowerPoint to PDF.

When a PDF is the best choice

• Sending a diagram, a flowchart or an org chart to someone who doesn't have LibreOffice.
• Printing a flyer, a poster or a floor plan at a print shop or at home, without depending on the program.
• Attaching it to an email, form or site that only accepts PDF.
• Archiving the drawing in a format that will still open many years from now.

Unlike most AtlasDocs tools, which run in your browser, this conversion happens on our server: the file is sent to generate the PDF and discarded afterward. If the drawing holds sensitive information, consider whether you can send it before using the tool.

If the drawing is finished in Draw and the only problem is "the other side can't open it," the PDF is the final step: in a few seconds the .odg becomes a file anyone can view, print and keep.