OpenXML

OpenXML is a document format from Microsoft, which conceptually corresponds to the Open Document Format( ODF), but has some differences in detail. OpenXML is used for the smooth document exchange of Office documents between different applications and operating systems.

The user can use electronic documents to carry information across applications, and the information can be equally interpreted by the computer and understood by the user. OpenXML is based on the Extensible Markup Language(XML) and describes the files that make up Office documents: Texts, tables, diagrams, formulas, graphics and presentations. The description information and the texts are stored in XML; as binarydata the OpenXML container transports only graphics, video and audio.

The format uses existing standards such as Extensible Hypertext Markup Language( XHTML), Scalable Vector Graphics( SVG), Extensible Stylesheet Language(XSL) or MathML. An OpenXML document consists of several directories and files in which all files belonging to the document are listed with their extensions. For example *.odt for text documents, *.ods for tables or *.odp for presentations.

To enable OpenXML documents to be archived or printed, Microsoft supports conversion to XML Paper Specification(XPS) and PDF/A.