Default File Formats
By default, OpenOffice saves documents in the OpenDocument format. Users can change the default file formats using the "Tools | Options | Load/Save | General" menu. The default formats can be locked down to the OpenDocument formats with the following settings:
In org.openoffice.Setup/Office/Factories/Factory['com.sun.star.text.TextDocument']
set ooSetupFactoryDefaultFilter to writer8 and mark the value as Final
In org.openoffice.Setup/Office/Factories/Factory['com.sun.star.sheet.SpreadsheetDocument']
set ooSetupFactoryDefaultFilter to calc8 and mark the value as Final
In org.openoffice.Setup/Office/Factories/Factory['com.sun.star.presentation.PresentationDocument']
set ooSetupFactoryDefaultFilter to impress8 and mark the value as Final
OpenOffice can also save files in Microsoft Office formats. To make these the default formats:
In org.openoffice.Setup/Office/Factories/Factory['com.sun.star.text.TextDocument']
change ooSetupFactoryDefaultFilter to MS Word 97 (enter exactly as shown)
In org.openoffice.Setup/Office/Factories/Factory['com.sun.star.sheet.SpreadsheetDocument']
change ooSetupFactoryDefaultFilter to MS Excel 97 (enter exactly as shown)
In org.openoffice.Setup/Office/Factories/Factory['com.sun.star.presentation.PresentationDocument']
change ooSetupFactoryDefaultFilter to MS PowerPoint 97 (enter exactly as shown)
Setting the default formats to a non-native format causes OpenOffice to display a warning dialog when a file is saved. To disable this warning:
In org.openoffice.Office.Common/Save/Document
set WarnAlienFormat to False