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ONLYOFFICE Compatibility and Migration Decisions

Quick answer

Treat opening, editing, converting and exporting as different capabilities. A format listed by ONLYOFFICE does not certify that every formula, macro or workflow in your workbook behaves identically. Approve a migration against the recipient’s exact editor and required tasks, while keeping the original intact.

Scope: migration planning for ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors and hosted ONLYOFFICE Docs, based on rolling official documentation checked 21 October 2026. This is not a test of a particular installed build or hosting service. The linked save/reopen exercise has its own Desktop Editors 10.0.0 Windows/Linux scope; do not extend it to mobile or hosted deployments.

Identify which editor receives the file

Record Desktop Editors or Docs, the installed/server version, operating system or browser, and whether the file is local or managed by a hosting service. Record the file owner and the operations the recipient is allowed to perform. A local-file result does not establish hosted sharing behavior, and a hosted menu does not prove the same desktop command exists.

The official Docs format reference distinguishes native viewing/editing from operations after conversion, and separately lists download outputs. It describes conversion to XLSX for editing. Read the operation you need rather than treating a row’s presence as a general compatibility guarantee. Supported spreadsheet formats

For edition and installation context, use versions and availability. This reference does not require a paid hosting plan, new account or external conversion service.

Inventory the workbook’s dependencies

Start with the business result, then list what produces it:

  • Formulas: required functions, named ranges, cross-sheet references, array outputs and input types. Capture expected results before conversion and require recalculation afterward.
  • Objects and layout: charts, pivots, validation, conditional formats and essential print output. State which differences are acceptable rather than relying on visual similarity alone.
  • Automation: macro language, API calls and external dependencies. Record whether the task is essential or has an approved manual fallback.
  • Collaboration: who needs to edit, comment, download or return changes; which location is the master; and which hosting controls may restrict the operation.

ONLYOFFICE macros use JavaScript with its Office API, not VBA directly. Its FAQ describes manual rewriting as one migration route. A macro-enabled extension therefore does not establish that an Excel macro will execute. The FAQ also limits macros’ access to the operating system and network; workflows dependent on those operations need separate design review, not a renamed file. ONLYOFFICE macro FAQ

Do not enable unfamiliar code or connect services merely to pass a conversion test. This guide does not use or recommend a paid AI conversion service.

Choose checks that can reject the migration

Create a checklist with requirement, source location, destination build, test action, expected result and status. Use documented constraint, observed pass, observed failure or untested. An untested item is not a partial pass.

Use the existing save and reopen exercise for a controlled XLSX/ODS comparison. It already specifies formulas, two worksheets, a changed-input calculation and separate file identities. Do not replace a real workbook’s acceptance inventory with that small arithmetic fixture.

A proposed migration decision might require all three of these: a cross-sheet total updates after an input changes; a critical chart still represents the intended values; and a recurring automation has an independently checked replacement. If only the first two pass, the workbook is not yet accepted for an automation-dependent process. These are proposed checks, not native observations.

If a calculation fails, use formula compatibility diagnostics before substituting hard-coded values. For identifiers and dates, use the separate CSV import checks.

Keep or replace the source deliberately

Preserve the original and start each new trial from it, not from a repeatedly converted failure. Inspect the exact returned file in the receiving application before approving handoff. A print-only report can satisfy a read-only requirement, but cannot stand in for a recalculating model.

If an essential formula, macro or recipient operation is blocked, retain the source workflow and record the missing capability. This page reports documentation-based boundaries only: no native save/reopen, hosted permission test, screenshot or receiving-application pass is claimed.