.odt files are actually containers (you can see one using unzip -l document.odt ). Within the container, content is in the content.xml file. Script info source Heres what Ive figured out about opening, modifying, and saving the content of an .odt file: To open the container for editing: # bash $unzip path/container.odt content.xml $unzip path/container.odt content.xml -d working/dir/path/ # -d places content.xml in a different directory. # Creates a content.xml file where you want it. # python >>>import zipfile >>>odt_file = zipfile.ZipFile(path/to/file.odt,a) >>> # Options are read only, write only, and append to existing >>>raw_xml = odt_file.read(content.xml) >>> # Reads content.xml in as a string, doesnt place a file. Modify the content.xml file by hand, or using a script, or using Python. >>> # Tip for using python: ElementTree is good at XML, and it can parse a file, but it cannot parse a string! >>> # So heres h
