How to open .SDA files on Android
To open .SDA files on Android, android typically won’t open legacy .SDA Draw files directly; transfer the file to a desktop (Windows/Linux) and open it with Apache OpenOffice Draw.
Step-by-step instructions
- Android typically won’t open legacy .SDA Draw files directly; transfer the file to a desktop (Windows/Linux) and open it with Apache OpenOffice Draw.
Common issues
The file opens in the wrong program (or prompts to choose an app)
Your system may not have a Draw application installed or the file association for .sda may be missing/incorrect.
- Install Apache OpenOffice and use its Draw component to open the file.
- Use “Open with…” and select the OpenOffice/Draw application, optionally setting it as the default for .sda files.
Error opening the .SDA file or the content looks corrupted
The file may be incomplete, damaged, or not actually an SDA drawing despite the extension.
- Re-download or re-copy the file (avoid partial email/transfer corruption) and try again.
- Try opening from inside the Draw application (File → Open) rather than double-clicking.
- If possible, confirm the source application: .SDA is typically a StarOffice/OpenOffice Draw (StarDraw) file.
Linux desktop doesn’t recognize the file type
MIME detection depends on the shared-mime-info database; if outdated, your environment may not label *.sda correctly.
- Update your system’s shared-mime-info package/database and log out/in if required by your desktop environment.
- Manually choose the Draw application via “Open With…” even if the MIME type label is missing.
Security note
Treat .SDA as a document opened by a complex file parser (Draw/office software). Only open files from sources you trust to reduce the risk of malformed-file exploits.