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How to open .SDS files on iOS

To open .SDS files on iOS, iOS typically won’t open legacy StarOffice chart files natively; if Files/Quick Look can’t preview it, transfer the .SDS file to a desktop (Windows/macOS/Linux) and open it with LibreOffice or Apache OpenOffice.

Step-by-step instructions

  1. iOS typically won’t open legacy StarOffice chart files natively; if Files/Quick Look can’t preview it, transfer the .SDS file to a desktop (Windows/macOS/Linux) and open it with LibreOffice or Apache OpenOffice.

Common issues

The .SDS file won’t open or shows as an unknown format

This often happens when no compatible office suite is installed, or when the suite version has limited support for legacy StarOffice chart documents.

  1. Install LibreOffice, then try opening the file again (or try Apache OpenOffice if available, as legacy formats may behave differently across versions).
  2. Open the suite first and use File → Open instead of double-clicking the file.
  3. If possible, ask the sender to export the chart to a modern format from the original application.

File opens but the chart looks wrong or content is missing

Legacy chart documents can import imperfectly depending on the generating StarOffice version and the importing suite/version.

  1. Try opening the file in a different version of LibreOffice/OpenOffice (import filters can differ between releases).
  2. If you can open it at least partially, immediately save a copy and export to a newer format to preserve what imports correctly.

The file appears corrupted or won’t load at all

The file may be incomplete (bad transfer/download) or damaged, which can prevent chart parsers from reading it.

  1. Re-copy or re-download the .SDS file from the original source and try again.
  2. Test the file on another computer with LibreOffice/OpenOffice to rule out a local installation issue.

Security note

.SDS is a document/chart format; it’s generally opened by complex document parsers. Only open files from trusted sources because malformed legacy documents can trigger vulnerabilities in document-handling software.

Back to .SDS extension page