SkyDrive to support ODF format

Microsoft has announced they will be supporting the open OpenDocument format on SkyDrive.

Rumours are currently circulating that the launch of Google Drive will be imminent. Microsoft is therefore using the occasion to try and steal some news cycles by announcing a few new features for SkyDrive.

Microsoft’s cloud service which offers up to 25 GB of online storage space is now capable of handling the free and open OpenDocument format. This will allow users to view office documents with the .odt, .ods and .odp file formats online through their browser. These ODF formats are the defaults used by the LibreOffice office suit.

In addition to ODF, the other new features announced for SkyDrive are the addition of files up to 300 MB in size via Windows Explorer and file sharing through a Twitter account. Pictures with a URL shortcut thanks to the sdrv.ms service for Windows Phone users can also be shared from Twitter.

The SkyDrive team also states that even bigger changes are on their way. Pushed by their integration into the Windows 8 operating system, SkyDrive will start to closely resemble a Dropbox service rather than its current web interface.

A Metro application and standard desktop installation options will be available. In addition to its integration into Windows explorer, it will be possible to upload files of up to 2 GB through the web browser. It should be noted that SkyDrive on the desktop, will also work with Windows Vista and Windows 7.