Microsoft Office 2007 SP2 Released, Supports ODF Out of the Box

shutdown -p now writes "On April 28, Microsoft released service pack 2 for Microsoft Office 2007. Among other changes, it includes the earlier-promised support for ODF text documents and spreadsheets, featured prominently on the 'Save As' menu alongside Office Open XML and the legacy Office 97-2007 formats. It is also possible to configure Office applications to use ODF as the default format for new documents. In addition, the service pack also includes 'Save as PDF' out of the box, and better Firefox support by SharePoint."

Comments

Should install MsOffice 2007

[140Mandak262Jamuna]

Like AcidTest for browsers, is there a standard test that will test the export/import compliance with standards for the Office documents? Mod me paranoid, but I am worried Microsoft will implement ODF export/import deliberately in a buggy way to damage the reputation of the ODF format.

Re:Should install MsOffice 2007

[UltraAyla]

I'm no MS Fanboy, but that post actually highlights Microsofts strength of implementation. It sounds like Oo.org is the one that has some problems in their implementation that only show up when importing a strictly made document. Hopefully this will be pressure to fix the workarounds they have in place so that true interoperability is possible.

Re:Should install MsOffice 2007

[ConceptJunkie]

Well, it's a big step up from Office 2003 where OOo could open up Word documents that Office couldn't.

I lost whatever lingering dregs of respect I had for Microsoft when writing a Word document on the Mac, and Word crashed, corrupting the saved document as well. This was in 2005. I can't even remember the last time an app crashed _and_ managed to toast the document on disk too. Probably in 80's. After I rewrote the document from scratch (in OOo, where is was so much easier to make simple table it wasn't funny, and it wasn't modal for crying out loud, why is Word modal, especially since it's in really subtle ways?!), someone suggested that OOo possibly could have opened the document since it had a reputation of not being as bad as Microsoft at their own format.

Of course, with Microsoft you're always dealing with crap you thought you'd never see again 10 years ago.

Victory is ours!

[mcrbids]

Small as it may seem, a major victory has been won, here.

Ever notice that the price of MS Office exceeds the price of the rest of the computer? Whole swaths of public records stand at risk, tied to a format that's both obsolete and undocumented. But, by commoditizing the document format with open standards, this has the effect of requiring Microsoft to compete on real terms - stability, usability, features, price - rather than by effective lockout through underhanded OEM de3als and shady use of their Monopoly status.

This is a very, very good thing for everybody. (Even Microsoft - if they aren't forced to compete on real terms, they will atrophy and wither, eventually losing their monopoly and going the way of DEC)

As always, the ball's not out of the park yet, we must remain ever vigilant and work to preserve a competitive marketplace....

Re:Great

[bunratty]

Some people are receiving documents created in OpenOffice. Microsoft would like to have these people open those documents in Microsoft Office rather than download OpenOffice to open them. Otherwise, the next thing you know, people might actually use OpenOffice to create new documents. Ugh! This FOSS stuff spreads just like a virus!

In some senses?

[Shandalar]

Regular users of Office 2007 and OpenOffice know that Office 2007 isn't merely superior "in some senses". It's in almost every sense, as long as you have a relatively modern computer.

Re:Great

[Planesdragon]

I will tell you one thing that is not great about Office 2007 - lack of keyboard shortcuts.

You're trolling.

Name one -- ONE -- keyboard shortcut that went away in 2007 that you used.

Re:Great

[faraday_cage]

M$ made a HUGE mistake not having a 'classic menu' option in Office 2007.

Why was it a mistake? Why was it a mistake to leave behind something that was no longer working as intended? 73% of all new features that the public requested were command that already existed in the programs. The menu structure clearly wasn't letting people find these features.

All you need to do is put your common commands on the quick access toolbar, hide the ribbon and you have something that looks a lot like the old menu/toolbar scenario. Don't get me wrong, I loathed the change at first. But after 2 years of teaching 2007, and seeing the feedback of users who were as equally entrenched in the old system, there is barely anyone I know who yearns or pines for the old menu.

I did try open office at home. The word processor was ok, but not robust, and the spreadsheet module would crash whenever I tried opening anything beyond a basic invoice with only sum functions. They need to work on that if they want it to be taken as a serious competitor to Excel. It is barely robust enough for a home budget file.

Re:Great - but of course...

[Anonymous Coward]

Damn, good thing OpenOffice doesn't do this with .doc files. Oh wait...

Re:Great

[shutdown -p now]

Ironically, they did it precisely the other way - they've implemented the ODF spec to the letter, and ignored any conformance bugs in OpenOffice (and in pretty much all other existing ODF implementations, which tend to follow OpenOffice behavior). The result is that you will have problems moving ODF documents between MSOffice and OpenOffice, but Microsoft gets to point a blaming finger at OpenOffice guys if asked.

I wonder, also, how it will affect any government tenders on Office suites. If one of the requirements is support for ODF, then Microsoft can just say that they're the only ones on the market with a fully compliant implementation, and point out flaws in OO.org...