Word works with open file styles

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Gray Ghost
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Word works with open file styles

Post by Gray Ghost » Thu Feb 08, 2007 8:19 pm

Word works with open file styles

Microsoft has released tools that should make it much easier for users to share and save text-based files.

Working with three partners Microsoft has released a translation program that converts Word documents into more "open" formats.

Specifically, it lets users save Word documents in the ODF format favoured by the free Open Office application.

More translation add-ons for other applications in Microsoft's Office package of programs will follow.

Format furore

Rivalries in the technology world mean that companies develop their own proprietary file formats which do not work together.

This means that moving documents between programs on different machines can be frustrating.

Although it is possible to save files in neutral configurations so they can be moved around easily, these do not preserve all the nuances of style and layout available in proprietary formats.

The translation tool should ease some of the frustration as it lets users open, alter and save files in Word that have been previously saved in the Open Document format (ODF).

Amongst others, ODF is used by the free Open Office program that is becoming a rival to Microsoft's Office suite of applications.

The release of the translation tool fulfils part of a pledge made by Microsoft in late 2006 to produce the add-ons. Still to come is a translation tool that lets users of Open Office open, alter and save files in the open format Microsoft prefers, known as Open XML.

The add-on program for Word can already be downloaded from the SourceForge project page and will soon be available via Microsoft's website. The add-on works with Word 2003 and 2007.

Microsoft and its partners are also working on other translators for the Excel spreadsheet and PowerPoint presentation applications. These are expected to be ready by the end of 2007.
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Dude
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Word works with open file styles

Post by Dude » Fri Feb 09, 2007 12:01 pm

this could be a good thing but it may just turn out to be another type of document that is hard to covert later on.

I always end up with tons of different document types that are a few years old then I have trouble converting them when I need them.

and every time I have to spend 2 or 3 hours converting an old document from some word processor that I don't have any more then I tell myself that I am always going to save copies of all my documents in a TXT file so I can atleast use that.
Then after a couple months I forget again and stop doing that, and the cycle repeates itself again.
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penny
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Word works with open file styles

Post by penny » Sun Feb 11, 2007 3:11 am

I love all these things to make life 'simpler'

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