Fwd: WOW: Microsoft Adding Support for ODF and PDF in Office
Steve Dalton
Date: 22 May 2008 6:31:12 AMSubject: WOW: Microsoft Adding Support for ODF and PDF in OfficeSource: Linux and Open Source Blog
Microsoft Office Service Pack 2 will have support for ODF and PDF, which is expected to be out in the first half of 2009, according to a confidential Microsoft press release viewed by the IDG News Service.
Until now, Microsoft has never said it would natively support ODF, promoting support through software that translates documents between Office file formats and ODF rather than native support. However, the company has been hammered by the industry — particularly through repeated fines by the European Commission — for its lack of support for interoperability with other companies’ products, and Microsoft has made several recent moves to remedy that situation.
Specifically, the service pack will add file-format support for PDF 1.5, PDF/A, and ODF v1.1, as well as XPS (XML Paper Specification). XPS is a similar format to PDF created by Microsoft to rival Adobe’s popular document-exchange file format.
IBM, an outspoken ODF advocate and critic of OOXML, said in a statement that it supports Microsoft’s expected move, saying there is increased interest in ODF and productivity suites that support it, such as its free Symphony software, which is an Office rival now in beta.
