Microsoft has announced plans to sponsor an open-source project aimed at developing software capable of converting MS Office print files to the OpenDocument format.
Today (July 6th), Microsoft is expected to officially launch the Open XML Translator Project. This project will be hosted on SourceForge.net – a well-known website that hosts various open-source projects licensed under the BSD open-source license.
The “Translator”
The Open XML Translator Project will be developed by a Microsoft partner based in France. The final result of this project will enable Microsoft Office to open and save files in the OpenDocument format.
The OpenDocument format – fully known as OASIS Open Document Format for Office Applications – is an open file format standard for office applications. OpenDocument was developed based on the format standards of OpenOffice.org. This standard competes with Microsoft’s Office format.
OpenDocument is emerging as an alternative format to the widely used Microsoft file format. It has gained a strong position due to significant support from software developers and regulatory authorities in Massachusetts (USA) and Belgium.
Why the Compromise?
Microsoft’s decision to participate in the Open XML Translator project is in stark contrast to its previous statements and actions. Even at this point, Microsoft insists that it will not incorporate support for the OpenDocument format into its Office suite. The reasoning Microsoft provides for this stance is that “the demand for OpenDocument format support in MS Office is not high.” Instead, Microsoft plans to use a third-party conversion tool to allow Office to read OpenDocument files.
“Microsoft does not see any increase in demand for the OpenDocument format. However, regulatory agencies have continuously required us to provide compatibility between Microsoft’s format and the OpenDocument standard,” said Tom Robertson, Microsoft’s Director of Compatibility and Standards.
“We believe that customers do not want uniformity; they want diversity, and they want a seamless transition,” Robertson added. “Some of our customers have indicated that they want us to focus on certain enhancements to ensure our product is of the highest quality.”
When Will the Fruit Ripen?
Today, the Open XML Translator is expected to release the first trial version of its conversion tool between the two formats. This trial version will be capable of converting Word document files to OpenDocument and vice versa.
The project aims to launch the official version of this conversion tool for Word 2007 by the end of this year, and for Excel and PowerPoint next year, according to Jean Paoli, Microsoft’s Director of Compatibility and XML Architecture.
The conversion will be entirely based on Microsoft’s Open Office XML standard – the default format of Office 2007. Additionally, Microsoft will seek to have Open Office XML recognized as an international standard by Ecma, Paoli stated.
Competitors Remain Competitors
Open Office XML is a backward-compatible standard, meaning that the products from the Open XML Translator project will also be compatible with previous versions of Office, Paoli confirmed. However, since the Open Office XML and OpenDocument standards are fundamentally different, the conversion will inevitably not be perfect.
“We want to be clear about one thing,” Paoli said. “No conversion is perfect. There are many differences between the two formats. Open Office XML is a backward-compatible standard with full features, while OpenDocument is relatively limited in these aspects.”
For example, participants in this project will need to technically assess whether there are features in the Office 2007 suite that OpenDocument products do not support.
Paoli mentioned that Microsoft will manage this project and provide additional resources.
Clever Age will be responsible for programming, Aztecsoft will handle testing, and Dialogika will conduct further testing to ensure the tool meets the requirements of European customers.
Hoàng Dũng
