Hope for Microsoft's OOXML Continues to Erode
Category Open Source
It's been slashdotted, but I'm still stunned that Microsoft would deprecate their older document formats. Isn't this the exact issue why so many legal and government institutions are looking to transcend proprietary document formats? Reading the ODF Alliance Annual report draws a clear picture of ODF's rising acceptance:
Why is Microsoft suddenly deciding to drop support for legacy document formats? “All Word files that have a version number that is less than but not equal to Word 6.0 for Windows are blocked from opening.” This also includes support for non-Microsoft standards, like dbf and wk1, which are frequently relied upon for data exchange and transfers.
Here's the justification (the emphasis is mine):
It's made me blink. No warning, no “yes/no” dialog—just a flat We Don't Do That. There is no security configuration setting, ala Internet Explorer, just a complete block. Court transcriptions, doctoral dissertations, county records, you name it—they are all unreadable. Sure, these are old document formats, but that is exactly one of the key purposes for the ODF, to be able to preserve the content of electronic documents.
Microsoft's support documentation does outline the steps that can be used to restore readability for their old formats. These efforts require altering registry settings, which is at least tedious, but at worst a deal-killer for the average user. And, finally, their support documentation only identifies the fix for Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. Microsoft Office 2003 still won't be able to access your old Ashton-Tate dbf(s), Lotus 1-2-3 or Borland Quattro Pro files that they've locked out. But, that's OK.
After all, if you've just paid $399 at Staples for the Microsoft® Office 2003 Standard Edition - Full Version, you can always download OpenOffice for free. It works with everything and is a heck of lot easier to explain to my Mom how to install it than fixing Office 2003 with “well, let's start with you running CMD and entering 'RegEdit.'
It's been slashdotted, but I'm still stunned that Microsoft would deprecate their older document formats. Isn't this the exact issue why so many legal and government institutions are looking to transcend proprietary document formats? Reading the ODF Alliance Annual report draws a clear picture of ODF's rising acceptance:
Five countries – the Netherlands, South Africa, Malaysia, Norway, and Croatia – adopted plans requiring the use of ODF for document exchange between government agencies and with citizens and other external entities. Japan and Russia adopted procurement preferences for products adhering to open standards, specifically referencing ODF in their policies, while Poland approved a national plan recommending the use of open, publicly-available IT standards.
Why is Microsoft suddenly deciding to drop support for legacy document formats? “All Word files that have a version number that is less than but not equal to Word 6.0 for Windows are blocked from opening.” This also includes support for non-Microsoft standards, like dbf and wk1, which are frequently relied upon for data exchange and transfers.
Here's the justification (the emphasis is mine):
After you install Office 2003 SP3, the following Microsoft Office Excel 2003 file types, Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003 file types, and Microsoft Office Word 2003 file types are blocked. By default, these file types are blocked because the parsing code that Office 2003 uses to open and save the file types is less secure. Therefore, opening and saving these file types may pose a risk to you.
It's made me blink. No warning, no “yes/no” dialog—just a flat We Don't Do That. There is no security configuration setting, ala Internet Explorer, just a complete block. Court transcriptions, doctoral dissertations, county records, you name it—they are all unreadable. Sure, these are old document formats, but that is exactly one of the key purposes for the ODF, to be able to preserve the content of electronic documents.
Microsoft's support documentation does outline the steps that can be used to restore readability for their old formats. These efforts require altering registry settings, which is at least tedious, but at worst a deal-killer for the average user. And, finally, their support documentation only identifies the fix for Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. Microsoft Office 2003 still won't be able to access your old Ashton-Tate dbf(s), Lotus 1-2-3 or Borland Quattro Pro files that they've locked out. But, that's OK.
After all, if you've just paid $399 at Staples for the Microsoft® Office 2003 Standard Edition - Full Version, you can always download OpenOffice for free. It works with everything and is a heck of lot easier to explain to my Mom how to install it than fixing Office 2003 with “well, let's start with you running CMD and entering 'RegEdit.'
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