Windows Mobile to handle new Office doc formats next year

Early adopters of Microsoft Office 2007 can be sure to have document compatibility issues when sending documents to those who are still using an earlier version of Office, but Microsoft has already released viewers so they can at least work with the brand new documents.  That's not the case with Windows Mobile devices, however, so if you upgrade to the new version of Office you'd better output your documents in an earlier version or you won't be able to work with them on your Windows Mobile device.  CNET is reporting that Microsoft has stated it will be the middle of 2007 before Windows Mobile will be updated to handle the newer formats.  Oh and you Mac owners, fugeddaboutit!

Comments

[Rob Bushway]

not totally accurate in regards to the mac. The Mac Business Unit is stating that they will be coming out with a 2007 compatability viewers next year as well - about 6 - 8 months in to 2007, I believe.

My advice to everyone at this point is to set the default save behavior in Options to save in 2003 format until these save compatability issues are resolved around the board.

[Rob Bushway]

slight correction - not just viewers, but ability to open / edit those versions as well.

[Tax Man]

Since I use Macs and handheld devices in my business, I think I'll be waiting to upgrade to Office 2007. I looked briefly at the trial version and aside from the interface looking different it didn't appear to be all that compelling. Expecting people who receive documents and spreadsheets from me to download a file conversion utility to read them is not worth the hassle. I may be an early adopter but my clients don't necessarily share my lust for the latest and greatest.

[Colin Walker]

Even if MS have compatibility sorted for Windows Mobile by the middle of '07 it'll still take the operators months to ship phones with this installed on or release ROM upgrades for existing models.

I think we'll all be using "Save As" for a while yet ;)

[Rob Bushway]

better yet - just set the default save behavior in the office 2007 apps to the 97 - 2003 format and forget about having to remember the Save As.

Office button / Options / Save

[Stephen Feger]

This has always been a problem with Microsoft. They break the file format every time they come out with a new version. Way back in the day, when WordPerfect still held some ground (remember those days?), a big selling point was how they maintained the file format through successive versions without compromising the ability to add features.

These days, even though I am a very big Microsoft fan, I usually tell individuals to avoid Microsoft Office and go to Open Office 2.0. It's free, it does at least 90% (if not 100%) of what the average user needs. MS Office will still rule the corporate desktop (it IS very good), but the basic functionality has become a commodity. Issues like this only emphasize that fact.