https://peeterpaul.motskula.net:443/tags/office/ Recent content in Office on @ppmotskula Hugo -- gohugo.io et-ee peeterpaul@motskula.net (Peeter P. Mõtsküla) peeterpaul@motskula.net (Peeter P. Mõtsküla) Thu, 21 Feb 2008 00:00:00 +0000 https://peeterpaul.motskula.net:443/2008/02/21/microsoft-opens-up-office-binary-file-formats/ Thu, 21 Feb 2008 00:00:00 +0000 peeterpaul@motskula.net (Peeter P. Mõtsküla) https://peeterpaul.motskula.net:443/2008/02/21/microsoft-opens-up-office-binary-file-formats/ <p>Microsoft has <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/interop/docs/OfficeBinaryFormats.mspx">released</a> the Microsoft Office binary file formats (doc, xls, ppt) under <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/interop/osp/default.mspx">Microsoft Open Specification Promise</a>, which effectively says: &ldquo;We will never assert our patent claims against you for making, using, selling, offering for sale, importing or distributing implementations of the covered specifications.&rdquo;</p> <p>Indeed, these file formats are pretty complicated (it takes more than 200 pages to spec the Word .doc file format; Joel Spolsky <a href="http://joelonsoftware.com/items/2008/02/19.html">explains</a> why). But releasing them into the open means that the makers of OpenOffice and other alternatives will have a legal way of properly supporting these formats &mdash; and that they will probably get a lot of user pressure to implement this support.</p>