Portable documents

It had to happen sooner or later - today I`m writing a column that contains mention of a Microsoft product, and I`m going to be saying glowingly positive things about it! I`ve noticed that some of the other columnists here do that sort of thing too, once in a while, and so I don`t feel particularly bad about it.

It`s ironic how, after several iterations and proposed standards for portable document formats, HTML in the end seems to be winning out over its contenders.

Those who have the nerve to read on will notice that it`s not out of no-where that I`m making these comments. I`ve discussed portable, cross-platform document formats and the merits of HTML before, especially when commenting on intranets and commerce applications.

So today, I thought I`d discuss a new feature of Microsoft Office 2000. I`m not going to give a full technical review here - I`ll leave that to the product review specialists. They have been taking close looks at the pre-release beta versions for the past few months, and their comments can be seen on a number of Web sites and in many PC print publications.

I`m particularly interested in the new focus on intranet collaboration in Office 2000. In practical terms, this means primarily two things: (1) HTML as a portable document format and (2) Office Server Extensions. I won`t go into the server extensions, but suffice it to say that they, installed correctly on an NT server, enable users to collaborate with each other using chat services and the like.

It`s ironic how, after several iterations and proposed standards for portable document formats, HTML in the end seems to be winning out over its contenders. The one document formatting or page (screen) description language that every computer speaks these days is HTML. With the phenomenal growth of the Internet, approximately 50% of all new PCs are now purchased with the Internet in mind. In other words, they contain a browser package, either pre-installed or as a CD-ROM from a service provider.

That means that fundamentally, there are now two idioms that all computers understand: ASCII text and HTML. The limitations of ASCII aren`t something I will lament here. As a basic set of characters for communicating, it`s done good service and continues to do so (at least in English-speaking countries). HTML, that most basic of Web languages, has overtaken ASCII text in terms of both spread and momentum - everyone uses it, be it for pretty formatting or simply to display the extended Windows character sets.

Office 2000, as the first release of Office that contains HTML support natively and in all associated applications, allows users to save documents in the HTML format. This means that your Word 2000 document, no matter how elaborate or complex, is translated into an HTML file (which is of course an ASCII document) containing standard HTML formatting instructions (for display in a browser) as well as XML markup components containing all Word-proprietary or extended information about the document.

In simple terms, anyone with a Web browser can view an HTML Word document, while those with Word 2000 installed can right-click on its associated icon and choose the "Edit" option, whereupon the document is read back into the application used to create it originally (Word) and all additional formatting instructions (those that could not be rendered in HTML, such as editing remarks) are preserved. The same is true for all the other main Office applications, including Excel (which now creates very legible, even aesthetically pleasing, tables for browser viewing).

I had a conversation about this exciting discovery with a friend who is a Unix, and Unix-only proponent (contrary to popular belief, we at Microsoft have friends in all quarters :-).

I told him about Office 2000`s new HTML/XML capabilities and he got very excited, as this might enable him to read, write and edit Office-compatible documents. Given the use of open standards (HTML, XML), my friend felt that he might even be tempted to write one or more viewing/editing tools for Unix that would enable him to collaborate more effectively with his colleagues. Previously, he said, working in a 90% Microsoft-supplied office was quite difficult.

This new feature of Office hasn`t been hailed as a significant improvement by some reviewers who feel the average Office user will not make sufficient use of it. Personally (not wearing my company`s hat), I feel the portable documents will be the key for effective collaboration and online publishing. The more we publish in HTML, the greater our chances that all computers can be reached with our information. Disparate architectures throughout the organisation can finally communicate properly.

Also, consider the applications of HTML/XML document formats in the world of online publishing. Companies that have had to build their own text publishing utilities can now simply use Office`s HTML feature to produce comprehensive, compatible, portable HTML code that can be integrated straight into a database or Web environment.

I`m sure people will mail me after this column to tell me off for "marketing" a Microsoft product. Well, it`s not a marketing column, those who know me know I`m the first to be critical of a feature, product or service when it`s justified. I say: "Test it for yourselves." Personally, I`m sold. Loving it.