On Fri, 01 Feb 2008 12:10:42 -0500 (EST) [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > Hi there > > I like using open office, great product, but whyc ant microsoft office > open > any of the open office documents? (I understand open office can open > Microsoft office documents, but not the other way round). Will there > be any future amendments to the compatabiltiy of Open office and > Microsoft office?? >
Microsoft are not keen on supporting the ISO International Standard Open Document Format (ODF) that OpenOffice saves files as. This is because they would like an alternative format based on their own formats which has to date failed to become a competing international standard. There are third party addons to Microsoft Office which allow it to open ODF documents. Unfortunately the officially supported one is hard to get and install, and does not allow you to just save (you have to export) which makes it hard to use. It is actually easier for everyone to install OpenOffice.org for free than use the plugin. OpenOffice.org can save files in Microsoft Formats with no problems for the average user. From the "Save As..." dialogue box, change the filetype in the bottom drop-down selector. Also ensure that "Automatic Filename Extesion" stays turned on (ticked or checked). What you see is a problem associated with "vendor lock-in" where a software company tries to keep it's clients coming back to buy updated versions of their software because it is the only program that has full compatibility with the data saved. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vendor_lock-in Open Document Format is a format that allows many companies software programs to open and save the data files. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenDocument_software_comparison That Microsoft won't play is more than just dummie spitting, they are afraid of losing their dominant market position and therefore income. -- Michael All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well - Julian of Norwich 1342 - 1416 --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
