Microsoft refreshes Office 2007 Beta 2

Microsoft on Thursday released a "technical refresh" of the Office 2007 Beta 2 which will allow people to work with the latest XML file formats now being standardized.

The default document formats in Office 2007 will be saved as XML files, called Office Open XML. Responding to government customers requests, Microsoft decided to submit these file formats to European standards organization Ecma

With the refresh of Beta 2, people can use the latest Office Open XML formats, according to Brian Jones, at Office program manager at Microsoft .

There were significant changes between version 1.3 and 1.4 of the draft specification, Jones said. The technical refresh of Office 2007 Beta 2 can now open documents that adhere to the latest edition of the specification, he said.

"We've been significantly updating the documentation and making changes to the actual format where it was clear there would be interoperability issues, or general problems with accessibility and ease of use," he said.

Office 2007 itself will be in business customers' hands by the end of the year and available to consumers early next year. The final version of Office 2007 will support the Ecma-approved Open Office XML specifications, Jones said.

Other changes to Office 2007 Beta 2 refresh are a new silver color theme; more options for minimizing the navigation "ribbon" at the top of Office applications; and changes to the Office Button to make it easier to access system-level commands, according to a spokesperson.