Firefox gains access to Open XML
Firefox gains access to Open XML
December 8, 2008: A global push for document interoperabilty has unveiled it is now possible to translate Open XML documents to a Web page (HTML), allowing readability on browsers such as Firefox.
Since its launch in March 2008, The Document Interoperability Initiative (DII) has gathered at a series of technical discussions and labs in a collaborative effort to identify, test and develop solutions to overcome document interoperability barriers.
At the most recent meeting in Belgium, the DII also announced improved translations between different formats through optimised templates.
“Achieving interoperability between document formats requires the IT community coming together to test implementations and develop tools to promote interoperability over time,” said Jean Paoli, general manager of interoperability strategy for Microsoft.
“We’re pleased to see the Document Interoperability Initiative events fill this important role over the past several months and result in real-world tools and solutions that will help vendors meet the interoperability needs of customers.”
The Open XML Document Viewer provides direct interoperability from Open Extensible Markup Language (XML) to HTML formats, enabling access to the information from any platform with a Web browser, including many mobile devices. The project also includes a plug-in for Firefox.
A plug-in for viewing Open XML documents within the Firefox browser on Windows and Linux platforms, without the need to install Microsoft Office, is available at http://www.codeplex.com/OpenXMLViewer.
Version 2.5 of the Open XML/ODF Translator is now available, and it provides practical interoperability between OpenDocument format (ODF) and Open XML by means of an add-in for Microsoft Office 2003, 2007 and XP.
Some of the improvements in version 2.5 include a set of ODF 1.1- compatible templates optimized for greater fidelity through the translation process, chart-related enhancements in spreadsheets, an enhanced installation experience and greater reliability. More information can be found here: http://odf-converter.sourceforge.net.