New plug-in will allow Word to read, write ODF files
As governments start to standardize on the Open Document Format instead of Word, a big concern has been on mitigating the cost of the transition. Now an open source programmer has developed a plug-in that will allow Word to read and write ODF files, News.com reports.
But the plug-in won't be made available until state governments like Massachusetts vet the software.
"We'd rather have a level of validation that is worthy enough so that when other entities want to consider OpenDocument, eighty percent of the testing is done for them," Edwards told CNET News.com on Friday.
He said that the OpenDocument Foundation will respond to a request for information Massachusetts issued last week on an ODF plug-in for Office. He noted that the plug-in for Word, for example, was well tested but there remains work to be done for Excel and PowerPoint.
Here's an interesting tidbit from Edwards - and a word to the wise for developers.
The technical break-through came when developers stopped following Microsoft's interoperability instructions and started considering undocumented APIs, he said.
"Your big mistake is following instructions Microsoft provides. You need to be looking at what Microsoft does, not what they tell you to do," Edwards said.
