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Google Docs Ditching Old Microsoft Export Formats(.doc, .xls, .ppt) on October 1

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Re: Google Docs Ditching Old Microsoft Export Formats(.doc, .xls, .ppt) on October 1

#11

Post by cooldeal »

recoiledsnake wrote: post #10

Did they announce this previously or are they giving just a 5 day notice(only 3 working days given the weekend)? A lot of users are going to get irritated at having to change their workflow to have a copy of Office to re-save documents before uploading them. If you need to have a copy of Office around to save them in the new format, then some of the savings by using Google Apps is diminished.

Welcome to the cloud, where you don't have the option of running old versions to tide through the transition and in which anything you don't control can be pulled from under your feet with little or no notice.

That's the thought that goes through my mind when I hear the "Yay, cloud!" line from the following MS ad:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1h8f5AOCNcs

Re: Google Docs Ditching Old Microsoft Export Formats(.doc, .xls, .ppt) on October 1

#12

Post by azim »

Before we get out the pitchforks, Google is still supporting the current Microsoft formats (.docx, .xlxs, .pptx). If you're still running Office 2003 or older, you can install a compatibility pack from Microsoft to support the current file formats. (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/924074)

Re: Google Docs Ditching Old Microsoft Export Formats(.doc, .xls, .ppt) on October 1

#13

Post by Shooti »

EvanAnderson wrote: post #3

Given that there's no further development happening at Microsoft on the DOC, XLS, and PPT formats it's unclear to me why there's any advantage to Google, from a code maintenance standpoint, to removing these formats. If Google was having to invest labor in maintaining the export functionality I suppose I could understand, but I would think the export code is long-since debugged and working. What makes the cost of mai…

Also worth noting that the article has since been updated to clarify that it's only the 97-2003 format which has been dropped. Export to 2003-2007 .doc .xls and .ppt formats are still supported. Plus from the way it's phrased it seems like import from 97-2003 formats will still be supported, you just can't export them that way.

Re: Google Docs Ditching Old Microsoft Export Formats(.doc, .xls, .ppt) on October 1

#14

Post by Shooti »

azim wrote: post #12

Before we get out the pitchforks, Google is still supporting the current Microsoft formats (.docx, .xlxs, .pptx). If you're still running Office 2003 or older, you can install a compatibility pack from Microsoft to support the current file formats. ( http://support.microsoft.com/kb/924074 )

Plus they've since clarified that only the 97-2003 format is being dropped, export to 2003-2007 .doc .xls .ppt is still supported.

Re: Google Docs Ditching Old Microsoft Export Formats(.doc, .xls, .ppt) on October 1

#15

Post by jlgreco »

recoiledsnake wrote: post #10

Did they announce this previously or are they giving just a 5 day notice(only 3 working days given the weekend)? A lot of users are going to get irritated at having to change their workflow to have a copy of Office to re-save documents before uploading them. If you need to have a copy of Office around to save them in the new format, then some of the savings by using Google Apps is diminished.

The article as far as I can tell does not say anything about importing those formats, only that they are ending support for exporting them.

How many people are both "modern" enough to be using Google Docs, but sufficiently out of date that they need to export the old formats? I am guessing sufficiently few that Google doesn't really care about them. If their copy of Office is that old, how old is their browser? Can their browser even supported by Google Docs?

Re: Google Docs Ditching Old Microsoft Export Formats(.doc, .xls, .ppt) on October 1

#16

Post by alanh »

Shooti wrote: post #13
EvanAnderson wrote: post #3

Given that there's no further development happening at Microsoft on the DOC, XLS, and PPT formats it's unclear to me why there's any advantage to Google, from a code maintenance standpoint, to removing these formats. If Google was having to invest labor in maintaining the export functionality I suppose I could understand, but I would think the export code is long-since debugged and working. What makes the cost of mai…

Also worth noting that the article has since been updated to clarify that it's only the 97-2003 format which has been dropped. Export to 2003-2007 .doc .xls and .ppt formats are still supported. Plus from the way it's phrased it seems like import from 97-2003 formats will still be supported, you just can't export them that way.

Okay, linkbait headline, then.

Re: Google Docs Ditching Old Microsoft Export Formats(.doc, .xls, .ppt) on October 1

#18

Post by brudgers »

mcpherrinm wrote: post #5
EvanAnderson wrote: post #3

Given that there's no further development happening at Microsoft on the DOC, XLS, and PPT formats it's unclear to me why there's any advantage to Google, from a code maintenance standpoint, to removing these formats. If Google was having to invest labor in maintaining the export functionality I suppose I could understand, but I would think the export code is long-since debugged and working. What makes the cost of mai…

Any changes in their own internal format would surely require maintenance of the legacy Microsoft formats, which would be quite burdensome I expect.

Yeah, it's not as if Google could abstract or overload the export function.

Re: Google Docs Ditching Old Microsoft Export Formats(.doc, .xls, .ppt) on October 1

#19

Post by ensignavenger »

gruseom wrote: post #7
niggler wrote: post #2

We need a real competitor to google docs, especially the spreadsheets.

especially the spreadsheets Can you expand on that? (I work in this space.)

Googles ability to copy formulas across cells and automatically adjust them relative to their new postion is weak compared to Excel. Basic patterns work, but if you are doing anything complex, Google just doesn't do it.

Also, Google's formating possiblities are very limited compared to Excels. I run into this limitation frequently.

There are numerous other restraints I come up against with Google Sheets occasionally, but these 2 are the ones I miss almost every time I use it.

I have not spent a lot of time with Excel Live, so I am not sure how well it competes.

Re: Google Docs Ditching Old Microsoft Export Formats(.doc, .xls, .ppt) on October 1

#20

Post by vajrabum »

jlgreco wrote: post #15
recoiledsnake wrote: post #10

Did they announce this previously or are they giving just a 5 day notice(only 3 working days given the weekend)? A lot of users are going to get irritated at having to change their workflow to have a copy of Office to re-save documents before uploading them. If you need to have a copy of Office around to save them in the new format, then some of the savings by using Google Apps is diminished.

The article as far as I can tell does not say anything about importing those formats, only that they are ending support for exporting them. How many people are both "modern" enough to be using Google Docs, but sufficiently out of date that they need to export the old formats? I am guessing sufficiently few that Google doesn't really care about them. If their copy of Office is that old, how old is their browser? Can t…

You forgot to ask, how many people need to export to a specific older version format to support their colleagues or customers.
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