Rob Weir's Doubt: MS Office 2007 ODF Compatibility?
A recent test shows that the promised Open Document Format (ODF) compatibility of Microsoft Office Service Pack 2 is far from it. At least table calculations in Excel SP2 demonstrate big problems when converting ODF values.
IBM colleague and standards activist Rob Weir tested compatibility of the free ODF documentation standard in different combinations with various office software. His conclusion: "This is a big step backwards." In a similar test beginning of March, Weir had come to more positive results, albeit with some recommendations, mainly because he had used the Sun plugin and Microsoft's own CleverAge to populate the Excel cells. In the meantime, Microsoft released MS Office 2007 SP2 that was supposed to support ODF.
So Weir tested again, this time with MS Office 2007 SP2 with integrated ODF support, and he wasn't too happy with the results. He writes in his blog, "Unfortunately this support did not fare well in my tests." Weir found that Excel SP2 stripped out formulas, leaving the previously saved values. He concluded, "In general, SP2 converts an ODF spreadsheet into a mere 'table of numbers' and any calculation logic is lost."
Even table formulas exported from Excel to ODF spreadsheets presented problems. "Excel 2007 SP2 does include spreadsheet formulas but places them into an Excel namespace. This namespace is not what OpenOffice and other ODF applications use... It isn't even the OOXML namespace."
Weir's disappointment contrasts sharply with his hopefulness two months ago. In his view, technical complexity can't be the problem: "Spreadsheet interoperability is not hard. This is not rocket science... To get this wrong requires more effort than getting it right. It is especially frustrating when we know that the underlying applications support the same fundamental formula language, or something very close to it...." He doesn't want to speculate whether this is accidental or intentional, but encouraged Microsoft to remove the code from SP2 that was the source of the problem. "... I cannot fail to notice that the same application -- Microsoft Excel 2007 -- will process ODF spreadsheet documents without problems when loaded via the Sun or CleverAge plugins, but will miserably fail when using the 'improved' integrated code in Office 2007 SP2."
Comments
comments powered by DisqusSubscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.

News
-
OpenMandriva Lx 6.0 Available for Installation
The latest release of OpenMandriva has arrived with a new kernel, an updated Plasma desktop, and a server edition.
-
TrueNAS 25.04 Arrives with Thousands of Changes
One of the most popular Linux-based NAS solutions has rolled out the latest edition, based on Ubuntu 25.04.
-
Fedora 42 Available with Two New Spins
The latest release from the Fedora Project includes the usual updates, a new kernel, an official KDE Plasma spin, and a new System76 spin.
-
So Long, ArcoLinux
The ArcoLinux distribution is the latest Linux distribution to shut down.
-
What Open Source Pros Look for in a Job Role
Learn what professionals in technical and non-technical roles say is most important when seeking a new position.
-
Asahi Linux Runs into Issues with M4 Support
Due to Apple Silicon changes, the Asahi Linux project is at odds with adding support for the M4 chips.
-
Plasma 6.3.4 Now Available
Although not a major release, Plasma 6.3.4 does fix some bugs and offer a subtle change for the Plasma sidebar.
-
Linux Kernel 6.15 First Release Candidate Now Available
Linux Torvalds has announced that the release candidate for the final release of the Linux 6.15 series is now available.
-
Akamai Will Host kernel.org
The organization dedicated to cloud-based solutions has agreed to host kernel.org to deliver long-term stability for the development team.
-
Linux Kernel 6.14 Released
The latest Linux kernel has arrived with extra Rust support and more.
MS Office will never be 100% ODF compatible