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Office Open XML (also informally known as OOXML) is a
zipped A zipper, zip, fly, or zip fastener, formerly known as a clasp locker, is a commonly used device for binding together two edges of fabric or other flexible material. Used in clothing (e.g. jackets and jeans), luggage and other bags, camping g ...
,
XML Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a markup language and file format for storing, transmitting, and reconstructing arbitrary data. It defines a set of rules for encoding documents in a format that is both human-readable and machine-readable. T ...
-based
file format A file format is a standard way that information is encoded for storage in a computer file. It specifies how bits are used to encode information in a digital storage medium. File formats may be either proprietary or free. Some file formats ...
developed by
Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...
for representing
spreadsheet A spreadsheet is a computer application for computation, organization, analysis and storage of data in tabular form. Spreadsheets were developed as computerized analogs of paper accounting worksheets. The program operates on data entered in cel ...
s,
chart A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent tabu ...
s,
presentation A presentation conveys information from a speaker to an audience. Presentations are typically demonstrations, introduction, lecture, or speech meant to inform, persuade, inspire, motivate, build goodwill, or present a new idea/product. Presenta ...
s and
word processing A word is a basic element of language that carries an objective or practical meaning, can be used on its own, and is uninterruptible. Despite the fact that language speakers often have an intuitive grasp of what a word is, there is no consen ...
documents.
Ecma International Ecma International () is a nonprofit standards organization for information and communication systems. It acquired its current name in 1994, when the European Computer Manufacturers Association (ECMA) changed its name to reflect the organizatio ...
standardized the initial version as ECMA-376.
ISO ISO is the most common abbreviation for the International Organization for Standardization. ISO or Iso may also refer to: Business and finance * Iso (supermarket), a chain of Danish supermarkets incorporated into the SuperBest chain in 2007 * Iso ...
and
IEC The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC; in French: ''Commission électrotechnique internationale'') is an international standards organization that prepares and publishes international standards for all electrical, electronic and r ...
standardized later versions as ISO/IEC 29500.
Microsoft Office 2010 Microsoft Office 2010 (codenamed Office 14) is a version of Microsoft Office for Microsoft Windows unveiled by Microsoft on May 15, 2009, and released to manufacturing on April 15, 2010, with general availability on June 15, 2010, as the succes ...
provides read support for ECMA-376, full support for ISO/IEC 29500 Transitional, and read support for ISO/IEC 29500 Strict.
Microsoft Office 2013 Microsoft Office 2013 (codenamed Office 15) is a version of Microsoft Office, a productivity suite for Microsoft Windows. It is the successor to Microsoft Office 2010 and the predecessor to Microsoft Office 2016. Unlike with Office 2010, no OS ...
and later fully support ISO/IEC 29500 Strict, but don't use it as the default file format because of backwards compatibility concerns.


Background

In 2000, Microsoft released an initial version of an
XML Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a markup language and file format for storing, transmitting, and reconstructing arbitrary data. It defines a set of rules for encoding documents in a format that is both human-readable and machine-readable. T ...
-based format for Microsoft Excel, which was incorporated in Office XP. In 2002, a new file format for Microsoft Word followed. The Excel and Word formats—known as the
Microsoft Office XML formats The Microsoft Office XML formats are XML-based document formats (or XML schemas) introduced in versions of Microsoft Office prior to Office 2007. Microsoft Office XP introduced a new XML format for storing Excel spreadsheets and Office 2003 ...
—were later incorporated into the 2003 release of Microsoft Office. Microsoft announced in November 2005 that it would co-sponsor standardization of the new version of their XML-based formats through
Ecma International Ecma International () is a nonprofit standards organization for information and communication systems. It acquired its current name in 1994, when the European Computer Manufacturers Association (ECMA) changed its name to reflect the organizatio ...
as "Office Open XML". The presentation was made to Ecma by Microsoft's
Jean Paoli Jean Paoli is one of the inventors of XML. Along with Tim Bray and C. Michael Sperberg-McQueen, Paoli co-edited the XML 1.0 recommendation for the World Wide Web Consortium starting in 1997 and until at least 2008. Paoli was born in Beirut, Leban ...
and Isabelle Valet-Harper.


Standardization process

Microsoft submitted initial material to
Ecma International Ecma International () is a nonprofit standards organization for information and communication systems. It acquired its current name in 1994, when the European Computer Manufacturers Association (ECMA) changed its name to reflect the organizatio ...
Technical Committee TC45, where it was standardized to become ECMA-376, approved in December 2006. This standard was then fast-tracked in the Joint Technical Committee 1 of ISO and IEC. After initially failing to pass, an amended version of the format received the necessary votes for approval as an ISO/IEC Standard as the result of a
JTC 1 ISO/IEC JTC 1, entitled "Information technology", is a joint technical committee (JTC) of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). Its purpose is to develop, maintain and p ...
fast-tracking standardization process that concluded in April 2008. The resulting four-part International Standard (designated ISO/IEC 29500:2008) was published in November 2008 and can be downloaded from the ITTF. A technically equivalent set of texts is published by Ecma as ''ECMA-376 Office Open XML File Formats—2nd edition'' (December 2008); they can be downloaded from their web site. The ISO/IEC standardization of Office Open XML was controversial and embittered, with much discussion both about the specification and about the standardization process. According to ''
InfoWorld ''InfoWorld'' (abbreviated IW) is an information technology media business. Founded in 1978, it began as a monthly magazine. In 2007, it transitioned to a web-only publication. Its parent company today is International Data Group, and its siste ...
'', "OOXML was opposed by many on grounds it was unneeded, as software makers could use
OpenDocument Format The Open Document Format for Office Applications (ODF), also known as OpenDocument, is an open file format for word processing documents, spreadsheets, presentations and graphics and using ZIP-compressed XML files. It was developed w ...
(ODF), a less complicated office software format that was already an international standard." The same ''InfoWorld'' article reported that IBM (which supports the
ODF The Open Document Format for Office Applications (ODF), also known as OpenDocument, is an open file format for word processing documents, spreadsheets, presentations and graphics and using ZIP-compressed XML files. It was developed wi ...
format) threatened to leave standards bodies that it said allow dominant corporations like Microsoft to wield undue influence. The article further says that Microsoft was accused of co-opting the standardization process by leaning on countries to ensure that it got enough votes at the ISO/IEC for Office Open XML to pass, although it does not specify exactly who accused Microsoft.


Licensing

Under the Ecma International code of conduct in patent matters, participating and approving member organizations of ECMA are required to make available their patent rights on a
reasonable and non-discriminatory Reasonable and non-discriminatory (RAND) terms, also known as fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms, denote a voluntary licensing commitment that standards organizations often request from the owner of an intellectual property r ...
(RAND) basis. Holders of patents which concern ISO/IEC International Standards may agree to a standardized license governing the terms under which such patents may be licensed, in accord with the
ISO ISO is the most common abbreviation for the International Organization for Standardization. ISO or Iso may also refer to: Business and finance * Iso (supermarket), a chain of Danish supermarkets incorporated into the SuperBest chain in 2007 * Iso ...
/
IEC The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC; in French: ''Commission électrotechnique internationale'') is an international standards organization that prepares and publishes international standards for all electrical, electronic and r ...
/
ITU The International Telecommunication Union is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for many matters related to information and communication technologies. It was established on 17 May 1865 as the International Telegraph Unio ...
common patent policy. Microsoft, the main contributor to the standard, provided a covenant not to sue for its patent licensing. The covenant received a mixed reception, with some like the
Groklaw ''Groklaw'' is a website that covered legal news of interest to the free and open source software community. Started as a law blog on May 16, 2003 by paralegal Pamela Jones (''"PJ"''), it covered issues such as the SCO-Linux lawsuits, the EU ...
blog A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...
criticizing it, and others such as Lawrence Rosen, (an attorney and lecturer at
Stanford Law School Stanford Law School (Stanford Law or SLS) is the law school of Stanford University, a private research university near Palo Alto, California. Established in 1893, it is regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world. Stanford La ...
), endorsing it. Microsoft has added the format to their ''
Open Specification Promise The Microsoft Open Specification Promise (or OSP) is a promise by Microsoft, published in September 2006, to not assert its patents, in certain conditions, against implementations of a certain list of specifications. The OSP is not a licence, but ...
'' in which
Microsoft irrevocably promises not to assert any Microsoft Necessary Claims against you for making, using, selling, offering for sale, importing or distributing any implementation to the extent it conforms to a Covered Specification hellip;/blockquote> This is limited to applications which do not deviate from the ISO/IEC 29500:2008 or Ecma-376 standard and to parties that do not "file, maintain or voluntarily participate in a patent infringement lawsuit against a Microsoft implementation of such Covered Specification". The Open Specification Promise was included in documents submitted to ISO/IEC in support of the ECMA-376 fast-track submission. Ecma International asserted that, "The OSP enables both open source and commercial software to implement he specification.


Versions

The Office Open XML specification exists in several versions.


ECMA-376 1st edition (2006)

The ECMA standard is structured in five parts to meet the needs of different audiences. ; ;Part 1. Fundamentals :* Vocabulary, notational conventions and abbreviations :* Summary of primary and supporting markup languages :* Conformance conditions and interoperability guidelines :* Constraints within the Open Packaging Conventions that apply to each document type ; ;Part 2. Open Packaging Conventions :* The
Open Packaging Conventions The Open Packaging Conventions (OPC) is a container-file technology initially created by Microsoft to store a combination of XML and non-XML files that together form a single entity such as an Open XML Paper Specification (OpenXPS) document. OPC-b ...
(OPC), for the package model and physical package, is defined and used by various document types in various applications from multiple vendors. :* It defines core properties, thumbnails, digital signatures, and authorizations & encryption capabilities for parts or all of the contents in the package. :* XML schemas for the OPC are declared as XML Schema Definitions (XSD) and (non-normatively) using
RELAX NG In computing, RELAX NG (REgular LAnguage for XML Next Generation) is a schema language for XML—a RELAX NG schema specifies a pattern for the structure and content of an XML document. A RELAX NG schema is itself an XML document but RELAX NG also ...
(ISO/IEC 19757-2) ; ;Part 3. Primer :* Informative (non-normative) introduction to WordprocessingML, SpreadsheetML, PresentationML, DrawingML,
VML Vector Markup Language (VML) is an obsolete XML-based file format for two-dimensional vector graphics. It was specified in Part 4 of the Office Open XML standards International Organization for Standardization, ISO/International Electrotechnica ...
and Shared MLs, providing context and illustrating elements through examples and diagrams :* Describes the custom XML data-storing facility within a package to support integration with business data ; ;Part 4. Markup Language Reference :* Contains the reference material for WordprocessingML, SpreadsheetML, PresentationML, DrawingML, Shared MLs and Custom XML Schema, defining every element and attribute including the element hierarchy (parent/child relationships) :* XML schemas for the markup languages are declared as XSD and (non-normatively) using RELAX NG :* Defines the custom XML data-storing facility ; ;Part 5. Markup Compatibility and Extensibility :* Describes extension facilities of OpenXML documents and specifies elements & attributes through which applications can operate across different extensions. Later versions of the ECMA-376 standard are aligned and technically equivalent to the corresponding ISO standard.


ISO/IEC 29500:2008

The ISO/IEC standard is structured into four parts: Parts 1, 2 and 3 are independent standards; for example, Part 2, specifying
Open Packaging Conventions The Open Packaging Conventions (OPC) is a container-file technology initially created by Microsoft to store a combination of XML and non-XML files that together form a single entity such as an Open XML Paper Specification (OpenXPS) document. OPC-b ...
, is used by other file formats including XPS and
Design Web Format Design Web Format (DWF) is a file format developed by Autodesk for the efficient distribution and communication of rich design data to anyone who needs to view, review, or print design files. Because DWF files are highly compressed, they are sma ...
. Part 4 is to be read as a modification to Part 1, which it requires. A technically equivalent set of texts is also published by Ecma as ECMA-376 2nd edition (2008). ; ;Part 1. Fundamentals & Markup Language Reference :Consisting of 5560 pages, this part contains: :* Conformance definitions :* Reference material for the XML document markup languages defined by the Standard :* XML schemas for the document markup languages declared using
XSD XSD (XML Schema Definition), a recommendation of the World Wide Web Consortium ( W3C), specifies how to formally describe the elements in an Extensible Markup Language (XML) document. It can be used by programmers to verify each piece of item con ...
and (non-normatively)
RELAX NG In computing, RELAX NG (REgular LAnguage for XML Next Generation) is a schema language for XML—a RELAX NG schema specifies a pattern for the structure and content of an XML document. A RELAX NG schema is itself an XML document but RELAX NG also ...
:* Defines the foreign markup facilities ; ;Part 2. Open Packaging Conventions : Consisting of 129 pages, this part contains: :* A description of the Open Packaging Conventions (package model, physical package) :* Core properties,
thumbnail Thumbnails are reduced-size versions of pictures or videos, used to help in recognizing and organizing them, serving the same role for images as a normal text index does for words. In the age of digital images, visual search engines and image ...
s and
digital signature A digital signature is a mathematical scheme for verifying the authenticity of digital messages or documents. A valid digital signature, where the prerequisites are satisfied, gives a recipient very high confidence that the message was created b ...
s :* XML schemas for the OPC are declared using
XSD XSD (XML Schema Definition), a recommendation of the World Wide Web Consortium ( W3C), specifies how to formally describe the elements in an Extensible Markup Language (XML) document. It can be used by programmers to verify each piece of item con ...
and (non-normatively)
RELAX NG In computing, RELAX NG (REgular LAnguage for XML Next Generation) is a schema language for XML—a RELAX NG schema specifies a pattern for the structure and content of an XML document. A RELAX NG schema is itself an XML document but RELAX NG also ...
; ;Part 3. Markup Compatibility and Extensibility : Consisting of 40 pages, this part contains: :* A description of ''extensions'': elements & attributes which define mechanisms allowing applications to specify alternative means of negotiating content :* Extensibility rules are expressed using
NVDL {{Onesource, date=March 2009 Namespace-based Validation Dispatching Language (NVDL) is an XML schema language for validating XML documents that integrate with multiple namespaces. It is an ISO/ IEC standard, and it is Part 4 of the DSDL schema spe ...
; ;Part 4. Transitional Migration Features : Consisting of 1464 pages, this part contains: :* Legacy material such as compatibility settings and the graphics markup language
VML Vector Markup Language (VML) is an obsolete XML-based file format for two-dimensional vector graphics. It was specified in Part 4 of the Office Open XML standards International Organization for Standardization, ISO/International Electrotechnica ...
:* A list of syntactic differences between this text and ECMA-376 1st Edition The standard specifies two levels of document & application conformance, ''strict'' and ''transitional,'' for each of WordprocessingML, PresentationML and SpreadsheetML, and also specifies applications' descriptions of ''base'' and ''full''.


Compatibility between versions

The intent of the changes from ECMA-376 1st Edition to ISO/IEC 29500:2008 was that a valid ECMA-376 document would also be a valid ISO 29500 Transitional document; however, at least one change introduced at the BRM—refusing to allow further values for xsd:boolean—had the effect of breaking backwards-compatibility for most documents. A fix for this had been suggested to
ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 34 ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 34, Document description and processing languages is a subcommittee of the ISO/IEC JTC 1 joint technical committee, which is a collaborative effort of both the International Organization for Standardization and the International El ...
/WG 4, and was approved in June 2009 as a recommendation for the first revision to Office Open XML. Applications capable of reading documents compliant to ECMA-376 Edition 1 would regard ISO/IEC 29500-4 Transitional documents containing
ISO 8601 ISO 8601 is an international standard covering the worldwide exchange and communication of date and time-related data. It is maintained by the Geneva-based International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and was first published in 1988, wi ...
dates as corrupt.


Application support

Some older versions of Microsoft Word and Microsoft Office are able to read and write .docx files after installation of the free compatibility pack provided by Microsoft, although some items, such as equations, are converted into images that cannot be edited. Starting with
Microsoft Office 2007 Microsoft Office 2007 (codenamed Office 12) is an office suite for Windows, developed and published by Microsoft. It was officially revealed on March 9, 2006 and was the 12th version of Microsoft Office. It was released to manufacturing on Novemb ...
, the Office Open XML file formats have become the default file format of
Microsoft Office Microsoft Office, or simply Office, is the former name of a family of client software, server software, and services developed by Microsoft. It was first announced by Bill Gates on August 1, 1988, at COMDEX in Las Vegas. Initially a marketin ...
. However, due to the changes introduced in the Office Open XML standard, Office 2007 is not wholly in compliance with ISO/IEC 29500:2008.
Office 2010 Microsoft Office 2010 (codenamed Office 14) is a version of Microsoft Office for Microsoft Windows unveiled by Microsoft on May 15, 2009, and released to manufacturing on April 15, 2010, with General availability release, general availability on ...
includes support for opening documents of the ISO/IEC 29500:2008-compliant version of Office Open XML, but it can only save documents conforming to the ''transitional'', not the ''strict'', schemas of the specification. Note that the intent of the ISO/IEC is to allow the removal of the transitional variant from the ISO/IEC 29500 standard. The ability to read and write Office Open XML format is, however, not limited to Microsoft Office; other office products are also able to read & write this format: *
Collabora Online Collabora Online is an open source online office suite that can be integrated with any web application, it is developed by Collabora Productivity, a division of Collabora. Collabora Online has LibreOffice at its core and allows for collaborative ...
for Online, Mobile and Desktop apps are able to open and save Office Open XML files. * SoftMaker Office 2010 is able to read and write DOCX and XLSX files in its word processor & spreadsheet applications. *
LibreOffice LibreOffice () is a free and open-source productivity software, office productivity software suite, a project of The Document Foundation (TDF). It was fork (software development), forked in 2010 from OpenOffice.org, an open-sourced version of t ...
is able to open and save Office Open XML files. *
OpenOffice.org OpenOffice.org (OOo), commonly known as OpenOffice, is a discontinued open-source office suite. Active successor projects include LibreOffice (the most actively developed), Apache OpenOffice, Collabora Online (enterprise ready LibreOffice) a ...
and
Apache OpenOffice Apache OpenOffice (AOO) is an open-source office productivity software suite. It is one of the successor projects of OpenOffice.org and the designated successor of IBM Lotus Symphony. It is a close cousin of LibreOffice, Collabora Online and N ...
from version 3.0 has been able to import Office Open XML files, but not save them. Version 3.2 improved this feature with read support even for password-protected Office Open XML files. * The
Go-oo Go-oo (also Go-Open Office; previously called ooo-build) is a discontinued free office suite which started as a set of patches for OpenOffice.org, then later became an independent fork of OpenOffice.org with a number of enhancements, sponsored by ...
fork of OpenOffice could also write OOXML files. *
KOffice KOffice is a free and open source office and graphics suite developed by KDE for Unix-like and Windows systems. KOffice contains a word processor (KWord), a spreadsheet ( KSpread), a presentation program (KPresenter), and a number of other compon ...
from version 2.2 and later was able to import OOXML files. *
Calligra Suite Calligra Suite is a graphic art and office suite by KDE. It is available for desktop PCs, tablet computers, and smartphones. It contains applications for word processing, spreadsheets, presentation, databases, vector graphics, and digital paintin ...
is able to import Office Open XML files. *
NeoOffice NeoOffice is an office suite for the macOS operating system developed by Planamesa Inc. It is a commercial fork of the free and open source OpenOffice.org that implements most of the features of OpenOffice.org, including a word processor, spreads ...
, an OpenOffice.org fork for OS X can import, support to save OOXML started in 2017. *
OnlyOffice OnlyOffice (formerly TeamLab), stylized as ONLYOFFICE, is a free software office suite developed by Ascensio System SIA, a subsidiary of "New Communication Technologies", a company from Russia, but headquartered in Riga, Latvia. In Russian marke ...
, Online and Desktop editors compatible with OOXML and
OpenDocument The Open Document Format for Office Applications (ODF), also known as OpenDocument, is an open file format for word processing documents, spreadsheets, presentations and graphics and using ZIP-compressed XML files. It was developed wi ...
files Other office products that offer import support for the Office Open XML formats include: *
TextEdit TextEdit is an open-source word processor and text editor, first featured in NeXT's NeXTSTEP and OPENSTEP. It is now distributed with macOS since Apple Inc.'s acquisition of NeXT, and available as a GNUstep application for other Unix-like oper ...
(included with
macOS macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac computers. Within the market of desktop and lapt ...
) *
iWork iWork is an office suite of applications created by Apple Inc. for its macOS and iOS operating systems, and also available cross-platform through the iCloud website. It includes the presentation application Keynote, the word processing and desk ...
*
IBM Lotus Notes HCL Notes (formerly IBM Notes and Lotus Notes; see Branding below) and HCL Domino (formerly IBM Domino and Lotus Domino) are the client and server, respectively, of a collaborative client-server software platform formerly sold by IBM, now by HCL ...
*
Abiword AbiWord () is a free and open-source software word processor. It is written in C++ and since version 3 it is based on GTK+ 3. The name "AbiWord" is derived from the root of the Spanish word "'' abierto''", meaning "open".Project MascoAbi the Ant ...
*
Gnumeric Gnumeric is a spreadsheet program that is part of the GNOME Free Software Desktop Project. Gnumeric version 1.0 was released on 31 December 2001. Gnumeric is distributed as free software under the GNU General Public License; it is intended to r ...
* WordPerfect *
WPS Office WPS Office (an acronym for Writer, Presentation and Spreadsheets, previously known as Kingsoft Office) is an office suite for Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, and HarmonyOS developed by Zhuhai-based Chinese software developer Kin ...
*
Google Docs Google Docs is an online word processor included as part of the free, web-based Google Docs Editors suite offered by Google, which also includes: Google Sheets, Google Slides, Google Drawings, Google Forms, Google Sites and Google Keep. Google Do ...
* SoftMaker FreeOffice


See also

*
Comparison of document markup languages The following tables compare general and technical information for a number of document markup languages. Please see the individual markup languages' articles for further information. General information Basic general information about the marku ...
*
List of document markup languages The following is a list of document markup languages. You may also find the List of markup languages of interest. Well-known document markup languages * HyperText Markup Language (HTML) – the original markup language that was defined as a part o ...
*
Microsoft Word and Excel password protection Microsoft Office password protection is a security feature to protect Microsoft Office documents (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) with a user-provided password. Types There are two groups of passwords that can be set to a document: * A password to en ...
*
Standardization of Office Open XML The Office Open XML file formats were standardised between December 2006 and November 2008, first by the Ecma International consortium (where they became ECMA-376), and subsequently, after a contentious standardization process, by the ISO/IEC's J ...


References


Further reading

* * * * * * * *


External links


ISO/IEC 29500 standards
{{Authority control Computer file formats Document-centric XML-based standards Ecma standards ISO/IEC 29500 Markup languages Microsoft Office Open formats XML