The news
Office 2008 for Mac is on the way but won't be arriving until some time in the second half of this year. Microsoft made the announcement at Macworld yesterday, also revealing that the suite would have some Mac-First and Mac-Only features.
These include Publishing Layout View, to simplify the creation of 'layout-rich' documents, such as newsletters, fliers and brochures; Ledger Sheets, said to make it possible for anyone to use Excel for common financial-management tasks; and the My Day schedule planner - a standalone app reckoned to let users track priorities and stay on top of daily activities, irrespective of the program they're working in.
Office 2008 for Mac will share a new graphics engine with Office for Windows and let users add professionally-designed graphics at the click of button. Like Office 2007 for Windows, it will have a new interface. This, it's claimed, will make it easier for users to discover the many available tools, while retaining a familiar Mac-style look and feel.
And, as with with 2007, the Mac suite will use the Office Open XML formats. Microsoft is promising a spring release for a public beta of the file-format converters for the current Mac Office version - 2004 - to let users read and write the new formats and will, it says, have final versions ready six-to-eight weeks prior to the Office 2008 launch.
Take a look at Microsoft's less-than-expansive press release on page two, then let us know your suite thoughts in the HEXUS.community.
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