RELEASE: OpenXML Document Viewer v1.0 released… view .DOCX files as HTML

Posted by: kurtsh | May 28, 2009

RELEASE: OpenXML Document Viewer v1.0 released… view .DOCX files as HTML

The OpenXML Document Viewer project idea came from the discussions with the participants of the Document Interoperability Initiative (DII) workshops (in particular last year’s Cambridge event). The point was to find a way to simply be able to view Open XML files as HTML. Following up, Microsoft provided funding to start the Open XML Viewer project, an open source project developed by MindTree Limited. The first beta version was unveiled at the last DII in Brussels, giving a first peak of the viewer (see a demo here).

Today I’m excited to announce the version 1.0 of Open XML Document Viewer. It provides direct translation for Open XML Documents (.DOCX) to HTML, enabling access to the information in the Open XML format from any platform with a Web browser. The project, which already includes a plug-in for Firefox IE7 and IE8 and now also offers a plug-in for Opera, allows users to view Open XML documents (.DOCX) within the browser on Windows and Linux platforms without the need to install Microsoft Office or other productivity products.

(And before you ask, yes, it works with Firefox 3.x)

The core of the project is the Translation Engine that does most of the work, meaning opening the .DOCX document, reading, mapping and transforming to HTML. The Translation engine is exposed as a client side browser plug-in with support for Firefox, Opera, and Internet Explorer, and as a cross platform command line translator for use in server side applications.

The result is a translator that enables Open XML document (.DOCX) visibility within browser applications without the use of any of the usual office productivity or word processing applications, across multiple platforms and environments, as either a server side application or as a client side end user solution. Developers, Independent Software Vendors (ISVs), Solutions Integrators & Mobile Solution providers can use these tools to enable their customers to view Open XML documents on heterogeneous platforms and browser applications. Be sure to check out the Demo web site. It showcases server side document processing scenarios that represent very typical use cases.

We’re very excited with this new version and look forward to your feedback.

Join us at http://www.codeplex.com/OpenXMLViewer