Download the Office 2010 Developer Training Kit

Download the Office 2010 Developer Training Kit - "provides developers with collateral to get started quickly developing for Office 2010". 95.5mb

New MS Office Developer Portals

• Office VBA Developer Center
• Office Developer Center
• Developing Office Business Applications with Office 2010 and SharePoint Server 2010

Office Still Top Business Suite: Google Apps Serious Not

New Forrester data, released on May 11, reports that 81% of the enterprises it surveyed are running Office 2007 and 78% supporting SharePoint, compared to only 4% using Google Apps. Forrester also says that one third of survey respondents are already planning an upgrade to Office 2010 within the next 12 months. The Forrester sample is 115 North American and European enterprise and SMB decision makers.

Source: Forrester: ZDNet: Google still a distant Office competitor

Microsoft Office 2010 RTM Released on MSDN

Microsoft today released Office 2010 RTM to TechNet and MSDN subscribers.

The retail release will be available in June.

Office 2010 scheduled for release in June 2010

Microsoft has announced Office 2010 will be released in June 2010 in six different configurations (including a free version that will include Word and Excel with limited functionality and embedded ads): Starter, Home and Student, Home and Business, Standard, Professional, and Professional Plus.

Useful VBA Code for Office Applications

The following recent blog posts provide some very useful code:

• From VBA Tips & Tricks How to save a Word 2007 document as a PDF
  
  
• From Daily Access Tips A generic form data validation function. The sample code calls the function from the form's VBA module's OpenForm event. You could streamline the call by using a no-module form where the function is assigned to the OnOpen Event in the form's properties dialog: =SetValidatorEventHandlers(Me)

Glenn Lloyd Access MVP Blogs

I have come across two blogs by Access MVP Glenn Lloyd, which offer very useful guidance on MS Office and Access:

1. Argee's Access Blog A new blog where Glenn is progressively building a sample Access database. This offers budding Access users and developers the opportunity to progressively follow an expert developer build a business application.
   
   
2. Argee's Office Help Blog In this blog, Glenn has since 2007 been posting a series of tips and tricks for Office users. The articles are comprehensive and fully supported with explanatory graphics.
   

MS Office Inside Your WebBrowser



Microsoft today announced at the Professional Developers Conference in Los Angeles that it plans to deliver Office Web applications – lightweight versions of Office – through the web browser.

Chris Capossela, Senior Vice President, Microsoft Business Division said : "As part of the next release of Office, we’re announcing that Microsoft will deliver Office Web applications - lightweight versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote - through a browser. With these new applications, people can use a browser to create, edit, and collaborate on Office documents. What’s great is that this provides a consistent Office experience when and where our customers want it, regardless of whether they are accessing their Office documents through the PC, phone, or browser.".

Full Story

XML in Office 2007

Open XML Format SDK 2.0
Online version: Open XML Format SDK 2.0
XML in Office Developer Portal

2007 Office Resource Kit Technical Library in Compiled Help format

This downloadable CHM file (3.5mb) is a copy of content in the 2007 Office Resource Kit technical library. The CHM is current as of 29 August 2009.

Neat Office Toolbar Tricks

There is always something you can learn about MS Office. In a post today on her Tech Republic blog, Susan Harkins reveals two really neat tricks to quickly copy or move a toolbar button in any Office 97 to Office 2003 application

Free Security Tool for MS Office Files

Security company Sourcefire has released a freeware utility to help identify potentially unsecure Microsoft Office files. The tool, called OfficeCat, can be used to scan Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Publisher documents. Unlike other products that detect attempts to exploit known Microsoft vulnerabilities, Sourcefire said OfficeCat can determine if a file contains hostile content before it is opened.

More info from source: ZDNet.com

Critical MS Office Updates On March 11

In a security bulletin yesterday Microsoft announced it will issue four critical patches for Office on March 11 for:

• Excel 2000
  
  
• Outlook 2000, 2002, 2003 and 2007
  
  
• Remote code execution vulnerabilities in Microsoft Office 2000 (SP3)
  
  
• Web components for Office 2000

Office 2007 Service Pack 1 (SP1) Now Available

You can now download the just released Office 2007 SP1. Get more information from Description of the 2007 Microsoft Office suite Service Pack 1.

I recommend you go to the Microsoft Update site to get all updates required for Windows, IE, and all Office versions, as MS has today also released a swathe of updates for Windows, IE, and other Office versions.

Also Secunia Site Inspector will provide direct links to security updates it identifies as being needed.

NEW: Office Live Add-in for Microsoft Office

Open and save documents directly from Microsoft Office Word, Office Excel, and Office PowerPoint to Microsoft Office Live Workspace Beta.

The Office Live Add-In will install new menu options allowing you to open and save documents directly from Microsoft Office Word, Office Excel, and Office PowerPoint to Microsoft Office Live Workspace Beta.

The Office Live Add-in will install new menu options in Microsoft Office 2007 and a toolbar in Microsoft Office XP and Microsoft Office 2003. You will be able to open documents located in Office Live Workspace directly from Microsoft Office Word, Office Excel, and Office PowerPoint. You will also be able to save files directly from Microsoft Office Word, Office Excel, and Office PowerPoint to your Microsoft Office Live Workspace.

You can pre-register for Microsoft Office Live Workspace at http://workspace.officelive.com.

Microsoft Office Hotfix Installer

Office Hotfix Installer is designed to help administrators deploy update files within their organizations, by reading a series of deployment instructions contained in an INI file, and then using those instructions to apply an update to a computer. Office HotFix can also check applications on a computer to determine which updates need to be applied, and it can order a group of update files so that an installation is optimized.

New Version of Ezy Documenter Premium

Ezy Documenter Premium Edition New v6.1
Add-In for Microsoft© Access 97 - 2007

Standard Edition featured in Woody's Access Watch

Ezy Documenter Premium automatically documents and prints in fully formatted Access reports all the objects in your Access database: tables and fields, table relations, query definitions, forms and record sources, reports and record sources, code modules, macros, data access pages, references, custom command bars, and database properties. Users can customize of each Ezy Documenter Database Report.

New in v 6.0:

• Linked table paths
• Data Access Pages: name, linked URL, and Data Source
• Custom Command Bars
• All Database Object Properties

New in v 6.1:

• Updated GUI
• Users can now select the export folder

Only US$39.95 including free upgrades to new versions.

Zoho: David's Office Suite



An interesting review of the ZOHO On-Line Office-Style Applications Suite.

Office Security Updates for July 2007

Security Update for the 2007 Microsoft Office System (KB936514) A security vulnerability exists in the 2007 Microsoft Office System and the Compatibility Pack for the 2007 Office System that could allow remote code execution. This update resolves that vulnerability.

Security Update for Microsoft Office Publisher 2007 (KB936646) A security vulnerability exists in Microsoft Office Publisher 2007 that could allow remote code execution. This update resolves that vulnerability.

Security Update for Excel Viewer 2003 (KB936508) A security vulnerability exists in Microsoft Office Excel Viewer 2003 that could allow arbitrary code to run when opening a malicious document. This update addresses that vulnerability.

Security Update for Excel 2002 (KB936513) A security vulnerability exists in Microsoft Excel 2002 that could allow remote code execution. This update resolves that vulnerability.

Update for Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 (KB937608) This update fixes a problem in which a calendar item that is marked as private is opened if it is found by using the Search Desktop feature.

Security Update for Excel 2000 (KB936511) A security vulnerability exists in Microsoft Excel 2000 that could allow remote code execution. This update resolves that vulnerability.

Security Update for Microsoft Office Excel 2007 (KB936509) A security vulnerability exists in Microsoft Office Excel 2007 that could allow remote code execution. This update resolves that vulnerability.

Security Update for Excel 2003 (KB936507) A security vulnerability exists in Microsoft Office Excel 2003 that could allow remote code execution. This update resolves that vulnerability.

Access Development Tip

I just bought my-self a new PC and a 19in wide-screen monitor. While the actual screen area is 94% of my old standard 19in LCD, the Office VBA window for all versions after Office 97, is now more user-friendly, with the sidebar object browser sitting nicely at the side of the screen, with no loss of characters in the code panel.

In Access 2007, the new Database Window sidebar comes into its own, and also provides a natural border where you can adjust the actual width of a form as you work on it, while the shorter screen enforces a more disciplined form design.