The Document Foundation says Microsoft's file formats keep users on a short leash
OOXML may carry an ISO certificate, but only Office can be trusted to render it properly
The Document Foundation (TDF) has criticized proprietary file formats and the lock-in they create, with Microsoft's ubiquitous Office formats drawing particular scrutiny.
TDF would doubtless welcome a world where everyone used LibreOffice or another open equivalent, yet the reality is that Microsoft's productivity tools still dominate the office software market.
However that shouldn't be a problem. Files are interchangeable these days, right? Office uses the Office Open XML (OOXML) format, so switching applications and opening .docx, .xlsx, and .pptx files should be straightforward.
"The reality is considerably more complicated," TDF says.
Setting aside the standardization of OOXML itself, which, TDF states, "was one of the most contested processes in the history" of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the result was OOXML Transitional, which initially coexisted with OOXML Strict.
OOXML Strict, according to...
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