Adobe yet to explain why no PDF in Microsoft Office

Stan Beer
Saturday, 03 June 2006 11:14

Your IT - Home IT

Microsoft has borne the brunt of criticism for its massive domination of the computer desktop since the release of Windows 95. For once, however, it is not Microsoft that has some explaining to do. Microsoft's decision not to include the ability to save files to Adobe's PDF format in its upcoming Office 2007 product, after arguments with Adobe, is bad news for users. Adobe really needs to explain to the world why it has forced Microsoft to do this.

At present, both Microsoft's open source office suite rival, Open Office.org 2.0, as well as Apple's Mac OSX operating system, provide the facility to save documents as PDF (Portable Document Format) files. The PDF has become a widely used defacto standard for publishing non editable paginated documents. An argument could be made that excluding the same facility from Office 2007 that is provided freely elsewhere is unfair discrimination.

Adobe, which last year acquired Macromedia, is of course a proprietary software vendor that wants to make money. Its Acrobat products, used for creating PDF documents, range from US$299 for the standard low-end version, $499 for a professional version up to $995 for the 3D product which has the capability of creating complex CAD documents. Acrobat readers are free. Acrobat accounts for about 20% of Adobe's revenue but the low-end product is only a very small portion of that - perhaps just 1% of Adobe's business overall. That probably explains why Adobe is happy to allow Open Office files to be saved in PDF format. It does not severely impact its low-end PDF revenue, while widening its user base for potential high-end purchases.

Allowing Microsoft Office 2007 to integrate PDF document creation is quite something else. With about 90% of the office productivity suite marketshare, the inclusion of PDF files creation in Office 2007 would all but decimate Adobe's low-end Acrobat business. To complicate matters further, Microsoft plans to include its own competing paginated document format XPS (XML Paper Specification) with Office 2007. Microsoft having the ability to freely create PDF files as well as Microsoft's own competing XPS files is obviously too much for Adobe to bear.

Adobe has reportedly demanded that Microsoft charge users for the PDF facility in Office 2007. Microsoft has refused and intends to offer the PDF facility as a separate free download. Meanwhile the word on the street is that Adobe is preparing to mount an antitrust case against Microsoft in Europe, where the software giant is unpopular with regulators. The whole episode appears to border on the ludicrous, given that Microsoft Office is compatible with the open source look-alike Open Office.org 2.0, which enables documents to be saved as PDF files.

Meanwhile, industry groups and customers alike are said to be angry at Adobe's actions, given that the company has for some time portrayed PDF as an open document format. Adobe has in effect negated that perception by excluding Microsoft and its vast user base from the so-called open document equation.

So far Microsoft, has had plenty say about the whole episode but Adobe has been ominously quiet, suggesting a law suit is in the wind. If so, it will yet another headache for Microsoft which already has to contend with other sizeable software and IT companies launching actions, including Symantec, Google and now Adobe. For once, Microsoft would appear to have the user community on its side. However. when Adobe gets round to telling its side of the story, that may change.