State OK's Open XML document format

The Massachusetts Information Technology Division has decided to approve Microsoft Corp.’s Open XML document format as an acceptable standard for state records.

The decision ends a two-year dispute that threatened to halt the use of Microsoft’s popular Office software in state government offices.

In 2005, the ITD demanded that documents created in Executive Branch departments be stored in an ‘‘open’’ format that could be read and modified by programs other than Microsoft Office.

Microsoft objected, but added the new Open XML format to the latest version of Microsoft Office.

Open XML has not yet been accepted as an open document standard by the International Standards Organization. But in a statement issued today, the ITD said it expected Open XML to ‘‘evolve and improve.’’
(By Hiawatha Bray, Globe staff)