Microsoft 's Mac Business Unit announced that a new version of Microsoft Office is in the works for the Mac, as expected, although it won't be released until the second half of this year. The announcement of Office 2008 for Mac, as the software suite is being called, was made at the Macworld Conference and Expo held in San Francisco this week.

To help improve collaboration between Mac users and their Window-based cousins, the latest "universal" version of Office will be designed to run on both Power-PC and Intel-based Macs. Microsoft says its Mac Business Unit has continued to make compatibility with Office for Windows a key priority.

The group conducted an extensive customer survey to determine which features needed improvement and what Mac Office users want to see enhanced in their software. Based on this input, Microsoft says it is implementing "fresh ideas with new tools to help users better manage their online and software productivity."

Roz Ho, general manager of the Mac Business Unit at Microsoft, says that Office 2008 is, "by far, the most comprehensive, Mac-complimentary productivity suite" Microsoft has ever developed.

New Features

One of the interesting new additions is a "Publishing Layout View" that enables users to create layout-rich documents, such as newsletters and fliers, with desktop publishing tools. Other enhancements include "Ledger Sheets" that give Excel users more flexibility for creating accounting documents and handling common financial management tasks. Additionally, the "My Day" feature will carry tools that allow users to track day-to-day priorities and daily activities as a stand-alone application.

Office 2008 for the Mac will also sport a new user interface that will introduce the "Elements Gallery," a tool that Microsoft says will emphasize "discoverability." The new design is intended to give users easy access to tools and Mac-specific features, and obviously to play off Apple's well-known visual appeal. The goal, of course, is to provide new functionality for Microsoft Office users, while retaining the distinctive look and feel that Mac users love.

Mac and PC Compatibility

Regarding the future outlook between the Mac and PC collaboration, Roz says, "Compatibility is a top customer concern, and the work that we are doing with the new XML file formats, layout engines and graphics handling will drive improved file compatibility."

Roz also indicates that Microsoft Office users will not only have the ability to share files between PCs and Macs, they will also know that "they can trust that the data will appear the way it was intended."

A beta version of the Windows-to-Mac file format converters will be available this Spring, with the final version of the converters ready six to eight weeks after Office 2008 for Mac ships. Microsoft Office 2008 will come complete with Mac versions of Word for word processing, Excel for spreadsheets, PowerPoint for presentations, and Entourage for managing personal information.