MS promises PDF support in Office 12

Microsoft says it is adding PDF support to Office 12, meaning users will be able to create pdf format documents from within Microsoft's next Office suite.

Users of the forthcoming version of Office will now have an option to "save to PDF", the company says. The facility will be added to Word, Excel, Publisher and PowerPoint, among other applications.

Microsoft says it is adding the feature because its customers want to be able to share documents with people, even with people who don't have Office.

It makes no mention of a deal with the government of Massachusetts that fell through because Microsoft did not support document formats other than its own.

Steven Sinofsky, senior vice president of the Microsoft Office product development group noted that pdf support within Office is the second most common support request.

"Every month we receive over 120,000 queries worldwide for "PDF" through Microsoft Office Online. And of course, our MVPs have expressed strongly their desire to see this functionality integrated with Microsoft Office," he added.

Read more about the decision here. ®