NEW YORK, July 19, 2000 — Today at MACWORLD Conference & Expo/New York 2000, Microsoft Corp. announced that Microsoft® Office 2001 for Macintosh will be available this October in the United States. Office 2001 for Macintosh is more like the Macintosh, featuring an elegant new interface and support for key Apple technologies. The release provides increased compatibility with Office 2000 for the Windows® operating system, the Mac OS and other applications for the Macintosh. Microsoft also introduced a new marketing identity to distinguish the Macintosh Business Unit’s line of products and introduced revolutionary new packaging that goes beyond the standard software box by providing a reusable case as stylish as the Macintosh.
“I’m very excited that customers will soon benefit from Office 2001’s many innovations,” said Kevin Browne, general manager of the Macintosh Business Unit at Microsoft. “Office 2001 is designed to meet the everyday needs of Macintosh users with first-for-the-Mac features and unsurpassed compatibility.”
Macintosh Interface
Each Office 2001 application features an elegant new interface in true Macintosh style. The toolbars and icons have been redesigned and simplified. “We know that Mac customers value thoughtful design, and so we hope they will appreciate Office 2001’s stylish and efficient interface,” Browne said. Office 2001 continues to improve on Microsoft’s support for key Apple technologies, for example by providing the ability to implement QuickTime Transitions and generate QuickTime movies from PowerPoint® presentations.
Greater Compatibility
In a recent Microsoft survey, 81 percent of Macintosh users indicated they work in a cross-platform computing environment. Office 2001 sustains seamless compatibility by sharing the same file format as Office 2000 for Windows. The Save As dialog box provides a check box option to attach the Windows file extension, enabling Windows-based computers to open files hassle-free. Office 2001 also introduces Save as Web Page and Web Page Preview, making it easy to save and view any project as it will appear on the Web.
Office 2001’s enhanced compatibility extends to other Macintosh applications as well, making it easy to import AppleWorks word processing documents and FileMaker database files. “Microsoft and FileMaker have been working together closely to provide customers with outstanding compatibility between Office 2001 and FileMaker,” said Dominique Goupil, president of FileMaker, Inc. “Now FileMaker customers can benefit by using Excel’s tools to analyze information stored in FileMaker databases.” Excel 2001’s FileMaker Pro Import wizard and Word 2001’s Data Merge Manager allow customers to easily import FileMaker data for analysis or to conduct a mass communication. The Entourage™
2001 e-mail and personal information manager synchronizes with Palm OS handhelds so customers on the go can access their Calendar, Address Book, Categories, Tasks and Notes from anywhere.
Hassle-Free Integration
“Office 2001 is a truly integrated suite and provides exceptional value to our customers,” Browne said. “The applications draw seamlessly on the capabilities of each other to share information across the suite.” Integration makes Entourage 2001 the hub of Office. The Entourage Setup Assistant initializes the My Identity feature, which automatically enters personal information for common uses, such as wizards, templates and data merges, thus eliminating the need to repeatedly re-enter information. The Calendar is the Office-wide timekeeper, allowing customers to flag any Office project for follow-up and view automated reminders inside any Office application. The Address Book can be accessed in Word 2001 through the Data Merge Manager to conduct a mass communication or through the Contacts toolbar to simplify tasks like addressing a letter.
The improved Clip Art Gallery is accessible from each of the Office applications and provides a new interface to manage images or add a customer’s own images and categories. The new Collect and Paste feature uses the Office Clipboard to make it easy to copy multiple pieces of text and pictures from Office applications and then view previews before pasting them into another Office document.
New Marketing Identity
Microsoft launched a new marketing identity specifically designed for Macintosh customers around the Office:mac concept, introducing creative brand elements for product logos, icons, advertising, the http://www.microsoft.com/mac/ Web site and product packaging. The stylish and reusable CD case provides a revolutionary software package design and presents Office 2001 in a fun and unique manner.
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software — any time, any place and on any device.
Microsoft, Windows, PowerPoint and Entourage are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
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