REDMOND, Wash., May 14, 2001 — Microsoft Corp. today announced the launch of a new Web site called
“Tools on the Web” that provides Microsoft® Office users with thousands of options for extending what they can accomplish with Office through integrated software services from Microsoft and a variety of industry partners. The new site, located at http://office.microsoft.com/ , offers Office users a broad array of free* new services including more than 120,000 images, over 1,000 sample documents, extensive training and support information, and more than 20 eServices that enable them to incorporate services such as electronic postage, direct mail and advice from Office experts directly into Office. To make it easy for Office XP users to quickly access and take advantage of these new services, the Tools on the Web site is easily accessible from the main menu within Office XP applications. The new services integrated with Office XP are part of a continuing effort by Microsoft to improve customers’ experience by delivering software as a service.
“These services provide customers with a wide array of options that will help them customize their Office tools and maximize their productivity,”
said Steven Sinofsky, senior vice president of Office at Microsoft.
“The Tools on the Web site contributes to Microsoft’s .NET strategy by delivering software services that extend the value of Office applications.”
The Tools on the Web site is designed to help people have everything they need to complete popular Office tasks. These services are delivered largely based on customer feedback and include the following:
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Design Gallery. The Design Gallery helps users add pizzazz to Office documents, with more than 120,000 free clip art images, sounds, photos and motion clips, including clips for borders, backgrounds and Web elements. Office users can also search from a large selection of clips by media or collection type, file size, or age of the clip.
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Template Gallery. The Template Gallery kick-starts Office document creation by providing more than 1,000 high-quality, professional sample documents in common formats that help people create calendars, resumes, business proposals, financial statements, customer thank-you letters and more. The templates tightly integrate with Microsoft Office XP and are provided by industry-leading content providers for specific categories such as staffing and management, legal, marketing, finance, business forms, business stationery, and resumes. The sample documents are provided by content experts, including Avery Dennison Corp., Career Press, Dale Carnegie Training, John Wiley & Sons Inc., Lawoffice.com (from West Legal Directory), The McGraw-Hill Companies, Round Lake Publishing, SmartOnline.com, and the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE).
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Assistance Center. The Assistance Center offers hundreds of articles and tips to help people with common tasks such as creating presentations, Web pages and Web sites; working with documents and graphics; using e-mail; and maximizing collaboration tools. In addition to getting help with common tasks, customers also can get assistance with specific product questions, find time-saving tips, and get ideas for exploring and learning about Office XP.
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eServices. With 10 new providers added in conjunction with the launch of the Tools on the Web site and Office XP, eServices offers software services that complement Office. Designed to extend Office’s functionality through software services while helping Office customers increase their productivity, eService offerings include access to training and reference materials, resources to order office supplies and purchase computers and software, language services, online privacy and security services, communication services, and data management and marketing services from valued providers including the following:
– Office Depot Inc. offers access to a large selection of complementary products such as office supplies, software and hardware, at great prices.
– Stamps.com Inc. delivers a Web-based mailing solution for Office customers, enabling them to print postage for envelopes and packages from their desktop.
– CDW Computer Centers Inc. serves as a one-stop solution center to meet Office users’ computing needs.
– fileTRUST enables Office users to share and store electronic documents in Fleet Boston Financial’s secure online storage service.
– Mendez allows Office users to quickly and easily translate documents and e-mail messages via Tools on the Web.
– WorldLingo Inc. offers quick translation of documents and Web sites via Tools on the Web.
– SmartForce provides online learning and education on Office products.
– Keen Inc. connects users to live help and expert advice on Office products from Microsoft Office Certified Professionals.
– Insight Express LLC provides Office users with access to affordable and fully automated market research.
– Zairmail Inc. enables Office users to launch a direct-mail campaign quickly
from their desktop.
– Disappearing Inc. enables Microsoft Outlook® users to implement and enforce e-mail policies.
– InfoSpace Inc. helps Office customers find phone numbers and e-mail addresses.
Many other eServices are available through Tools on the Web, including Expedia and the Encarta® multimedia encyclopedia.
When Office XP is available in retail stores on May 31, a variety of smart tags also will be available in the eServices section of the Tools on the Web site. These smart tags will enable Office XP users to easily access specific information from the Web by clicking on intuitive icons. More details will be announced on May 31.
About Office XP
Office XP provides a much smarter work experience for individuals, teams and organizations. Office XP makes productivity simple for individuals by helping them get the most out of Office and giving them tools they can rely on. Office XP enables collaboration for everyone by revolutionizing the way people work with others on documents and introducing SharePoint™
Team Services to manage projects and activities via the Web. Office XP
also provides a flexible way to solve business needs by offering a rich solutions platform, improved security and reliability, and tools businesses need to deploy and manage Office.
About Microsoft
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.
* Connect-time charges may apply.
Microsoft, Outlook and SharePoint are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
For more information on Microsoft Office:
http://www.microsoft.com/office/
For more information on Tools on the Web:
Note to editors: If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft Web page at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/ on Microsoft’s corporate information pages.
