Using Open XML to author scientific and technical articles

Pablo Fernicola has the news today that we've released a tech preview of an article authoring add-in for word 2007. This add-in leverages the Open XML formats to translate into the XML formats defined by the National Library of Medicine. https://blogs.msdn.com/exscientia/archive/2008/03/20/Technology-Preview-Launch.aspx

Here's another great example of the power you get when you're able to save into an open xml standard from within Office:

OpenXML as the Enabling Technology

Starting from the OpenXML content simplifies the conversion process from one XML format to another, but beyond this, there are a couple of OpenXML features that make the overall solution come together. In future postings I will cover these in more detail, but custom schemas and the ability to store additional information in the file (through the Open Packaging Conventions) are key in being able to package the content and metadata in a single file, which can then be opened and edited by any tools as part of the publishing process.

Here's a great quote from David Lipman, M.D. (Director of the National Library of Medicine's National Center for Biotechnology Information):

"We are delighted that Microsoft has chosen to support the NLM DTD, building on Office 2007, and has produced this technology preview as a proof of concept. Having a tool that will automatically transfer an author's work from Microsoft Word into the NLM DTD will benefit authors as well as publishers. We are eager to see Microsoft make the release version of this tool available to the community."

-Brian