Announcing the Release of the Open XML SDK 2.0

Today, I am really excited to announce the worldwide availability of the Open XML SDK 2.0 for Microsoft Office! The Open XML SDK plays an integral part in creating Office document solutions that work on the client or server. The Open XML SDK allows you to create, consume, and manipulate Open XML files without needing to automate Office client applications. Combining the power of Office Services and the Open XML SDK enables even more scenarios, such as rich server-side document assembly solutions. Using the Open XML SDK and Office Services, you now have an alternative for many of the scenarios where previously you would have run into one of Office's most popular knowledge base articles that talks about how automating Office client applications on the server is not supported (https://support.microsoft.com/kb/257757).

Development of the Open XML SDK 2.0 spanned almost two years and involved the release of four Technical Previews in addition to the final release announced today. Your feedback via the blogs, MSDN forums, www.openxmldeveloper.com forums, and Microsoft Connect site helped shape the overall design of the SDK. Thank you so much for your support and feedback! Please feel free to continue sending us feedback with respect to the Open XML SDK.

Download the SDK

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Download the Open XML SDK 2.0 for Microsoft Office This download provides strongly typed part and content classes for use with Office 2007 & Office 2010 Open XML documents. https://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=c6e744e5-36e9-45f5-8d8c-331df206e0d0

Release Notes

  • Open XML SDK 2.0 is freely redistributable by any solution provider implementing the formats
  • Office applications are not required to use the Open XML SDK 2.0, and no software purchase is required. Developers can freely use the Open XML SDK to build document processing solutions for Microsoft Office files and for other implementations of the IS29500 standard

Learn More about the Open XML SDK

Over the past year and a half, I have shown you guys a lot of real world scenarios/solutions that are built with the SDK. Here is a summary of links that will help you learn more about the Open XML SDK:

In a future post I will outline the improvements we made to the Open XML SDK 2.0 compared to the December 2009 CTP.

Zeyad Rajabi