2007 Microsoft Office Will NOT Include "Save As PDF" Option

Eight months ago, I reported that Microsoft Office 12 (2007 Microsoft Office) will support PDF according to a Microsoft product manager. Looks like the talks between Microsoft & Adobe had broke down for some reason and that 2007 Microsoft Office will not include "Save As PDF" option.

Not only that, but according to Dave Heiner, Microsoft's head lawyer for its antitrust group within its law department, "Adobe has been threatening legal action. He declined though to comment about whether he expected Adobe to file an antitrust suit.

Adobe objected to Microsoft building the "save as PDF" option into Office and Windows, arguing that the ability to save a document in a fixed document format, such as PDF, is a separate product and should not be free, Microsoft said.

Adobe declined to comment on the nature of its discussions with Microsoft, but company spokeswoman Jodi Warner said it has discussed with regulators around the world its concerns that Microsoft may abuse its "monopoly" position.

"Adobe has made no determination to take legal action against Microsoft," said Warner in a statement.

In order to avoid a legal clash, Adobe requested Microsoft remove the "save as PDF" option from the new Office and wanted to have users download the "add-on" function for a fee, said Heiner, who is also Microsoft's deputy general counsel.

Microsoft agreed to remove the built-in ability to save a document using both the PDF and XPS file format from Office, but refused to charge users a fee to download the two formats because there are rival products (such as OpenOffice.org) that already allow users to create PDF documents for free.

Read Also:
Talks with Adobe to use PDF break down: Microsoft (Reuters)
2007 Microsoft Office System Preview Site
Microsoft Office 12 Will Support PDF! (October 2005) (Fahad Inc.)