Open XML defines formats for word-processing, spreadsheet and presentation documents in the form of specific markup languages, namely WordprocessingML, SpreadsheetML, and PresentationML. The Open XML SDK supports markup compatibility in a way that makes it easy for you to achieve the above desired outcomes for and Office 2013 without having to necessarily become an expert in the specification details.
The Office Open XML File Formats specification describes facilities for achieving the above desired outcomes in ECMA-376, Second Edition, Part 3 - Markup Compatibility and Extensibility. That is, you want the later version of Office to understand and support a feature employed in a document produced by Word 2013. Here too, you want the document to work as expected. When you open that document in Microsoft Word 2010, an earlier version, what should happen? Ideally, you want the document to remain interoperable with Word 2010, even though Word 2010 will not understand the new feature.Ĭonsider also what should happen if you open that document in a hypothetical later version of Office.
Suppose you have a Microsoft Word 2013 document that employs a feature introduced in Microsoft Office 2013. This topic introduces the markup compatibility features included in the Open XML SDK for Office.