Legal Technology Journal

A new version of Microsoft’s word processor is just around the corner – and it will be worth the upgrade.

Office 2007 is nearly here, with availability in early 2007 and roll-outs expected in the months following. With that comes Word 2007, the latest version of one of the most unsung heroes of the knowledge economy. Word is without question the most important productivity tool in every law firm and an upgrade is a major decision – in this article I hope to explain first, why you should make the leap and secondly, when you do, what you should look out for.

One of the most exciting developments is the new way in which XML has been integrated across the entire Office suite – whilst this sounds like an esoteric technology feature, it makes a huge difference in the real world. The full integration of XML not only leads to an improved search functionality, but also easier file manipulation, easier and better file repair, and the ability to easily and effectively transfer content from document to document without the usual formatting issues.

File manipulation is one of the key areas that will be of interest to the legal IT professional. Because of the way documents work with XML it is much easier to manipulate content and formatting independently – for example, if the outline numbering on a file has become corrupt, rather than having to go into the file and change it all manually, it is possible to access one of the XML formatting component files and programmatically change the outline numbering in there with a couple of clicks, saving harassed secretaries and juniors hours of frustrating keyboard work.

Other key features that are going to change the life of Word-jockeys in the legal sector include a much improved comparison engine, enabling the easy checking of two documents side-by-side for alterations, and a significantly reduced file size – great news for those used to e-mailing and storing huge documents.

Another area that has been much changed, and is even now being much discussed in the legal sector and elsewhere is the user interface. Microsoft has made a number of alterations to the way users work with Word. For example, toolbars now come in the form of context-sensitive ‘Ribbons’ – essentially menus that appear dependent on current activity. Some have criticised this innovation as being confusing and requiring new training, but I’ve used the system and my personal view is that any temporary confusion brought about by the change is far outweighed by the benefits of this and the many other context-sensitive features.

One final, and initially apparently minor, innovation comes in the form of the Document Inspector framework. Out of the box this is a tool that looks at a document before it closes and runs a series of checks for things like metadata issues and compatibility. This is all very good, but it becomes much more exciting when you look at the customisation options for the tool. Using components like DocXtools, you can program Document Inspector to undertake pretty much any process or check prior to closing a document – a nearly limitless tool for ensuring things like quality control on documents prior to production.

So, by now no doubt you are chomping at the bit to get out there and upgrade your systems. If so, then there are a couple of things you need to consider in your upgrade roadmap. The first is backwards compatibility. This has always been an issue with upgrades and Word 2007 is no exception – whilst users of Word 2002 and Word 2003 will simply need to install some easily available ‘Compatibilities’ from the Microsoft website, I’m afraid that users of Word 97 and before will not be supported. In reality, there are very few ’97 users left in the industry, so whilst it’s going to be a problem for some, it should remain a relatively isolated issue.

The other major problems that could arise are with legacy issues around things like precedent documents and templates. Compatibility should be seamless if everything is appropriately coded; however, any upgrade of this type carries the risk of exposing flaws in programming, and a thorough audit of all these documents should be a basic part of the upgrade roadmap. Alternatively, firms may decide to move to an XML-based content management solution like D3 to rearchitect their precedents for Word 2007.

In summary then, the benefits are significant and the risks are minimal. By looking out for the considerations listed here, your firm will be prepared for a successful interaction with and migration to Word 2007.

Tikit and Microsystems have prepared a readiness checklist for firms thinking about the migration – just go to www.tikit.com for more information. 

Liam Flanagan is a director and Tikit founder.