DII workshop, October 23-24 in Redmond

Based on feedback from the DII workshop in Redmond this summer, we're making plans to host another event this fall. It will be a two-day event on October 23-24, covering Open XML implementation and interoperability, as well as other document format interoperability topics.

We heard from some of the attendees of the July workshop that they'd like to see a similar event around Open XML interop, and that's why we're doing this event. It will be in Redmond again because that's the only way we can realistically get multiple Office PMs involved, and attendees of the July event found the direct interaction with our technical experts to be very useful. This workshop is not restricted to Open XML interop (and certainly not just to our own implementation of Open XML), however, so any other document interop topics can be added to the agenda, time permitting.

Like the last workshop, this is a free event that is part of the Document Interoperability Initiative, and the goal is to share information with the developer community and solicit feedback on how we can work together to improve interoperability. To register for the event, send me your name, email, and company/organization via this contact form, and we'll follow up with more details including hotel recommendations and related information.

Here’s a general outline of what the workshop will include:

• Presentations from members of the Office product team, to explain our approach to Open XML interoperability.
• Presentations on other document format interoperability topics. (Do you have a topic you'd like to present? Let me know and I'll help get you on the agenda. This is a community event, and we'd like to see many voices and many perspectives involved.)
• Hands-on lab time, to give you an opportunity to try out a pre-release version of Office SP2.
• Discussion time, so that we can hear your feedback on topics of interest to document format implementers.
• Hosted dinner event at a nearby location.

We're still working through the details of the agenda, and I'll share more info on that after we see who all may want to contribute, but I wanted to get this announcement out as soon as possible so that folks can make travel plans. Note that these dates are the Thursday/Friday before PDC in Los Angeles, so if you're going to PDC you can do this event in the same trip.

I hope to see you there!