Gray Matter
Gray Knowlton's blog on Microsoft Office
Thank you and farewell.
May 30th will be my last day at Microsoft. I appreciate Microsoft so much, and I hold the company in...
Date: 05/22/2014
A comment about September and October 2013 Patch Tuesday
Given our challenges with September I thought a comment about our preparation for the October...
Date: 10/08/2013
Today is Patch Tuesday
Taking a departure from my promised post on C2R for a minute to celebrate the passing of another...
Date: 08/13/2013
How Office Updates - The Basics
Our Update Strategy Today Before we get into the considerations of release cadence and Service...
Date: 08/07/2013
Office Updates: Weighing Currency vs. Cadence
Customers give us a lot of feedback. We depend on that feedback to improve the quality of our...
Date: 08/01/2013
3 years later
I'm back to blog some more. This time about Office Updates. Posts to roll soon.
Date: 07/31/2013
RSA: What Motivates Us
This is a great video for aspiring managers. Excellent production as well....
Date: 10/14/2010
A Company of One
I may have hit a chord with the management theme last week, lots of offline feedback on that post....
Date: 09/30/2010
Office Round-up
Tossing up a few useful links and a few random comments to go along with it. BPOS Customers can now...
Date: 09/28/2010
How to present to an executive
Taking a left turn for a moment on the software talk. I’m at a point where I have to vent on a...
Date: 09/22/2010
Updating the Custom XML Scanning Tool
A while back I posted a scanning tool to detect the presense of Custom XML Markup in Open XML...
Date: 09/21/2010
Welcome Back
Resurfacing, It has been several months since I last posted. I have spent that time transitioning to...
Date: 09/21/2010
A New Challenge
A great thing about Microsoft as an employee is the ability to manage one's own career and to invest...
Date: 03/19/2010
Open XML SDK 2.0 Released
On February 21, 2008, I posted on Microsoft Interoperability Principles, which are designed to make...
Date: 03/15/2010
Office Developer Atlas
If you are new to Office development, or are if you are looking to learn more about what's new in...
Date: 02/15/2010
Office 2010 Application Compatibility Tools Bug Hunt
Hello, this is Michael Kiselman again with exciting news related to the Office 2010 compatibility...
Date: 02/10/2010
Office 2010 Application Compatibility Tools Bug Hunt Sweepstakes Official Rules
MICROSOFT OFFICE 2010 APPLICATION COMPATABILITY TOOLS SWEEPSTAKES OFFICIAL RULES NO PURCHASE...
Date: 02/10/2010
Open XML SDK Code behind the Custom XML Markup Detection Tool
On Brian Jones' blog today, Zeyad Rajabi has posted the source code for the Custom XML Markup...
Date: 01/27/2010
Scanning Tool to Detect Custom XML Markup in .DOCX and .DOCM files
Quick Start The Installer is located here. (update: A new version of the installer is here:...
Date: 01/20/2010
Off Topic: Check out the Office Ribbon Hero
Taking a break from Custom XML for a moment. more posts on the topic are imminent. Jennifer...
Date: 01/19/2010
Associating Data with Content Controls
Background readingWhat is Custom XML- ... and the impact of the i4i judgment on Word, Regarding...
Date: 01/15/2010
Regarding Custom XML Patch distribution and availability
Background readingWhat is Custom XML- ... and the impact of the i4i judgment on Word, Associating...
Date: 01/11/2010
Using Content Controls vs. Custom XML Elements
Background ReadingWhat is Custom XML- ... and the impact of the i4i judgment on Word, Regarding...
Date: 01/04/2010
What is "Custom XML?" ... and the impact of the i4i judgment on Word
I recall saying recently that "this is my last post for 2009." Whoops... I don't think I was...
Date: 12/23/2009
2010 New Year's Resolutions & Beer Selection, Simplified + 2009 blog in review
On December 15, 1999, I was sitting in my home in England (near Reading), having just wrapped up a...
Date: 12/15/2009
Office 2010 Questions Answered for new Office developers
Continuing on the theme of Q & A for Office 2010, I thought I'd add a few questions, answers and...
Date: 12/10/2009
Office 2010 System Requirements
Customers have many questions about Office 2010, so may decisions related to Office deployment...
Date: 12/07/2009
Office 2010 Application Compatibility Tools Beta Now Available
Update: URL's in the post were not functioning properly, and have now been fixed. Today we are...
Date: 12/04/2009
5 Years at Microsoft
It's a small thing, but fun. Today I was given my 5-year service award for Microsoft. With a brief...
Date: 12/02/2009
Outlook 2010 for Developers: New Shutdown Changes for Outlook 2010
If you are developing add-ins or customizations for Outlook, these changes in 2010 are worth noting....
Date: 12/01/2009
Office 2010 for Developers: Transcript from my training session
During the launch wave we spend a lot of time "readying" various teams around the company and...
Date: 11/23/2009
I get your strategy, but where are you hosting your data?
With all the talk about Azure at PDC09 today, I cannot help but observe the inevitable language...
Date: 11/17/2009
Office 2010 for Developers: Outlook 2010 MAPI reference and a hint for the PowerPoint Developer
At the recent SharePoint conference, one of the things I was asked most frequently was whether or...
Date: 11/12/2009
Office 2010 Application Compatibility: Deep dive on the Code Compatibility Inspector
Continuing with the deep dive into new tools in Office 2010 Application Compatibility, we would like...
Date: 11/10/2009
Office 2010 & SharePoint 2010 Developer Workshops
The Office 2010 train is now boarding. For those of you looking to get your hands on some training...
Date: 11/09/2009
PowerPoint VBA and the Purpose of Thursday
Most weekly newspapers publish on Thursday because this is the day when the majority of young people...
Date: 11/05/2009
Office 2010 Application Compatibility: Deep dive on Environment Assessment Tool
Update: I caught wind of some problems with the email address for the beta signup through blog...
Date: 11/02/2009
Office and SharePoint 2010 Highlights from SharePoint Conference
SharePoint Conference was a very busy time for us. We were finally able to pull back the curtain on...
Date: 10/27/2009
Announcing the Office 2010 Application Compatibility Program
Update: If you would like to sign up for the beta program for the tools, please email the following...
Date: 10/22/2009
Open XML and the SharePoint Conference
SharePoint conference is just a few days away. We are thrilled that in an era of shrinking shows and...
Date: 10/16/2009
Resurfacing
There's no doubt that Microsoft offers perhaps the best benefits package in this industry,...
Date: 09/18/2009
A big day for Office 2010
So today we pull back the curtain on Office 2010. Product managers know that launch is the most...
Date: 07/13/2009
Compatibility Pack for Open XML passes 100 million downloads
Sorry for the absence, I took a short break from work and blogging after the birth of our second...
Date: 06/23/2009
Data Portability for Office 2007 – the first 3 examples to read
Doug Mahugh posted today on Interoperability – specifically the difficulty of enabling...
Date: 06/05/2009
Office 2010 for Developers: Office Developer Conference moving to SharePoint Conference 2009
Want to get an in-depth look at Office 2010 for Developers? Want to see what 64-bit Office looks...
Date: 05/30/2009
Blog and Comment Policy
My Blog Policy Gray Matter is my personal blog that reflects my personal perspectives. This blog...
Date: 05/20/2009
Leaked Office 2010 Build and Staying Safe
I am re-posting from the Office 2010 blog as a public service to ensure folks don't cause themselves...
Date: 05/19/2009
Rethinking ODF leadership
I can't help but observe the "discussion" underway with respect to spreadsheet interoperability that...
Date: 05/06/2009