Digital Object Formats
The British Library believes that it is essential to archive and, where possible, provide access to the specifications of digital file formats. These specifications are important today for people developing applications that work with digital file formats, but archived copies will be even more critical in the future when today’s applications are long obsolete.
Microsoft Office Binary File Formats
The British Library has agreed with Microsoft to archive and provide access to the specifications for the Microsoft Office binary file formats. This provides an independent guarantee that people today and in the future will have open access to these specifications. As of February 2008, these documents were also available from the Microsoft web site. The documents listed below are covered by the Microsoft Open Specification Promise.
Microsoft Word
Word 97-2007 Binary File Format (.doc) Specification - PDF format 2.76 MB
Microsoft PowerPoint
PowerPoint 97-2007 Binary File Format (.ppt) Specification - PDF format 1.22 MB
Microsoft Excel
Excel 97-2007 Binary File Format (.xls) Specification - PDF format 4.54 MB
Excel 2007 Binary File Format (.xlsb) Specification - PDF format 4.25 MB
Office Drawing
Office Drawing 97-2007 Binary Format Specification - PDF format 2.1 MB
Supporting Technologies
Windows Compound Binary File Format Specification - PDF format 646.76 KB
Windows Metafile Format (.wmf) Specification - PDF format 3.1 MB
Ink Serialized Format (ISF) Specification - PDF format 749.52 KB
