You can create customized XML schemas or use the XML file formats in Microsoft Office Excel 2003 and Microsoft Office Word 2003.

Support for customer-defined XML schemas in Excel 2003 and Word 2003 enables more information creation, capture, exchange, and reuse. Save, edit, and retrieve information by defining your own XML tags or using industry standard tags, depending on your business needs. While opening and saving documents, customize how the data can be formatted.

You can use only the XML file formats that are included in Excel 2003 and Word 2003. These formats carry only formatting information and do not specify the "meaning" of the content. The contents of these files can be manipulated and searched using any program that can process industry-standard XML. Information can be extracted from the saved files and reused by another file or content management system.

Open Customer-Defined Schema Files
Excel 2003 or Word 2003 files created in Office Professional Edition 2003 with a customer-defined XML format can be opened and printed. Edits of these files in other editions of Excel 2003 and Word 2003 will not keep the custom-defined XML tags.

Office Professional Editions

All Other Office 2003 Editions

Create IRM-protected e-mail messages and files, defining who can open the information, along with defining various permissions such as read only, editing, and other actions.

Apply company-defined templates to your information, providing a quick and easy way to protect access and use the information while complying with company policies.

You can only open, edit, save, and print IRM-protected files and e-mail messages when given the appropriate permissions.

You cannot create new rights-protected documents or e-mail messages, or modify the

Office Professional Editions

All Other Office 2003 Editions

Users can open and use smart documents.

Users can only open and print smart document. Changes can not be saved

Office Professional Editions

All Other Office 2003 Editions

The SharePoint Datasheet List Control makes an Excel-like editing experience available in a browser for editing content in Windows SharePoint Services. The Datasheet Control is the quickest and easiest way to edit SharePoint list data.

You can only edit SharePoint list data by using Web forms in the Windows SharePoint Services interface. Editing SharePoint lists in Excel 2003 is only available

Office Professional Editions

All Other Office 2003 Editions

Build solutions using Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003 and the Microsoft .NET Framework. Add functionality to Excel 2003 and Word 2003 files opened with Office Professional Edition 2003.