What's new for Arabic in Microsoft® Office Systems 2003
	Microsoft Office 2003 Online features
	What's new for Arabic in Microsoft® Windows® SharePoint® Services
	Knowledge Base

This paper presents information about the new features of Microsoft Excel 2003 to highlight its Arabic Support.

Index

1. Introduction
2. Lists
   
   2.1  Creating a List
   
   2.2  Working with Lists
   
   2.3  Integration with Windows SharePoint Services
   
   
3. Smart documents
   
   3.1  To Add and Attach a Smart Document solution
   
   3.2  To Delete a Smart Document solution
   
   
4. Document Workspaces
   
   4.1  To create Document Workspace
   
   
5. Conclusion

Introduction

The new features in Microsoft® Office Excel 2003 revolve around making common tasks easier, such as list functionality, and SharePoint integration for workplace collaboration and these features are having complete Arabic Support.

Lists

In Microsoft Office Excel 2003, you can create Arabic lists in your worksheet to group and act upon related data. You can create an Arabic list on Arabic existing data or create an Arabic list from an empty range. When you specify a range as a list, you can easily manage and analyze the data independent of other data outside of the list. Users will find it easy to view, edit and update lists in Excel 2003. Additionally, information contained within a list can be shared with others through integration with Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services.

Creating a List

1. Highlight the range of data that you want make into list.
2. On the Data menu, point to List, and then click Create List.
3. If the selected data has headers, select the My list has headers check box and click OK

Creating a list from range with Data

The list user interface and a corresponding set of functionality are exposed for ranges that are designated as a list. As can be seen in (Figure 2), it is easy to identify and modify the contents of the list with the aid of the list visual elements and functionality.

The list user interface

Working with Lists

Once the List created, you can manipulate the data within the list through the following powerful features

• AutoFilter is enabled by default in the header row for every column in the list. This allows you to easily filter your Arabic data and sort it ascending or descending. or create custom sort orders. You can also filter lists to show only the Arabic data that meets the criteria you specify.
• Adding New Records: It is easy to add new entries to the list list. You just type in the row that contains an asterisk. Typing information in this row will automatically add your Arabic data to the list and expand the list range.
• Resizing Handler: The list range also has a resizing handle at the bottom right corner of the list border that you can use to expand or contract the list range.
• Total Row: You can add a total row to your list as shown in (Figure 3). Clicking on a cell within the total row displays a drop-down list of aggregate functions that you can use.

  
  
  Setting Total row option in Excel List

• Data Validation: You can add rules to control the values entered in your list. These rules apply only to lists not linked with Windows SharePoint Services.
• Print it: When your current cell included in list, you can use the List toolbar to print the entire list with a single click. Excel will automatically print only the current list items.
• Auto Expansion: You can easily add new column at the end to your list by simply typing in the column name or values. If you typed only the value, Excel will automatically recognize the new column and add a new name with convention columnN where N is a serial number starts with 1. Only lists that are not linked with Windows SharePoint Services can be expanded this way. Excel disables this feature with lists that are linked with Windows SharePoint.

Note: you can enable or disable the behavior of Auto Expansion feature by clicking on the Tools | AutoCorrect Options and select the tab AutoFormat

Changing Auto Expansion behavior

Integration with Windows SharePoint Services

Excel Lists allow seamless integration with Windows SharePoint Services. You can create a SharePoint list based on your Excel list on a SharePoint site by publishing the list. When publishing your list, you have the option to export the list contents to Windows SharePoint site, or link it with your Excel sheet.
If you choose to link the list to the SharePoint site, any changes you make to the list in Excel will be reflected on the SharePoint site when you synchronize the list. On the other hand, modifications made to the Windows SharePoint site will synchronize with your list during synchronization.

To Publish a List to Windows SharePoint Site

1. Click on a cell that is inside your List
2. On the Data menu, point to List, and then click Publish List.
3. In the Address box, type the URL of the server.
4. In the Name box, type the name of the list.
5. Click Next.

Excel will create a List on the selected server and place the columns and data inside it. Column names and data types are created based on Excel list. Windows SharePoint supports all data types used in Excel.

Note: If you have a column called "ID" in your list, Excel will rename it automatically to be "ID2" after the publishing process.

When choosing the option to link your list with Windows SharePoint site, Excel will automatically disable the feature to add new columns. You should add your new column from Windows SharePoint site, and then synchronize it with Excel.

Exporting Windows SharePoint list to Excel

You can work with your Windows SharePoint list from Excel by exporting it to Excel List. The export process allows you to export the entire list and keep it linked with Windows SharePoint list.

• When exporting Windows SharePoint list that contains Hijri date fields, the column format in Excel result in general date using the same windows regional settings. For example, when exporting a list that has Hijri date field and the windows regional settings is adjusted to use English (United States), Excel will create the list with date field using the English (United Stats) locale setting.
• When exporting Windows SharePoint list that contains currency fields, Excel will format the list field to use the same currency setting.

Exporting and linking Windows SharePoint list to Excel

To export Windows SharePoint list to Excel:

1. Navigate to the Windows SharePoint list
2. Click on "Switch to datasheet view" on the toolbar
3. Click to display the tasks pane
4. Click "Export to Excel"
5. Select whether to create the Excel List in a new worksheet, or use the current opened one.
6. Click on the button "Properties"
7. Clear the check box, "Save connection identifier" to export the data into Excel without linking it to Windows SharePoint list.

Resolving Conflicts with linked Lists

If you selected the option to link your list with Windows SharePoint site, you might face situations where changes made to the same cell from two different users. Excel gives you the option to control what changes should remain. When synchronizing the list, the Conflicts and Errors dialog box will show you the changes you made through Excel and those made by others through Windows SharePoint. You can choose to

• Ignore a change you made to one row
• Retry the change you made to one row
• Ignore all your changes
• Retry all your changes
• Unlink the list from Windows SharePoint site.

Resolving conflicts and errors during synchronization

Smart documents

Smart documents are documents that are programmed to extend the functionality of your workbook by dynamically responding to the context of your actions. The Smart Document technology enables the creation of XML-based applications that provide users with contextual content via the Office task pane. The task pane presents Arabic users with almost any supporting information, such as data that corresponds to the document, relative help content, calculation fields, hyperlinks or any number of controls. Several types of workbooks, such as forms and templates, work well as smart documents. Excel 2003 documents can be designed with an underlying XML structure that ensures users are entering and viewing valid information. At the same time, the XML structure enables developers to build the document with context-specific help and supporting information. Smart documents work especially well for workbooks that are part of a process. For example, your company may have a process for filling out annual employee expense forms, and you may already use a Microsoft Office Excel 2003 template for this purpose. If that template is turned into a smart document, it can be connected to a database that automatically fills in some of the required information, such as your name, employee number, manager's name, and so on. When you complete the expense report, the smart document can display a button that allows you to send it on to the next step in the process. Because the smart document knows who your manager is, it can automatically route itself to that person. And, no matter who has it, the smart document knows where it is in the expense review process and what needs to happen next.
Smart documents can help you reuse existing content. For example, accountants can use existing boilerplate when creating billing statements.
Smart documents can make it easier to share information. They can interact with a variety of databases and use BizTalk for tracking workflow. They can even interact with other Microsoft Office applications. For example, you can use smart documents to send e-mail messages through Microsoft Outlook, all without leaving the workbook or starting Outlook. Click here for more information about Smart Documents.

To Add and Attach a Smart Document solution

1. On the Data menu, point to XML, and then click XML Expansion Packs.
2. Click Add.
3. In the Install XML Expansion Pack dialog box, find the location of the manifest for the solution you want to add.
4. Click Open.
5. In the Available XML expansion packs list, click the solution you want to attach to your document.
6. Click Attach.

To Delete a Smart Document solution

1. On the Data menu, point to XML, and then click XML Expansion Packs.
2. In the Available XML expansion packs list, click the solution that you want to delete.
3. Click Delete.

Note: Deleting a smart document solution removes the registry information for that solution. This does not uninstall any file installed on your computer by the XML expansion pack because another smart document may use that file.

Document Workspaces

A Document Workspace is a Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services site that is centered on one or more documents. Arabic users can easily work together on the document— either by working directly on the Document Workspace copy or by working on their own copy, which they can synchronize it periodically with the Document Workspace copy.
Typically, you create a Document Workspace with an Arabic name that may include Kashida or Diacritics when you use e-mail to send a document as a shared attachment. As the sender of the shared attachment, you become the owner of the Document Workspace, and all the recipients become members of the Document Workspace, where they are granted permission to view and change the Workbook. Another common way to create a Document Workspace is to use the Shared Workspace task pane (Tools menu) in a Microsoft Office Excel 2003 program.
When you use Microsoft Excel to open a local copy of the Arabic workbook on which the Document Workspace is based, Microsoft Excel periodically gets updates from the Document Workspace and makes them available to you. If the changes to the workspace copy conflict with changes you've made to your copy, you can choose which copy to keep. When you are finished editing your copy, you can save your changes to the Document Workspace, where other members to can incorporate your changes into their copy of the document.

Create Document Workspace

1. Open Microsoft Excel 2003
2. On the Tools menu, click Shared Workspace
3. In the Shared Workspace task pane, click or type the URL of a Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services Web site (which you have permission to create Document Workspace at this Web site) where the Document Workspace will be located
4. Click Create
5. On the Members tab of the Shared Workspace task pane, click Add new members
6. Type user names or e-mail addresses for the members you want to invite to the Document Workspace, separated by semicolons

Setting Document Workspace options

When working with document workspace, you have full control over what Excel should do when opening a Workbook from Document Workspace, saving changes made to that document and periodically update the document with the changes.

To set Document Workspace options

1. Open Microsoft Excel 2003 document
2. On the Tools menu, click Shared Workspace
3. Click on the button Options
4. The Service dialog box will appear, allowing you set the desired options

Document Workspace options

Note: Changing Document Workspace options affect all Microsoft Office applications that use Document Workspace such as Word and PowerPoint.

Create Arabic tasks

To make it easier for users who co-author a document together, you can take advantage of Microsoft Excel 2003 to add Arabic tasks to Document Workspace members.
Tasks are To-Do list for the team members that you can follow its progress and see "What has been done".

Adding Arabic task to the Shared Document Workspace

1. In the Tasks tab From the Shared Workspace task pane, click Add new task
2. In the Title box, Fill in an Arabic name
3. Click OK
4. To view this task, Click Open site in browser, from the Shared Workspace task pane

Create Arabic Links

Links is a list of hyperlinks to web page of interests to team members. Using the task pane in Microsoft Excel, you can easily add links in Windows SharePoint to useful resources and make it available to your team members.

To create Link

1. In the Tasks tab From the Shared Workspace task pane, click Add new link
2. In the URL box, type in Arabic URL
3. In the Description box, type in Arabic Description
4. In the Note box, type in Arabic Note
5. Click OK
6. To view this URL, Click Open site in browser, from the Shared Workspace task pane

Conclusion

You can use Most of the new features in Microsoft Excel 2003 for Arabic Language Speaking users. With Excel lists, you get database-like functionality in the spreadsheet. The innovative Smart Document technology enables the creation of XML-based applications that provide users with contextual content and relevant help, making users more productive. The XML enhancements and improvements in Excel 2003 make it easier for Excel to integrate with other systems. The new Research Library feature enables information search from within an Office application and makes integrating that data into Office documents easy. Developers can build custom research sources that integrate information from a company's back-end database sources and as such make business-specific data readily available to users by extending the Research library. In Excel 2003, you will find comparing contents of workbooks easier when using the side by side comparison feature. These are some of the new and exciting features to look forward to in the Excel 2003.

For more information:
http://office.microsoft.com
http://www.microsoft.com/middleeast/arabic/office