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

Abstract

This paper presents information about the new features in Microsoft® Word 2003™, the latest version of the best-selling word processor, takes customer experience and feedback to deliver innovations.  Arabic User can use Word 2003 to create impressive-looking Arabic documents and help the Arabic users to work better together. This article will highlight the Arabic support in Microsoft® Word 2003™ new features as well as the enhancement to the existing features

Index

1. Introduction
2. XML support for documents
• Working with XML
• XML Tagging
3. Arabic Document Workspaces
• Document Workspace
• Create Document Workspace
• Setting Document Workspace options.
• Create Arabic tasks
• Create Arabic Links
4. Mail Merge
• Mail Merge supporting Arabic language
5. Conclusion

Introduction

This paper presents information about Arabic support in Microsoft® Word 2003™

The Arabic user can use Microsoft® Word 2003™ to easily collaborate and increase the productivity for information workers within the organization.

XML support for documents

Microsoft® Word 2003™ supports both the Extensible Markup Language (XML) file format and custom schemas, providing the basis for building solutions to business problems such as data reporting, publishing, and submitting data to business processes. Taking the advantage of Microsoft Word 2003, Arabic user can open Arabic XML documents with Arabic tag name.

Arabic Developers can build solutions that use XML to interact with business systems through a task pane in Word. Using Word 2003 Arabic user can attach XML Schema and XSL.

Working with XML

Inserting XML Data

You can insert data from an existing Extensible Markup Language (XML) file into your Microsoft Word document

Inserting Data by typing the file name or URL of an XML file

1. Place the insertion point where you want to insert the data.
2. On the Insert menu, click Field, and in the Field names box, click Include Text
3. In the File name or URL box, type the name of the file, including it's system patch or URL as shown in Figure 1.
4. Select the Namespace mappings check box, and type a namespace in the format xmlns:variable="namespace". For example, xmlns:a="resume-schema".

Figure 1: using Arabic Filename to be inserted in the Word 2003 document

Saving a document as an XML file

1. On the File menu, click Save As
2. In the Save As type box, click XML Document
3. In the File name box, type the document name.
4. Click Save

Figure 2: Saving an XML file with Arabic name containing Kashida & Diacritics

Open an Arabic XML file

1. Launch Microsoft Word
2. On the File menu, click Open
3. In the File of type box, click XML Files
4. Browse to the desired Arabic XML file
5. Click Open

Figure 3: Microsoft Word 2003 opens Arabic XML Files with Arabic tags

XML Tagging

When a custom XML schema is attached to a document, the XML Structure task pane provides a list of elements that are defined in the schema. You apply XML tags to the document by selecting document content and then choosing an element from the list. If the schema defines attributes for an element, you can specify these as well in the XML Structure task pane.

Show or hide XML tags in a document

Press Ctrl+Shift+X

Add XML tags

1. In your document, highlight the content that you want to tag.
2. You can select a word, phrase, paragraph, cell, row, column, field, picture, or object in the document
3. In the XML Structure pane, in the Choose an element to apply to your current selection box, click an element
4. In the XML Structure pane, right-click the element in the tree in the Elements in the document box, and then click Attributes
5. In the Available attributes list, select attribute you want.
6. In the Value box, type the value of the attribute.
7. Click Add

Remove XML tags

1. In the XML Structure pane, Select Show XML tags in the document checkbox
2. In the document, rest the mouse pointer on a Start of Tag Nameor End of Tag Name tag or in the XML Structure task pane point to the tag you want to remove.
3. Right-click, and then click Remove Tag Name tag to remove the tag without deleting its content

Figure 4: Delete Arabic XML tag from the XML Structure task pane

Arabic Document Workspaces

Document Workspace

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 document. Another common way to create a Document Workspace is to use the Shared Workspace task pane (Tools menu) in a Microsoft Office Word 2003 program.

When you use Microsoft Word to open a local copy of the Arabic document on which the Document Workspace is based, Microsoft Word 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 Word 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 Word should do when opening a document 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 Word 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

Figure 5: Document Workspace options

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

Create Arabic tasks

To make it easier for users who co-author a document together, you can take advantage of Microsoft Word 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

Figure 6: Creating Arabic Task

Create Arabic Links

Links is a list of hyperlinks to web page of interests to team members. Using the task pane in Microsoft Word, 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

Figure 7: Arabic URL and Arabic tasks created from Word 2003

Mail Merge

With Mail Merge user can merge a list of data like names and addresses with a generic form or template to create customized documents such as letters, mailing labels, or envelopes. When user select the Mail Merge Wizard command (on the Tools menu, Letters and Mailings submenu), Mail Merge appears in the task pane. To begin the mail merge process, determine the type of document you want to create, and then continue through the rest of the steps, and complete the process by printing your customized documents.

Figure 8: Available options in the Mail Merge

Mail Merge supporting Arabic language

Mail merge is highly improved in Word 2003 taking the advantage in word 2003 Arabic user can write an email including the Greeting Line and Address Block

Microsoft Word 2003 considering the gender (male or female) in the welcome line so if the recipient is a female so Microsoft Word will write "عزيزتي"if the recipient is a male it will write "عزيزي" as shown in Figure 9

Create Mail Merge considering Gender

1. Launch Microsoft Outlook
2. From File menu, click New, then point to Contact
3. Click on Full Name button
4. In the Check Full Name dialog, in the Title box, select Miss. (in Arabic الآنسة)
5. Write the First, Middle, and Last Names, click OK
6. Write a Valid E-mail address, then click Save and Close
7. Repeat all the Previous steps to add a contact with the title Mr. (in Arabic الأستاذ)

Figure 9: Set the Title from Microsoft Outlook 2003 to Contacts


8. Launch Microsoft Word
9. From Tools menu, click Letters and Mailings, then point to Mail Merge
10. Choose the desired option from the Mail Merge task pane, Click Next: Select recipients
11. Under Select recipients, choose the desired option, click Next: Write your letter
12. Click Greeting line
13. In the Greeting Line dialog, choose the Greeting line format you want
14. Click OK



Figure 10: Preview for the body of the e-mail before sending


15. Click Address Block
16. Click Next: Preview your letters
17. Click Next: Complete the merge
18. Microsoft Word 2003 will recognize the Gender

Figure 11: The Mail Merge consider the gender in the welcome line

Conclusion

This white paper provides a comprehensive view about the Arabic support in the new features in Microsoft Word 2003. In this white paper you've learn about the new features in Microsoft Word 2003 (Mail merge , Word 2003 integration with Windows share point services and XML Support ) and its support to the Arabic language.

For more information:

Office 2003 Web Site:

http://www.microsoft.com/office/word/prodinfo/overview.mspx

http://www.microsoft.com/middleeast/arabic/office/editions/word.aspx

Arabic Smart Tag in Office:

http://www.microsoft.com/middleeast/arabic/office/editions/word.aspx