Adobe Welcomes Microsoft to PDF Party

According to PDF Zone, Microsoft is finally going to offer support for Adobe’s Portable Document (PDF) format, something Microsoft customers have wanted—and asked for—for years. Is Microsoft finally listening to customers? Is Microsoft suddenly making a move toward supporting existing standards? Or, are there external forces driving the software giant to make the switch?

Analysts say Microsoft’s announcement is likely to be a reaction to the state of Massachusetts recent decision to no longer support proprietary document formats like those of Microsoft Office. Instead, the state will only allow documents in Open Document Format for Office Applications, OpenDocument, and PDF.

Whatever the reason, Microsoft Office 12 will provide support for PDF. While that’s good news for Adobe, it’s also good news for many consumers.