WORLD TRADE WT/INF/8
31March 1998
ORGANIZATION(98-1269)
NEW SOFTWARE ATTHE WTO
Communication from theSecretariat
TheSecretariatwillshortlybemigratingtoanewcomputeroperatingsystem,WindowsNT4.0,
andwilladopt Microsoft Office 97Professional Edition asitsstandard office applications software.1
Thismeans thatallofficial documents, which arecurrently produced using WordPerfect 5.2for
Windows, willbeproduced inthefuture withMicrosoft Word 97.
Thischange willhavesome implications fortheDocument Dissemination Facility (DDF).
Delegations should notethatasof2June 1998,theSecretariat willbeposting alldocuments onthe
Internet intheMicrosoft Word 97format. There willbeashort transition period during which
delegations mayexperience some delay intheposting ofthese documents since theSecretariat will
require some timetocomplete thechangeover tothenewword-processing software. Allexisting
functionalities oftheDDF willwork withthenewformat.
TheDDFwilltherefore contain documents intwoword-processing formats: WordPerfect 5.2
andWord 97.Delegations willneedtomake certain adjustments tocopewiththissituation. They
maywishtoupgrade toWord 97which willenable themtobrowse andprintolddocuments produced
inWordPerfect aswellasnewdocuments produced inWord 97.Delegations using other programs
willhavetodownload “converters ”fromtheInternet2or,alternatively, torelyon“viewing programs ”.3
These programs, while notperfect, provide ameans ofbrowsing andprinting documents inmany
different formats.
Additional technical details canbeobtained from Mr.IanHuxtable (ext. 5430) and
Ms.Esperanza Sesar (ext.5479).
__________
1TheOffice 97Professional Edition includes Word, Excel, Access, Powerpoint andOutlook.
2UsersofWordPerfect8.0willfindtheconverterfileatwww.corel.com.UsersofWord6.0forWindows3.x
orWord 95forWindows 95/NT willfindtheequivalent filesatwww.microsoft.com/office/office/viewers.asp.
3TheSecretariat isfamiliar withtwoprograms available from thefollowing Web sites: Quick View Plus
www.inso.com. andKeyView Prowww.keyview.com.