SmartArt: Be VERY Careful Sharing it with Office 2003 Users

[funnybroad]

This is an fyi, not a question... I just thoroughly tested this behavior and
verified it today. I hope it helps someone out there to not lose their hard
work on a SmartArt creation, because it's too easy for an Office 2003 user to
unknowingly permanently convert it to an image. Here's how it could happen:

If the “image representation†of a SmartArt object in an Office 2003
application (with the compatibility pack installed) is not modified in any
way using the "Picture Tools" then it can be edited again with the SmartArt
feature, regardless of whether or not it got converted to the legacy 97-2003
format along the way.

However, Office 2007’s ability to modify an object in SmartArt again will be
PERMANENTLY LOST as soon as the object gets modified by the Picture Tools,
and the file is saved by Office 2003 in the new or legacy format.

There is no way to prevent a Office 2003 user from using the picture tools
on the image representation of a SmartArt object.

When SmartArt is present in an Office 2007 document, the compatibility
checker tells the Office 2007 user this:

“SmartArt graphics will be converted into a single object that can’t be
edited in previous versions of Word.â€

Oh yes they can!!! They can be easily "edited" with the picture tool
(brightness, border, rotation, etc...). In fact, the picture toolbar is
conveniently popped up for the user when they click on the image.

Even seemingly benign edits (like displaying a border around the object, or
resizing it) will permanently convert it to a graphic image.

In Word, it's even worse... simply modifying the word-wrapping around the
object in Word 2003 will permanently convert it. Not only that, in Word
2007, if you get into compatibility mode, it presents the SmartArt as an
image AND it also presents Picture Tools in the Ribbon that can be used to
modify it. (Excel and PowerPoint don't ever present Picture Tools ... why
Word behaves so differently is beyond me...).

I think this is a pretty serious flaw... especially since both PowerPoint
2007 and Excel 2007 allow the SmartArt Tool to be used... even in
Compatibility Mode. And let's face it... SmartArt is VERY COOL... and will
probably be one of the main features most new users will want to start taking
advantage of... ESPECIALLY IN POWERPOINT!

So be careful!

At the end of the day, there's no way to prevent the 2007 users from using
SmartArt in Compatibility Mode (with the exception of Word... it forces you
to use the old Diagramming tools), there's no way to prevent the 2003 users
from modifying with picture tools (in fact if they click on it, they're
conveniently presented a picture toolbar), and all the warning messages along
the way don't give either user an idea of what could REALLY happen.

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[Echo S]

Very interesting. I hadn't thought about this situation before. Thanks for
posting this.

--
Echo S [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PowerPoint 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/powerpointannoy/index.html
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[jel]

I hope more happened than just posting it here. This needs to be accessible
in the knowlege base. Thanks!!!!

 

[Bob Buckland ?:-\)]

Hi Jel,

When an Office 2007 file is converted to Office 2003 format SmartArt objects are converted to a picture of the SmartArt. Unless the
2007 user has turned off the warning dialog it mentions this when doing 'Save As from Word 2007'.

If you then modify the graphic (add a border, recolor, etc) either in Word 2007 working in Word 2003 compatibility mode or in an
earlier version then the SmartArt graphic remains a picture when you round trip the document back to Word 2007.

I can see where 'edit' could be taken to mean 'make any change' to a SmartArt item, what MS appears to have intended as them meaning
was that there is no capability to use the SmartArt tools for editing the SmartArt object content once it's presented as a picture.
As prior versions don't have the ability to 'edit' in that sense, but can modify picture attributes, it makes sense for Word to
'lose' the original SmartArt when you save the modified picture to preclude having those

'why does one user see a red background on a picture and another peson see a green background the same item'

questions from popping up <g>.

There are some things to watch out for thought.

First, Word files with SmartArt objects can be fairly large compared with a document with just the picture of the SmartArt.

Also, if you have Word 2007 and receive a document back with a modified SmartArt snapshot in it, and use Review=>Compare the
comparison, while it will show the modified and original SmartArt items, it appears to be incorrectly identifying the snapshot as
still being a SmartArt object, and will list unmodified SmartArt items as inserted and deleted as well. Also, a .docx file
roundtripped from Word 2003, while it may preserve the SmartArt in editable form if they weren't changed in the prior version, Word
2007 may still see those .docx files as being in compatibility mode and when you either accept tracked changes or save/conver the
theme and formatting of the SmartArt may suddenly switch.

==============
I hope more happened than just posting it here. This needs to be accessible in the knowlege base. Thanks!!!!>>
--

Bob Buckland ?
MS Office System Products MVP

*Courtesy is not expensive and can pay big dividends*