Open XML is the default file format for Microsoft’s Office 2007 desktop applications suite. What has yet to become clear is which document format users will favor — ODF or Open XML — or ...

Microsoft’s bid to have its Open XML file format approved as an ISO standard took another step forward Monday when that organization put the measure on a voting ballot sent to its member countries.

Open XML, the default file format in Office 2007, was certified in December as a standard by Ecma International, another Geneva-based standards group, after a yearlong process shepherded by Microsoft.