Microsoft just updated its Office Live Workspace Web service ... with a downloadable, installable upgrade package. Hmm. Actually, it's not all that confusing: The update is for the Office Live plug-in you install for Microsoft Office applications. Microsoft.com:
Brief Description
The Office Live Update 1.1 for Microsoft Office Live Workspace beta makes working with Microsoft Office programs faster and lets you access workspaces from Microsoft Office Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
Overview
The Office Live Update 1.1 installs (1) performance updates to make using Office Live Workspace with Microsoft Office programs faster, (2) the latest Office Live Add-in for Microsoft Office that enables you to access your workspaces directly from Word, Excel, and PowerPoint and (3) the Multiple Document Upload Tool.
The Office Live Update 1.1 auto-detects and installs these necessary updates to ensure optimum performance:
- Update for Office 2007 (KB 941637)
- Update for Windows Vista (KB 933860)
- Update for Windows Vista (KB 945145)
- Update for Windows Vista (KB 945435)
- Update for Windows Vista (KB 947864)
- Update for Windows Vista (KB 948531)
- Windows Live Sign-in Assistant
The Office Live Add-in adds new menu options in the 2007 Microsoft Office Suite and a toolbar in Microsoft Office XP and Office 2003. You will be able to open documents located in Office Live Workspace directly from Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. You will also be able to save files directly from Word, Excel, and PowerPoint to Office Live Workspace.
The Multiple Document Upload Tool lets you add multiple documents to a workspace at once and even allows users to drag and drop files directly from their desktop.
Not surprisingly, one of the issues I raised in my Office Live Workspace review is that the Office application integration stuff, while nice, is a bit slow. Apparently, this will help fix that issue, but I'll have to play around with it a bit to see if it really does make a difference.