Many of us use Microsoft Office to do our document-related work. There are now many versions of Office and many ways to get access to it. For example, you can buy, download and install it. Or, you can do this as part of a subscription service. You can also use simplified Office tools as pure web applications. Or you can use Office as a set of apps from the Microsoft Store. Cradle supports Office, but not the Office apps in the Microsoft Store.
Cradle’s Use of Office
Cradle uses Office tools in several ways:
- Cradle’s Document Loader tool uses Word to split documents into items in the database
- Cradle’s Document Publisher tool uses Word to assemble output documents from items in the database
- Cradle has a plug-in for Excel. You can use this plug-in to load data from Excel into a Cradle database, either as new items or to merge into existing items
- When you publish reports to HTML and CSV, you can view them in Excel
- You can publish reports to RTF and view them in Word
- Print your MBSE models’ diagrams directly to PowerPoint
- You can link symbols in Visio diagrams to items in a Cradle database
- Link a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) in Cradle, bi-directionally, to the activities in a schedule in Project
- Items in a Cradle database can contain rich text attributes that can be edited with Word
- Items in a Cradle database can have attributes that can contain, or reference, any type of Office document
So your use of Cradle can be quite closely linked to Office. Hence it is a good idea to have a set of Office tools available when you use Cradle!
Supported Versions of Office
Cradle supports several versions of Office:
- 2007 (SP3, 32-bit)
- 2010 (SP2, 32-bit and 64-bit)
- 2013 (SP1, 32-bit and 64-bit)
- 2016 (32-bit and 64-bit)
You can install one of these versions of Office on your computer, either by buying it, or as part of an Office 365 subscription. Then, you install Cradle which will connect itself into Office to provide the facilities listed above.
Please do not install parts of different versions of Office. For example, do not install Project from Office 2016 with Office 2013 tools. If you do this, the Cradle installer will not install any of Cradle’s tools for Office.
Office 365
Office 365 is essentially a subscription service through which you can download the latest version of Office and install it onto one or more computers. So Office 365 produces the same result on your computer, you have an installation of Office. Hence Cradle supports Office 365.
UWP
The Universal Windows Platform (UWP) apps (previously called Windows Store apps and Metro-style apps) are apps that can be used across all compatible Microsoft Windows devices, including personal computers (PCs), tablets, smartphones, Xbox One, Microsoft HoloLens, and Internet of Things.
UWP apps are primarily purchased and downloaded via the Microsoft Store.
Microsoft Store
The Microsoft Store started as a means to distribute apps created for the Universal Windows Platform (UWP). Now, the Microsoft Store is the name for the consolidation of all of Microsoft’s previous distribution channels, including the Windows Marketplace, Windows Phone Store, Xbox Video, Xbox Music and the Xbox Games Store.
Please note that Cradle does NOT support Office products downloaded from the Microsoft Store.
External Articles
Here are a couple of articles on the differences between Microsoft’s Desktop apps and Microsoft Store apps:
What’s the Difference Between Microsoft Office’s Desktop, Web, and Mobile Apps?
Why ‘Office in the Windows Store’ isn’t really Microsoft Office