New features in Office XP include smart tags, a selection-based search feature that recognizes different types of text in a document so that users can perform additional actions; a task pane interface that consolidates popular menu bar commands on the right side of the screen to facilitate quick access to them; new document collaboration capabilities, support for MSN Groups and SharePoint; and integrated handwriting recognition and speech recognition capabilities.

[14] Office XP received mostly positive reviews upon its release, with critics praising its collaboration features, document protection and recovery functionality, and smart tags; however, the suite's handwriting recognition and speech recognition capabilities were criticized and were mostly viewed as inferior to similar offerings from competitors.

[16] At a meeting with financial analysts in July 2000, Microsoft demonstrated Office XP, then known by its codename, Office 10, which included a subset of features Microsoft designed in accordance with what at the time was known as the .NET strategy, one by which it intended to provide extensive client access to various web services and features such as speech recognition.

[34] Full File updates require Windows Installer 2.0; Office XP shipped with version 1.1.

[32] Only Full File updates released after SP2 can be applied directly to Client installations of Office XP.

[3] However, if an Office XP client was updated from a patched administrative image, the Full File version of SP3 must be installed.

According to Microsoft, this change involved "removing visually competing elements, visually prioritizing items on a page, increasing letter spacing and word spacing for better readability, and defining foreground and background color to bring the most important elements to the front.

[40] A smart tag is denoted by a dotted purple underline underneath actionable text in a document; hovering over this text with the mouse cursor displays an icon that presents a list of related commands when invoked with a mouse click or the Alt+⇧ Shift+F10 keyboard shortcut.

[41] A ticker symbol smart tag in Excel can present the latest stock information in a cell within a workbook, for example, while a contact name smart tag in a Word document can display options to send an e-mail message to—or schedule a meeting with—that contact.

Excel and Word support extensible smart tags that allow developers and organizations to display custom commands related to specific information.

[41] The Paste Options smart tag provides options to retain original formatting of content, change the formatting based on the currently active program, or to provide contextually specific characteristics to content after users paste it from the clipboard.

[42] Examples of third-party companies that produced smart tags after the release of Office XP include ESPN,[43] Expedia,[44] FedEx,[45] and MSNBC.

[47] Office XP introduces a task pane interface that consolidates popular menu bar commands on the right side of the screen to facilitate quick access to them.

[48] The default Startup task pane is automatically available when users launch an Office XP program and presents individual commands to open an existing file, create a new blank file or one from a template, add a network location, or open Office Help.

The Search task pane includes individual Basic and Advanced modes and allows users to query local or remote locations for files.

Office XP can also be installed directly from an administrative image hosted on a web server via HTTP, HTTPS, or FTP.

Users who make substantial hardware changes to an Office XP device may need to reactivate the software through the Internet or by telephone.

[67] Office XP introduced an optional subscription-based activation model that allowed consumers to annually license the product and receive incremental updates at a reduced price when compared with the cost of a full retail version.

[68] In spite of this, Microsoft distributed optical media and a single subscription to authorized U.S. retail partners who attended teamMicrosoft Live!

[69] As part of a pilot experiment, consumers in Australia, France, and New Zealand could purchase a subscription for Office XP starting in May 2001; the worldwide release of the activation model was contingent on the success of the pilot experiment, but Microsoft terminated support for subscriptions in 2002 based on feedback and research that demonstrated it was not well understood by consumers.

[13] PC Magazine rated Office XP 4 stars out of 5 and praised the product's emphasis on user control, particularly in regards to customization options for features introduced in previous versions, and regarded it as "one of the few Microsoft upgrades that offers almost no pains with its significant gains.

"[9] While most assessments of Office XP were positive, the speech recognition feature was frequently criticized due to its inaccuracy and lack of advanced functionality.

"[98] However, in a later assessment, PC Magazine stated that the "speech recognition is reasonably accurate, but there are very few commands for editing and correcting text" and recommended Dragon NaturallySpeaking, IBM ViaVoice, or Voice Xpress for dictation.

[99] The New York Times speculated that Microsoft had little to no confidence in the feature, as it is not installed by default and no microphone is included with Office XP; however, it concluded that it was "not bad for a freebie, especially if you would rather get the first draft down quickly and clean up the recognition errors later.

"[97] Paul Thurrott stated that "the voice recognition is so bad it's almost not even worth discussing," concluding that it "is sort of a joke" when compared with mature products such as Dragon NaturallySpeaking.