How To Create New Documents with Office Mobile on the Smartphone

Mike Temporale

For some reason Microsoft has decided that Windows Mobile Standard users (previously known as Smartphones users) will not need to create new documents on their mobile devices using the long overdue Office Mobile suite (more discussion on that can be found over here ) For the record, Pocket PC users (now called Professional users) have had this functionality since day 1, but something happened when porting Office to the Smartphone platform and the ability to create documents was cut out.

However, all is not lost. There is a solution. A rather simple solution that takes up just under 42KB of space on your device.

These steps are done with Office 2003 because Office Mobile for Windows Mobile Standard devices does not support Office 2007 at this time.

1. Open Microsoft Word
2. Click File / Save As
3. Change the File Name to New Word Doc.dot
4. Click Save
5. Close Word
6. Open Windows Explorer and browse to the location where you save the file.
7. Right click on the file and select Properties
8. When the properties menu appears, click on Read-Only at the bottom of the window and then click OK
9. Copy the file
10. Connect your Windows Mobile device to your computer
11. Browse to the \My Documents folder and paste the document into this folder
12. On your Windows Mobile device, Launch Word from the Start Menu
13. Select "New Word Doc" from the open menu
14. Presto! You've got a new blank word document.

When you open the document on Windows Mobile, it opens in "View Mode". So you'll need to press Menu / Edit Mode before you can start to type in the document. To me, that's a small trade off for the ability to create documents on my device. Since the original file is marked as Read-Only you won't be allowed to save over it, and therefore it will prompt you to save the document before closing the application.

You can repeat the steps above to create a blank Excel document as well. Or just download them from this link - Zip Archive with both Word and Excel files Just unzip and copy to your device. Cool

_________________
"I have no special talents, I am only passionately curious" - Albert Einstein

Jerry Raia · Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2007 10:02 am Post subject:

Excellent Mike. Too bad this kind of thing is even necessary.
_________________

[BlackJack] [8525]

dstrauss · Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2007 10:03 am Post subject:

You have got to be kidding? Shocked

A work-around is needed in order to create a new Word or Excel document? This has got to be a major programming gaffe for the new millennium. I wonder what stupid mistakes MS thought they were saving us from with that one.

Jerry Raia · Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2007 10:14 am Post subject:

Give MS a break, they have been busy getting ActiveSync to work perfectly! Laughing

_________________

[BlackJack] [8525]

stevew · Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2007 10:55 am Post subject:

Pocket PC users of Mobile 6 are considered professional and have a full working mobile office.

Smartphone users of Mobile 6 are considered standard and don't rate for a full working mobile office.

I feel discriminated. Shocked

_________________
Samsung i607/Cingular BlackJack
If it ain't Black take it back

palmsolo · Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2007 10:58 am Post subject:

Honestly, how many people on a WM Smartphone with a standard keypad are going to create documents on them? The thing is there are so many QWERTY devices out there and a Bluetooth keyboard option that I think Microsoft should have allowed the new document creation option for end users.

Awesome discovery, posting up on Geek.com soon too.
_________________
Check out my ZDNet blog at http://blogs.zdnet.com/mobile-gadgeteer/

crispeto · Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2007 12:06 pm Post subject:

The more I read this, the more I'm glad I bought Docs To Go. But for those who don't want to buy it, at least there is a workaround.
_________________
Tmo Dash

T-Will · Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2007 1:00 pm Post subject:

WOW, WTF was Microsoft thinking???!! Jeez...this is fricken ridiculous. Also, I can not believe they didn't add file sync...how do they expect us to get documents on our phones and backup the files created on the phone. Sometimes MS is so retarded. Evil or Very Mad

Mike Temporale · Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2007 2:34 pm Post subject:

scottb · Smartphone Intellectual Joined: 17 Sep 2004 Posts: 145

Mike, thanks for posting this. While I agree us poor ole Standard users should be able to create documents without a work-around, I don't see the work-around you've outlined as being that big a deal. As long as I can do it relatively easily, I'm ok with that.

Assuming the Moto Q will get an upgrade (if I can't have hope, what can I have?) it would save me the cost of Docs To Go.
_________________
Motorola Q, WM5 - Verizon Wireless, U.S.A.