Under certain conditions (see below) MS Office files can be edited directly on the BSCW Server. To use this feature, select the menu item  Edit   in the action menu of an Office file. This locks the file and opens the Office application for this file. Applying the 'Save' operation in the Office application writes the file directly back to the BSCW server and replaces the existing one or creates a new version if the document is under version control. Closing the document in the Office application unlocks the document.

This feature is based on functionality which has been provided by Microsoft in more recent versions of MS Windows and MS Office. Requirements are:

• Windows 2000, XP, or 2003;
• Internet Explorer 5.5 or above;
• Office XP or 2003;
• the BSCW document is a Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Project, or Visio file;
• the document name on the BSCW server has the correct extension, (e.g., '.doc' for a Word document).

Furthermore, for the BSCW server:

• the WebDAV package must be enabled;
• cookie authentication must not be enabled.