What Are Smart Documents?

Smart Documents are documents that use behind-the-scenes programming to assist the user during each step of working with the document. Performance reviews, proposals, and other frequently used structured documents are candidates for conversion to Smart Documents. Smart Documents typically sport a Document Actions task pane that includes information, guidance, and options for such tasks as completing, editing, and routing the document.

Smart Documents are made possible by XML, which enables them to parse the contents of the document and take actions based on the content. Smart Documents are always based on XML, but XML documents do not necessarily have to be Smart Documents.

Another valuable feature of Smart Documents is that they are able to keep themselves up-to-date with the latest versions of their components . This greatly simplifies the task of managing the documents that support a business.

Because Smart Documents can do significant amounts of processing "behind the user's back," Microsoft has taken great pains to make Smart Documents secure. Smart Documents are cryptographically signed to ensure that you always know the source of the document and that you're assured of its integrity.