New features in Office 2003 include information rights management; new collaboration features; improved support for SharePoint, smart tags, and XML; and extended use of Office Online services.[11] Office 2003 introduces two new programs to the Office product lineup: InfoPath, a program for designing, filling, and submitting electronic structured data forms; and OneNote, a note-taking program for creating and organizing diagrams, graphics, handwritten notes, recorded audio, and text.[12] It also introduces the Picture Managergraphics software to open, manage, and share digital images.[11]
With the release of Office 2003, Microsoft rebranded the Office productivity suite as an integrated system dedicated to information workers. As a result, Microsoft appended the "Office" branding to the names of all programs.[13] Office 2003 is also the first version with support for themes and visual styles,[14] and introduces updated icons.[13] The Office logo was also updated, eliminating the puzzle motif in use since Office 95.[15] Office 2003 is the last version of Office to include the traditional menu bar and toolbar interface across all programs,[16] and also the last version to include the "97 - 2003" file format as the default file format.[17]
Microsoft released a total of three service packs for Office 2003 throughout its lifecycle. Service Pack 1 was released on July 27, 2004,[18] and Service Pack 2 was released on September 27, 2005.[19][3] Support for Office 2003 ended on April 8, 2014.[20][21]