Office Assistant

The Office Assistant was an intelligent user interface for Microsoft Office, first introduced in Office 97, that was designed by Microsoft to assist users when using supported software, by way of an animated character which interfaced with Office help content. It was included with versions of Microsoft Office. It had a wide selection of characters to choose from, with the most well-known being a paperclip named Clippit (commonly referred to by the public as Clippy).

Microsoft Office 2003 was the last version of Office to feature the Office Assistant, as Office 2007 for Windows and Office 2008 for Mac replaced it with a new online help system.

Overview

Office Assistant assisted users by way of an interactive animated character and was an intelligent user interface. It was included with Microsoft Office for Windows (versions 97 to 2003), in Microsoft Publisher and Microsoft Project (versions 98 to 2003), Microsoft FrontPage (versions 2002 and 2003), and Microsoft Office for Mac (versions 98 to 2004).

The Office Assistant initially used technology from Microsoft Bob and later Microsoft Agent, offering advice based on Bayesian algorithms. From Office 2000 onward, Microsoft Agent (.acs) replaced the Microsoft Bob-descended Actor (.act) format as the technology supporting the feature. Microsoft Agent-based characters have richer forms and colors, and are not enclosed within a boxed window. Furthermore, Microsoft Agent characters could use the Lernout & Hauspie TruVoice Text-to-Speech Engine to provide output speech capabilities, but it required SAPI 4.0. The Microsoft Speech Recognition Engine also allowed Microsoft Agent characters to accept speech input. This technology was also used for the File Explorer's search companions in Windows XP.

The default assistant in English versions was named Clippit, after a paperclip. The character was designed by Kevan Atteberry. Although the name Clippit was used in all versions of Office to support the Assistant feature, the assistant became commonly referred to as Clippy, a name which later bled into Microsoft marketing materials

Assistants

Default assistants

• Clippit - A paper clip with eyebrows and eyes, sometimes shown with a sheet of paper.
• The Dot - A red bouncing ball with eyes and a smiley face.
• F1 - A robot with two arms and has his head shaped like a rectangle.
• Office Logo - An object with four colored puzzle pieces, symbolizing the logo.
• Mother Nature - Our planet earth that transforms into images of nature.
• Links - An orange cat with a wide, oval face.
• Rocky - A dog who has a crush on Lassie probably.
• The Genius - An Albert Einstein caricature who wears a brown shirt and blue jeans.
• Will - A William Shakespeare caricature.

Downloadable assistants

• Bosgrove - A butler who looks like the Genius.
• Genie - An Egyptian Jinn that comes from his lamp.
• Kairu - A blue dolphin that is only available in the Asian versions.
• Max - A Macintosh Plus computer. This character is only available in the Macintosh versions of Microsoft Office.
• Merlin - An old wizard named after a similar character from Arthurian folklore.
• Peedy - A green parrot with wide, cartoony eyes.
• Robby - A pill-shaped robot with retractable arms.
• Saeko Sensai - A secretary of Japan who is only available in the Asian versions.
• Monkey King - A legendary monkey warrior.

Criticism

Despite the Office Assistant's intention of being helpful, it was widely reviled among users as intrusive and annoying, and was criticized even within Microsoft. The internal codename TFC had a derogatory origin: Steven Sinofsky stated that the "C" stood for "clown", while allowing his readers to guess what "TF" might stand for. Smithsonian Magazine called Clippit "one of the worst software design blunders in the annals of computing". Time magazine included Clippit in a 2010 article listing the fifty worst inventions.

Although helpful to brand-new users and introduced at a time when relatively few people had extensive experience with computers, the Office Assistant feature was criticized for interrupting users and not providing advice that was fully adapted to the situation.

After receiving criticism and being voted onto "most hated" lists, the Office Assistant was replaced by a new online help system in Microsoft Office 2007 for PC and Office 2008 for Mac.

Legacy

In May 2009, as a way to promote Microsoft Office 2010, Microsoft created a website that hosted a trailer for a fake movie called "Office 2010 - The Movie". The trailer featured a photograph of Clippit along with his tombstone, referencing the removal of the Office Assistant feature.

On April 2, 2011, Microsoft Office Labs released Ribbon Hero 2: Clippy's Second Chance, a free puzzle video game used to teach users the basics of Microsoft Office 2007 and 2010. In the game, Clippit is searching for a part-time job before discovering a time machine that takes him to different time periods. The player must complete multiple office-related tasks to progress the story further.

A small image of Clippit can be found in Microsoft Office 2013 and newer, which can be seen by going to Options and changing the theme (or Office Background) to "School Supplies". Clippit would then appear on the ribbon.

Videos

Office Assistant, Compilation, Clippy, Clippit, Hoverbot, Dot, Genius, Robot, Links, Rocky

Whatever Happened to Clippy?

External links

• Intelligent Failures: Clippy Memes and the Limits of Digital Assistants at Microsoft Research (2019-10)
  • Ribbon Hero 2: How to play the game (video) (2011-04-26)
• Office Assistant at Wikipedia