OFFXP: Unable to Sign Out of Microsoft Passport When Office Is Running in Reduced Functionality Mode

When you attempt to use the Sign out of Microsoft Passport command, the command may be unavailable and you are therefore unable to sign out.

In Microsoft Excel 2002, the Sign out of Microsoft Passport command is available, but when you click it, nothing happens.

This behavior can occur when both of the following conditions are true:

• Your Office XP program is running in reduced functionality mode.
  
  -and-
• You click to select the Automatically sign me in on this computer check box when you sign in with Microsoft Passport.

To resolve this issue, activate Office XP.

To work around this issue, use one of the following methods.

Method 1: Sign Out of MSN

To sign out of Microsoft Passport, follow these steps:

1. Click the following link to the Microsoft Network (MSN) Web site:
   www.msn.com
2. If the Passport sign in link appears, click it.
3. Click the Passport sign out link.

Method 2: Delete Automatic Sign-in Cookie

To remove the cookie that causes your Office XP program to automatically sign in to Microsoft Passport, follow these steps:

1. Quit all Office programs.
2. Start Microsoft Windows Explorer, and then locate the Cookies folder.
3. In the Cookies folder, delete all text documents that have names similar to the following:
   
   NOTE: Deleting "Cookie" files may cause some loss of functionality when you visit their associated Web sites. For example, Web sites may not "remember" your previous visits.
   user name@msnusers[x].txt
   user name@passport[x].txt
   user name@www.msnusers[x].txt
   user name@ppsecure[x].txt

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.

The Sign out of Microsoft Passport command is displayed on the File menu of any Office XP program after you have selected the Automatically sign me in on this computer check box when you sign in with Microsoft Passport. To view this command, follow these steps:

NOTE: You need to have Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 or later installed on your computer and a Microsoft Passport account.

In Microsoft Windows 2000 or Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me)

1. Start any Office XP program.
2. On the File menu, click Open.
3. In the Open dialog box, click My Network Places.
4. Under My Network Places, click My Web Sites on MSN, and then click Open.
5. In the Sign In with Microsoft Passport dialog box, type your sign-in name in the Sign-in name box.
6. In the Password box, type your password, click to select the Automatically sign me in on this computer check box, and then click OK.
7. In the Open dialog box, click Cancel.
8. Click File.

In Microsoft Windows 98 or Microsoft Windows NT 4.0

1. Start any Office XP program.
2. On the File menu, click Open.
3. In the Open dialog box, click Web Folders on the My Places bar.
4. Under Web Folders, click My Web Sites on MSN, and then click Open.
5. In the Sign In with Microsoft Passport dialog box, type your sign-in name in the Sign-in name box.
6. In the Password box, type your password, click to select the Automatically sign me in on this computer check box, and then click OK.
7. In the Open dialog box, click Cancel.
8. Click File. Notice that the Sign out of Microsoft Passport command appears.