Description of the Office 2008 for Mac 12.0.1 Update

Security update details

The Office 2008 for Mac 12.0.1 Update contains several changes that improve security, stability, and performance. These changes include fixes for users of Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, and include fixes for vulnerabilities that an attacker can use to overwrite the contents of a computer's memory by using malicious code.

Improvements that are included in the update

The Office 2008 for Mac 12.0.1 Update includes the following improvements.

Improvements for all Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac applications

• Security is improved.
  This update fixes vulnerabilities in Office 2008 that an attacker can use to overwrite the contents of your computer's memory with malicious code.
  
• Office Installer no longer grants restricted users unauthorized access to Office 2008 for Mac program files.
  This update fixes an issue that could give a local user who does not have administrator permissions access Office 2008 program files. This issue occurs when the non-administrative user account was assigned User ID (uid) 502. This issue affects only computers that have more than one local user account, and primarily affects environments, such as public computer labs and workplace networks, where access to program files is restricted.
  For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
  
  
  948488 Restricted users may have unauthorized access to Office 2008 for Mac program files
  
  

Improvements for Microsoft Word 2008 for Mac

• Stability is improved when you start Word 2008.
  This update fixes an issue that causes Word 2008 to quit unexpectedly when you try to start it. The issue occurs when Word 2008 tries to import settings from earlier versions of Word that might have been installed on your computer.
  For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
  
  
  948489 Word 2008 for Mac crashes when you try to start the program
  
  
• Stability is improved when you check spelling and grammar or you use an Italian keyboard.
  This update fixes issues that cause Word 2008 to quit unexpectedly when you check spelling and grammar. This includes an issue that occurs when a user who does not have administrator permissions tries to check grammar in Italian or tries to use an Italian keyboard.
  
• Blank pages are no longer printed when you print to a high resolution printer.
  This update fixes an issue in Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard that causes blank pages to print when you print to a high resolution printer.
  
• Documents that contain Word 2007 for Windows equations open correctly.
  This update fixes an issue that prevents Word 2008 from opening some documents. The issue affects only documents that contain equations that were created in Word 2007 for Windows.
  
• Citation deletion is improved.
  This update fixes an issue that prevents users from deleting citations by pressing the DELETE key.
  
• Font substitution is improved.
  This update fixes an issue for users of PowerPC-based Macintosh computers that causes fonts in documents that were created in Word for Windows to display incorrectly when the document is opened in Word 2008.
  

Improvements for Microsoft Excel 2008 for Mac

• Stability is improved.
  This update fixes several issues that cause Excel 2008 to quit unexpectedly. Additionally, this update improves overall stability during regular use such as copying and pasting data.
  
• WORKDAY function calculates correctly.
  This update fixes an issue that causes the WORKDAY function to return incorrect results when calculated on a sheet that uses the 1904 date system. The 1904 date system is the default date system for new sheets in Excel for Mac.
• Support for secondary displays is improved.
  This update fixes an issue for users of computers that have more than one display. This issue prevents users from moving workbook windows to a position greater than the maximum height of the primary display on the secondary screen. This issue affects users who position a secondary display above the primary display.
  
• Reliability is improved for ledger sheets.
  This update fixes an issue that causes the width settings for columns in a ledger sheet to be lost when the workbook is saved in the following file formats: .xlsx, .xlsb, .xltx, or .xltm. This update also fixes an issue that causes calculated columns such as the Balance column to incorrectly display a sheet error when the column is inserted.
  
• Rotated text no longer appears to rotate horizontally when you delete a column.
  This update fixes a display issue that causes rotated text to appear to rotate horizontally. The issue appears when you delete a column on a sheet that contains rotated text.
  
• Cell formatting in Excel 97-2004 Workbooks no longer changes unexpectedly.
  This update fixes an issue that sometimes causes the formatting of empty cells to change unexpectedly. The issue occurs when you save and then open a file that uses the Excel 97-2004 Workbook (.xls) file format.
  
• Reliability is improved when you copy and paste linked data and charts.
  This update fixes an issue that causes a copied range of data in Excel 2008 to paste incorrectly into a Word 2008 document when you link the pasted data to the source data. This update also fixes an issue that occurs when a chart is copied from Excel into a Word document or into a PowerPoint presentation. The issue prevents the chart from updating when its source data changes.
  
• Stability is improved when you use the Ergosoft egbridge IME to enter data.
  This update fixes an issue for users of Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard that causes Excel 2008 to stop responding when you use the Ergosoft egbridge Universal 2 v17.0.2 input method editor (IME) to enter data in a sheet.
  

Improvements for Microsoft PowerPoint 2008 for Mac

• Performance is improved when you open PowerPoint 2008.
  This update fixes an issue for users of Mac OS X 10.5.2 Leopard that causes PowerPoint 2008 to open slowly.
  
• Character spacing and layout is improved.
  This update fixes an issue that causes some characters to appear too close to one another.
  
• Reliability is improved when you save to an SMB network volume.
  This update fixes an issue for users of Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard that causes problems and potential data loss when you save a PowerPoint Presentation to a network volume that uses the SMB protocol. The following is an example of the protocol:
  smb://computer-name/volume-name
• Reliability is improved when you save PowerPoint 97-2004 Presentation files.
  This update fixes an issue for users of PowerPC-based Macintosh computers that affects presentations that contain a link to a sound file such as an MP3 file. When a PowerPoint Presentation (.pptx) file that contains a link to a sound file is saved in the PowerPoint 97-2004 Presentation (.ppt) file format, this issue may cause the file to become corrupted and unreadable. When you try to open a file that is affected by this issue, you receive the following error message:
  There was an error accessing path_to_file. File cannot be opened.
  

Improvements for Microsoft Entourage 2008 for Mac

• Notification sounds now play when you use Entourage in Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard.
  This update fixes an issue for users of Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard that prevents notification sounds such as New mail sound and Send mail sound from playing when you use Entourage 2008.
  
• Reliability is improved when you connect to a server that is running IBM Lotus Domino by using IMAP.
  This update fixes an issue that prevents Entourage 2008 from connecting to servers that are running IBM Lotus Domino 7.0.3 and IBM Lotus Domino 8 by using IMAP.
  
• Reliability is improved when synchronizing with a server that is running Microsoft Exchange Server.
  This update improves synchronization support for users of Exchange accounts by reducing instances of duplicate or missing calendar events and by providing more consistency with changes to the calendar on the Exchange server. Additionally, this update fixes an issue that prevents some Entourage 2008 users from synchronizing their contact list together with the Exchange server.
  
• Stability is improved when synchronizing data with devices and other applications.
  This update fixes an issue that causes the Sync Services component to quit unexpectedly while synchronizing calendar and contact information to iCal, to Address Book and to mobile devices that are connected through iSync or iTunes.
  
• Import of rules and identities is improved.
  This update fixes an issue that prevents Entourage 2008 from importing identities that were created in the Swedish version of Entourage 2004. This update also fixes an issue that prevents some imported Entourage 2004 rules such as POP rules and Priority-based rules from running.
  
• Stability is improved when you use Database Utility to rebuild a large identity database.
  This update fixes an issue that causes Database Utility to stop responding or use an unnecessary amount of memory resources when you use it to rebuild a large identity database.
  

Prerequisites

Before you install the Office 2008 for Mac 12.0.1 Update, make sure that the computer is running Mac OS X 10.4.9 (Tiger) or a later version of the Mac OS X operating system.

To verify that the computer meets this prerequisite, click About This Mac on the Apple menu.

How to obtain the update

The following file is available for download from the Microsoft Download Center:

Download the Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac 12.0.1 Update package now.

Release Date: March 11, 2008

For more information about how to download Microsoft support files, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

119591 How to obtain Microsoft support files from online services

Microsoft scanned this file for viruses. Microsoft used the most current virus-detection software that was available on the date that the file was posted. The file is stored on security-enhanced servers that help prevent any unauthorized changes to the file.

Updated files

For a complete list of the files that this update adds or changes, double-click the Office 2008 for Mac 12.0.1 Update installer, and then click Show Files on the File menu.

Notes

• The Office 2008 for Mac 12.0.1 Update is also available from Microsoft AutoUpdate. AutoUpdate is a program that automatically keeps Microsoft software up-to-date.
  
  
  
  To use AutoUpdate, start a Microsoft Office program. Then, on the Help menu, click Check for Updates.
  
  For more information about resources for Office 2008 for Mac, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
  http://www.microsoft.com/mac

The third-party products that this article discusses are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, about the performance or reliability of these products.