Office 2008 updated to fix Entourage issue

Oct 31, 2008 07:39 GMT  ·  By

Soon after releasing Office 2008 Update 12.1.3, Microsoft's Mac Business Unit learned of the existence of a nasty bug. Apparently, Entourage users connected to Exchange, as well as a secondary POP or IMAP account for personal email, were unable to send calendar invitations or to reply to meeting requests. Microsoft has addressed this issue releasing Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac 12.1.4.

Microsoft's support forum, Mactopia, reveals that Microsoft Office 2008 Update 12.1.4 “fixes a calendar issue in versions of Microsoft Entourage that were updated with the Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac 12.1.3 Update. The issue prevents Exchange accounts in Entourage from sending meeting invitations and responses. This issue can occur when an Entourage identity is configured with more than one mail account.” Microsoft's Mac Business Unite strongly recommends that Office 2008 (12.1.3) users who also have Entourage accounts install this update.

The update addresses the following Office for Mac editions: Office 2008, Office 2008 Home and Student Edition, Office 2008 Special Media Edition, Word 2008, Excel 2008, PowerPoint 2008, Entourage 2008. Before you install this update, make sure that the Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac Service Pack 1 (12.1.0) is installed on your computer. To install, follow these steps:

1 - double-click the file that you just downloaded using the link provided below to place the Office 2008 12.1.4 Update volume on your desktop.

2 - double-click the Office 2008 12.1.4 Update volume to open it (if you are using Safari to download your files, this step might be performed for you automatically).

3 - in the Office 2008 12.1.4 Update volume window, double-click the Office 2008 12.1.4 Update application, and follow the instructions on the screen.

While some are just happy that the fix is out, others also want to know how on Earth this bug managed to pass V. 12.1.3 tests. Well, according to TUAW, citing Andy at the Mac Mojo blog, account creation order was the one aspect that escaped testing. The issue was triggered when the Exchange account was added to Entourage after the POP or IMAP setup. This condition wasn't part of the testing efforts, the source notes.

Download Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac Update 12.1.4 (Free)