Filed under: Software
Microsoft Office 2008 updated to version 12.1.2
Earlier today, Microsoft released the 12.1.2 update to Microsoft Office 2008, downloadable via MS Software Update and from the MS website. The 160 MB update requires Office 12.1.1 and, in addition to security fixes, resolves several bugs. The hit list includes two of my personal annoyances: Word's sluggish launch speed and Entourage's insistence on truncating URLs after the ampersand character. The full list of changes is in the continuation of this post.Installed the update? Let us know if you see any dramatic performance changes, gotchas or improvements.
Thanks to Erik Schwiebert for the heads-up (and best wishes from TUAW for a speedy recovery).
Full update details from http://support.microsoft.com/kb/956344
The Office 2008 for Mac 12.1.2 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. For more information, see the security bulletin that is listed earlier in this document.
• AppleScript reliability is improved.
This update fixes an issue that prevents Office 2008 applications from running AppleScript scripts from the Script menu until after you restart the Office 2008 application.
Improvements for Microsoft Word 2008 for Mac
• Word opens more quickly.
This update fixes an issue that causes Word to open slowly.
• Display of text in tables is improved.
This update fixes an issue that causes some text in tables to appear bold, even when a bold style is not applied to the text.
• Reliability is improved when you use headers and footers.
This update fixes the following issues:
• Typed text does not appear in the footers. This issue occurs when you insert a section break in the document.
• The Close button does not appear in Header and Footer view.
• Display of form fields is improved.
This update fixes an issue that causes Word to draw a border around form fields.
Improvements for Microsoft Excel 2008 for Mac
• Security is improved.
To improve security and stability, Excel 2008 for Mac and Excel 2007 for Windows do not open files that are saved in the Excel chart (.xlc) file format.
• Files that have invalid characters in the sheet name open correctly.
This update fixes an issue that prevents Microsoft Excel 2008 for Mac Service Pack 1 (SP1) and later versions to open a workbook when some of the sheet names contain invalid characters such as the forward slash (/).
• Reliability is improved for formulas when the international format preference is set to New Zealand.
This update fixes an issue that causes formula errors when you use comma separators. The formula errors occur only when you select New Zealand as the geographic region in System Preferences to specify the date format, the time format, and the number format on your computer.
• Number formatting for some international languages is improved.
This update fixes an issue that causes number formatting errors when regional settings are set to some non-US regions.
• Reliability is improved.
This update fixes an issue that prevents Excel from opening workbooks that contain a range that spans more than one row and is sorted left-to-right. This issue occurs only when the workbook is saved in the Excel workbook (.xslx) format.
• Calculation performance is improved.
This update improves the overall performance of calculations in Excel 2008, especially when you work with large data sets and complex formulas.
• Stability is improved when you save workbooks that contain PivotTable reports.
This update fixes an issue that prevents Excel from saving a workbook in the Excel workbook (.xlsx) format after you copy a PivotTable report into the workbook. When this issue occurs, the following message appears:
Document not saved
Improvements for Microsoft Entourage 2008 for Mac
• Stability is improved when you use Microsoft Sync Services.
This update fixes the following issues:
• Events and other items in Entourage or in iCal are duplicated.
• All contacts in Entourage or in the Apple Address Book are deleted and re-created when you use Microsoft Sync Services.
• Reliability is improved for recurring calendar events.
This update fixes an issue with Entourage 2008 in which a canceled instance of a recurring meeting is re-added to the organizer's calendar when the organizer receives a response from an attendee.
• Reliability is improved.
This update fixes an issue that causes the following behavior in Entourage 2008:
• Embedded graphics or images are not displayed correctly in messages when you read or view the messages.
• HTML e-mail messages appear as blank messages.
• In Entourage 2008 SP1, some characters that follow the ampersand (&) in a hyperlink are truncated.
• The Japanese postal code dictionary is updated.
The Japanese postal dictionary is updated with information as of May 2008.
• Time zone information is updated.
This update provides updated time zone information.
• Reliability is improved when Entourage establishes a encrypted channel.
This update fixes an issue in Entourage 2008 SP1 that causes Entourage to establish SSL connections to invalid hosts. When an invalid connection is established, you receive the following error message:
Unable to establish a secure connection to hostname because the server name of IP address does not match the name or IP address on the server's certificate. If you continue, the information you view and send will be encrypted, but will not be secure.
• The junk mail filter is updated.
This update includes a new Junk E-mail Protection definition file.

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
fablloyd said 8:03PM on 8-12-2008
Two Words:
Visual Basic
???
Reply
Michael Rose said 9:05PM on 8-12-2008
VB will be returning in Office 13 for Mac, not in maintenance updates for v12.
Allen said 10:03PM on 8-12-2008
I'll believe it when I see it.
Ben Hollander said 8:09PM on 8-12-2008
Well I installed the update and did notice that Word opened in about half the time. I haven't noticed anything else but I didn't really look.
Reply
Isaac said 8:09PM on 8-12-2008
2008 is so slow and crashes all the time.
I really hope this helps.
Reply
Ryan said 8:22PM on 8-12-2008
installed, definite improvement on launch times, nearly in half.
Reply
John said 8:32PM on 8-12-2008
Excel calculations and cut/paste were so slow, it made 2008 unusable. I went back to 2003... I'd like to hear if calc speed improvements are just slight or significant. It would really have to be a dramatic speedup for me to consider going back...
Reply
RazorD said 8:38PM on 8-12-2008
They fixed the *crazy* annoying email URL bug which meant it stripped out parts of URLs in emails, so they never worked!
I can click links in emails again!
Reply
Michael Rose said 9:07PM on 8-12-2008
I know, that URL bug was driving me batty.
MutantSquid said 8:53PM on 8-12-2008
Now if it could actually sync multiple calendars across iCal, then I'd be in heaven
Reply
Allen said 9:59PM on 8-12-2008
@MutantSquid You can sync multiple calendars from iCal using ToMacs, a free utility for Tiger and Leopard. You can also sync Apple Mail, Addressbook, Adium, Firefox, and the list goes on. http://philippe.durix.free.fr/indexen.html
Fritz Laurel said 9:03PM on 8-12-2008
"All contacts in Entourage or in the Apple Address Book are deleted and re-created when you use Microsoft Sync Services."
What?!?! Holy crikey, that scares the bajeebis out of me! I can just see something going horribly wrong in that process all too easily.
Why go to such drastic measures? Just fix your freaking code, you imbeciles. You shouldn't have to blindly delete all of my contacts. That's just lazy and irresponsible coding.
Well, I guess I won't be updating to this version.
Reply
Michael Rose said 9:06PM on 8-12-2008
Uh, Fritz, it FIXES that problem -- earlier versions might delete your contacts under the wrong circumstances. You probably DO want to update.
Fritz Laurel said 9:19PM on 8-12-2008
What?! Let me read that agai... Oh. Umm, on second thought, yeah, this is great! I, um, love this update! I'm going to install it right now...
Maria said 9:43PM on 8-12-2008
160 MB? Are they kidding?
Another reason I'm glad I downgraded back to Word 2004.
Reply
Gregg said 10:23PM on 8-12-2008
Why did it say 491mb for me?!!
Ket said 2:35AM on 8-14-2008
Lucky. you have fully working expose in Word 2004. Why does expose and word still fail to get along?
Sure expose will select the last word document just fine. however, it fails to select anything but the last word document you were using when switching back from another application.
Jesse said 10:34PM on 8-12-2008
Office 08 just sucks in almost every aspect. Its slow, clunky and feels entirely out of place in OS X. I should have know, though. That awful feeling you get right before you authorize the "installer" to do its thing. Its akin to allowing a 800lb, retarded gorilla rampage through your home—nothing good can come of it.
I can't wait for the semester to end so I can dump this piece of garbage and check out iWork. Probably have to wipe my system as Office will probably leave its dirty footprints all over my system.
Reply
gshadley said 10:44PM on 8-12-2008
For some reason, I am unable to perform this update. After I agree to the EULA, The installer tells me that it cannot install on my hard drive as there is no program to update. Has anyone else encountered this? Does anyone know of a work around? I've uninstalled and reinstalled and I continue to get the same message.
Reply
mcg said 11:54PM on 8-12-2008
I'm having the same problem. Totally legal copy of Office 2008, but it doesn't believe I have it.