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Microsoft releases Office 2008 Service Pack 2

by Joachim Bean Jul 20th 2009 at 2:30PM

Today, Microsoft released the Office 2008 Service Pack 2 update. This update brings many improvements and fixes to Office 2008, including improved speed and stability to Word and Excel, new features in PowerPoint, as well as improvements to connecting to SharePoint servers. A brief list of fixes follows below:
  • Two new features in PowerPoint 2008: Custom Path Animation, which adds the ability to author motion-path animations and Default Theme, which lets users define their default theme, including fonts, color scheme and slide layouts.
  • Increased speed in Word 2008 (launch and scroll times) as well as Excel 2008 with features such as calculation performance.
  • Expanded Mac browser support in Microsoft Office Live Workspace to include Safari 4.
  • Microsoft Document Connection. Document Connection is a new application that improves the SharePoint experience for Mac users, allowing for easier collaboration within a SharePoint environment by simplifying how users can browse, access and manage files online and offline.

For a complete lists of changes and fixes, visit this description page.

To download this update, run the Microsoft AutoUpdate application on your Mac or go to the Microsoft Mac Downloads page. This update weighs in at 182.6 MB and is available right now.

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Today, Microsoft released the Office 2008 Service Pack 2 update. This update brings many improvements and fixes to Office 2008, including...
 

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eep13yaj

nice, this is very great... i heard that there are updates on PowerPoint... so, what are those major developments?



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April 16 2010 at 8:37 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Tyler

Has anyone had an issue after upgrading to SP2 that the message appears saying 'Invalid Product Key' for both legitimate and non-legitimate keys? Appears to be a volume license agreement issues (VLA).....

http://www.macfixit.com/article.php?story=200907210815243

Anyone?

July 28 2009 at 12:33 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Dave

After upgrading to Mac Office 2008 SP2, I find that PowerPoint can no longer open .pptx files. Unfortunately, that means most of the recent presentations I've created can no longer be edited. At least I have Office 2007 in a virtual machine so I can make changes with it if needed, but this sure seems like something that should have been caught in testing.

I posted a comment about this in the forums on www.officeformac.com and a few others are seeing the same problem. PowerPoint starts up a lot faster, but I'd recommend holding off on the upgrade if you have to edit anything you've previously created using PowerPoint and Open XML.

July 21 2009 at 1:27 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Dave's comment
Nick

Just spoke with Microsoft and this is a known issue. I had exactly the same problem. They are working on a fix. Hopefully will be out there fast. Bit of a disaster that it can't open PPTX files. I found that Keynote had no problem with the file though :) PowerPoint 0, Keynote 1

July 22 2009 at 9:48 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Nicholas

My default blank document styles are bizarre after the update. Is anyone else having this issue?

July 21 2009 at 6:12 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
TP

It's a lot faster for sure.

I like 'Document Connection' but I can only connect to Office Live Workspace. Sharepoint is grayed out. Anyone else have that problem?
I'm hoping to be able to use Sharepoint with my Mac, most of my customers use it.

July 21 2009 at 3:31 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
HUSTLERS.SPIRIT

IF YOU HAVE A TIME MACHINE BACK-UP DELETE THE ONE ON YOUR MAC NOW THEN JUST RESTORE FROM TIME MACHINE

July 20 2009 at 10:09 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to HUSTLERS.SPIRIT's comment
Christopher Scott

thanks

July 20 2009 at 11:22 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
jeremy

word for the wise - if you have a not-so-legal version of office 08, the update will invalidate your copy, making it unusable unless you restore to before the update.

July 20 2009 at 8:19 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
2 replies to jeremy's comment
Christopher Scott

what do you mean 'restore to'? I can't use my 'copy' now. Does anyone have a fix?

July 20 2009 at 9:19 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
David Patterson

God. I read this comment about two hours too late. Goddamn it.

July 21 2009 at 12:16 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
homan2

Office is still kinda sluggish and wonky, but Safari seems snappier!

July 20 2009 at 6:00 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Don

Has anyone had problems it asking for your cd key after the install? My daughter has had problems inputting the numbers after upgrading it. Looks like it is time to call Microsoft (dreading the on hold time).

July 20 2009 at 5:27 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
adisor19

Man, i must have gotten used to the suck that MS Office 2008 is cause i seriously don't get bothered that much anymore.. and that says a lot.

Adi

July 20 2009 at 4:50 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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