Tag: Office

Re-enabling older file types in Office 2003 after SP3

Here’s a post that should help you if you need to implement older Office file types after installing Office 2003 Sp3 :

http://blogs.msdn.com/david_leblanc/archive/2008/01/04/office-sp3-and-file-formats.aspx

In the post you’ll find some handy .reg files that will re-enable the older file formats without having to go in and hack the registry (always a good move).

Here are the closing comments from the post (from Microsoft of course):

In closing, I want to emphasize that we’re not removing support – we’re making the default safer. If you’re among the users who do need to be opening these formats, we will continue to support you. We also recognize that we have not made any of this as usable as we’d like, and we apologize that this hasn’t been as well documented or as easy as you need it to be. We’re also going to take a hard look at how we can do better in the future.

Now I know that Microsoft is screwed no matter what it does but don’t you think Microsoft, that a warning dialog box during the install of the Service Pack might have been a good idea? Hmmm? If there was one then I could understand your ‘making it more secure‘ claim BUT keeping this thing hidden or as you euphemistically put it “hasn’t been as well documented or as easy as you need to be“, then I gotta say that my BS detector is flashing big time, since it appears more likely you are trying to force people into the new versions of Office. Now while that in itself is not a bad thing and necessary to ensure we are all safer, one would again tend to think that the way this has been conducted is more along the lines of benefiting stockholders rather than users. Maybe?

Look what I found out after I…

Have been apply Office 2003 SP3 in swaths across customers while they are all away being merry and I can access every workstation unrestricted. That was until I found this blog post!  Turns out that by installing Office 2003 SP3, the ability to open and save older legacy file formats will be blocked. Hmmm…why? The reason for this decision is strictly for security reasons.  Some older file formats including some from Microsoft are insecure and do not satisfy new attack vectors that hackers can use to execute malicious code.  The decision to block the formats is strictly to protect your machine from being compromised. Hmmm…the old security excuse eh? I wonder how many of my customers this is going to piss orff? Hopefully, not too many!

If you need instructions to re-enable certain file formats, please read this article KB 938810.  It involves registry modifications so, as usual, backup your registry before altering. GREAT! Another fantastic Microsoft solution – HACK THE REGISTRY! Is there ever a solution that doesn’t involve this for pity’s sake??

Hmm…sounds to me like Microsoft wants everyone to upgrade to Office 2007,

Because it is better? Because the ribbon interface makes using it so much better? Or because Microsoft needs the cash? I wonder!

When will company’s like Microsoft start looking at this sort of stuff from what is best for the customer? Not while they have stockholders I’ll bet!

Sharepoint 2007 and Outlook 2007 video now available

Probably the final video I’ll do before Christmas (I think anyway). This video focuses on the integration between Sharepoint 2007 and Outlook 2007 in three key areas. Firstly, the ability to link document libraries allowing the use of Sharepoint document libraries offline. Secondly, the linking of calendars means that event information between Outlook and Sharepoint can be viewed in a single instance. Finally, most parts of Outlook are RSS enabled, which means you only have to subscribe via RSS to view the information making it easier to see what has changed recently.

To view the video directly on You Tube click here, otherwise go to our Video – Links area to view all our video presentation.

As always we welcome any feedback or suggestion you may have on how we can improve our offerings.

Oh dear Microsoft

Ever wondered why Microsoft Office 2007 documents didn’t seem to appear in the search results of Windows Sharepoint Services? Hmmm, turns out, according to Microsoft “This problem occurs because a 2007 Office IFilter is not installed“.

Is there a solution? Well yes and no. Yes in the fact that there is this KB article, and no in the fact that it involves installing Word and hacking the registry of the Sharepoint server. Now we’re not too sure whether this happens on EVERY Windows Sharepoint installation or just in some circumstances but we can tell you that if it does the solution is sure nasty.

I think that perhaps it is a good idea to wait a while until Microsoft releases a proper patch for this problem. In the meantime we’ll have to check to see whether all our Sharepoint sites are affected.

The Microsoft Office Fluent user interface video

Wanna see what the new Office interface actually looks like? Maybe you or your customers have heard some bad things about the interface? Well with this video at least you can judge for yourself. Click here to be taken to the video page and then click on the Play Video button.
 
In our experience the new interface does cause some issues for traditional Office menu users but if they are willing to embrace the change then generally they all agree that the new interfac actually makes them more productive.

Office 2003 Service Pack 3 released

Microsoft has release Service Pack 3 for Office 2003. Click here to go directly to the download. Click here for the Knowledge Base article on the Service Pack.
 
As yet we haven’t tested it on our internal machines so we can’t provide any feedback. Rest assured we will be applying soon and will provide some experiences then.
 
Ok, typically there are some issues after installing this service pack. See here or here for more information.