If you haven't installed Snow Leopard yet, take some time to read some of the numerous articles that have been published for a successful install. I listed some links at the end for you to read that do an excellent job covering how to successfully upgrade to Snow Leopard.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. -Benjamin Franklin
Snow Leopard is a major change. Be prepared!
- Perform a full bootable backup of your system! If your experience with Snow Leopard is bad, you can simply boot from your backup.
- The most common issue for Office apps has been "Optimizing Font Menu Performance." Delete Font caches before you update. Many of the utilities don't work in Snow Leopard.
Does Office for Mac work with Snow Leopard?
Yes! Office 2008 for Mac is a Universal application that runs natively on Leopard and Snow Leopard. If you are using the latest version of Microsoft Office 2008, you do not need to install Rosetta. If you are doing a clean install using one of the original Microsoft DVDs with 12.0.0, the AutoUpdater (MAU) requires Rosetta. More info on the Microsoft Autoupdater (MAU) Office 2008 AutoUpdate (MAU) updated to 2.1.1
- You will either need to update the MAU using Rosetta or
- Manually download the 12.1.0 (SP1) updater and install.**
- Download the MAU 2.1.1 on Mactopia
**I have not tried this yet, but the SP1 updater should contain the updated MAU. Some users are reporting problems installing Office 2008 on a clean install of Snow Leopard. Until I can try this myself, I can't verify if this is a bug or user error.
***I was able to install Office 2008 on a clean install of Snow Leopard and update. You need to update the MAU, then apply the SP1, SP 2 and 12.2.1 updaters. For details see Troubleshooting Office for Mac with Snow Leopard
Microsoft Office 2004 requires Rosetta to run so be sure to select the option to install Rosetta or when you try to launch any '04 application, you will be prompted to download and install.
There have been no reports on using Office X with Snow Leopard, but as soon as i can verify that it works, I'll be sure to update this article. If it works, it will require Rosetta.
*** I was able to launch Entourage X, but have not tested it. Word X might be the application that will be more problematic under Snow Leopard. Slow reports coming in from Office X users.
Recommended Articles
Install
- Installing Snow Leopard: What you need to know | Mac OS X | Macworld
- Prep Your Mac for Snow Leopard - Snow leopard - Lifehacker
- Getting Ready for Snow Leopard: Installation Options, Backups, and What To Buy
- Upgrading to Apple's Snow Leopard OS: What you need to know
- Running OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard: installation play by play - MacFixIt
Requirements and Compatibility
- Apple Technical Specifications
- Snow Leopard system requirements - MacFixIt
- Snow Leopard Compatibility: Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard Compatibility List
Coming shortly, Troubleshooting Office for Mac with Snow Leopard.
Applications ready for Snow Leopard to help with troubleshooting
Additional Info added after published date
Comments (6)
You don't actually need to choose to install Rosetta as 10.6 will recognize if it is needed, and download/install it for you.
There's always someone, right? I have installed v.X on Snow Leopard and then applied the most up to date updater. With Rosetta installed, it does launch and the apps appear to work as normal. Unfortunately, I've been having regular kernel panics on SL, but I don't believe office v.X is to blame; however, this possibility has not been completely ruled out.
I just installed Snow Leopard tonight and only tried to launch Entourage X. I had no problems, but as you mentioned further testing needs to be done.
BTW, did you resolve font conflicts? There are a lot of new fonts and deleting the old Microsoft ones will help.
I'll be posting an article tomorrow on troubleshooting Office for Mac on Snow Leopard.
If you know you are going to need it, then it's a bit quicker to go ahead and install. I ran into one instance after I installed Snow Leopard that didn't ask for Rosetta to be installed. Once I installed, my Kensington mouse software worked.
guys where to download rosseta for 10.6?
You can select to custom install from the Snow Leopard DVD or when you launch any application that requires it, Snow Leopard should ask to download it for you.