Entourage 2008 users trying to switch to Microsoft Entourage 2008 for Mac, Web Services Edition, may find the installer refuses to install the software because:
"At least one of your e-mail accounts does not meet the requirements necessary for Entourage 2008, Web Services Edition. Installing Entourage 2008, Web Services Edition will make one or more of your e-mail accounts inaccessible."
However, this message can be erroneous and it does not allow the person installing the software to override it and install anyway. While the message cannot be overridden, it can be worked around.
Since adopting Apple's Installer technology, Microsoft has had a few problems with its installers. Early problems and some current problems still revolve around permissions issues but others stem from, debatably, overly aggressive compatibility checks that sometimes return erroneous information. The Web Service Edition installer runs one of these compatibility checks to ensure users don't install the wrong software.
Entourage 2008, Web Services Edition, requires:
It also requires (as of this writing):Checking the version of Office that's installed is easy for the installer since the software is on the same computer, but how does the installer contact your Exchange server and ask it what software it's running?It doesn't.
Instead, it's looking at your Entourage identities and trying to derive this information from them. Just one identity with Exchange Server information that's not in line with the requirements will thwart the Web Services Edition installation. This includes "backup" identities created during a Database rebuild using the Database Utility application as well as delegate accounts that may be on older Exchange Server systems.
Identities are found in your home folder, where a tilde " ~ " represents your home folder:
~/Documents/Microsoft User Data/Office 2008 IdentitiesThe default identity is called "Main Identity" but this folder can be named differently if the user has changed it:
~/Documents/Microsoft User Data/Office 2008 Identities/Main IdentityWith Entourage 2008, Exchange Server information is placed in any identity folder that has been opened by it. That information is included in the file is called Summary.plist.
~/Documents/Microsoft User Data/Office 2008 Identities/Main Identity/Summary.plistWhen Entourage 2008 connects to your Exchange Server, it stores information about each account's server in this Summary.plist file, including version number. In this example, "Item 1" and "Item 2" both represent Exchange Server accounts. The build number for "Item 1" is 08.01.10240. Any build number beginning with 08 is Exchange Server 2007. The build number for "Item 2" is 6.5.7638. Any build number beginning with 6 is Exchange Server 2003.
Microsoft lists server versions with build numbers on their website in support article "Build numbers and release dates for Exchange Server".
Knowing about the existence of the Summary.plist file is enough to work around the "cannot be installed" message. Simply move it out of the identity folder and run the Web Service Edition installer again. This time, the installer will display a different Compatibility Check message:
"Entourage 2008, Web Services Edition is intended for use with Microsoft Office 2008 version 12.2.0 or later, and requires Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 1 with Update Rollup 4 or later.
"If you do not have an e-mail account on a server that is running Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 1 with Update Rollup 4 or later, you do not need to install Entourage 2008, Web Services Edition."
Continue with the installation and then launch Entourage. Its splash screen should display "Web Services Edition" and you should be prompted to upgrade any existing identities for use with the new version.
