The Entourage Help Blog tag:blog.entourage.mvps.org,2009://10 2009-09-27T23:45:03Z News, Views and Clues about Microsoft Entourage:mac Movable Type Pro 4.23-en How to get help tag:blog.entourage.mvps.org,2011://10.1802 2011-03-11T22:46:26Z 2009-09-27T23:45:03Z We appreciate your comments on our articles, but if you are having a problem with Entourage or have general questions about installing Office for Mac, leaving a comment is not the best way to get individual help. Select the best option to get the individual help you need.... Diane Ross http://www.entourage.mvps.org/ is not the best way to get individual help. Select the best option to get the individual help you need.]]> Options to find answers

One of the quickest ways to find an answer is to search this blog or the Entourage Help Page.(Google search is also your friend.) Most likely your question has already been asked and answered. Popular links on the Entourage Help Page:

Subscribe to one the following sources for individual help. The same people that write for the blog also answer questions on the newsgroups and mailing lists. Please ask on one source at a time for help.

To learn about Entourage visit, Microsoft Help and How-To and the Get Started section on the Entourage Help Page. In addition to the Entourage Help Blog, see these other Entourage blogs for the most current information.

How to subscribe to the newsgroups

The following newsgroups are active. Please use this list as there are old newsgroups that are not active that are still listed. Evidently a newsgroup can never die and will be listed forever.
  • microsoft.public.mac.office.entourage
  • microsoft.public.mac.office
  • microsoft.public.mac.office.word
  • microsoft.public.mac.office.powerpoint
  • microsoft.public.mac.office.excel
Entourage's newsreader is not robust, but it is easy to setup. If you can use email you can use the Entourage newsreader.
  1. In the Entourage Folders list, click on the Microsoft News Server. The newsgroup list will then download.
    news_server.gif
  2. Type mac.office in the search filter
    news_server_list.gif
  3. Select the newsgroup you want and click on Subscribe.
    news_server_subscribe.gif
  4. Now click on the microsoft.public.mac.office.entourage newsgroup which has just appeared in your Folder List on the left, under the Microsoft News Server icon.
    news_server_folder.gif
    • You can change the number of headers in Tools/Accounts/News/Microsoft News Server/Options. For help using the newsreader, see this page for help.
    • Starting with Entourage 2008, Spotlight search of the newsgroup in Entourage is a great way to quickly find answers. Click on More button to get older messages.
  5. Click the New button to start a new thread.
  6. You can set a schedule to download the newsgroup, or simply click on the header to download messages. View schedule

Set up a News account

In order to post a question you will need to set up an account to use.
news_account.gif To help avoid receiving unwanted messages (spam) in your regular e-mail account, you may not want to include your regular e-mail address when you post a question or reply to a post in a discussion group. Instead you may want to do one of the following:
  1. Use a secondary e-mail account or alias account
  2. Create a throw away address (disposable email service)
  3. Create a Fake NoSpam Account
Select an account from the popup.
news_account_select.gif

Access newsgroups via web interface

Currently there are several options on the web that are interfaces to the Microsoft newsgroups. If this is your preferred method to connect, check them all out for ease of use and search features. Don't be fooled...the Mactopia Forums are just an interface to the newsgroups. It might appear to be an official support forum but it's not.

Consulting Services

We do our best to help users, but sometimes you need personal help. As a consultant I offer my services to help users with Entourage. I have been very successful in recovering corrupt databases. Fees start at $35.

This is not an official Microsoft support site

We are not affiliated with Microsoft. This blog and all Microsoft MVPs are independent sources for help. We do not get paid to offer support. We are not Microsoft employees. If you are a business, you should contact an official source for help that's offered through your license agreements. Use this phone number to contact Microsoft Official Support: (866) 474-4882 For info on official support visit this link. View official support options and fees offered by Microsoft. This post is closed to comments! If you need help, ask using one of the options outlined in this article.]]> Office 2008 12.2.3, EWS 13.0.3 and Office 2004 11.5.6 updates available! tag:blog.entourage.mvps.org,2009://10.1852 2009-11-11T01:25:53Z 2009-11-12T00:14:35Z Office 2008 12.2.3, EWS 13.0.3 and Office 2004 11.5.6 updates available! Open XML File Format Converter 1.1.3 is also available for Office 2004 users. Diane Ross http://www.entourage.mvps.org/
  • Office 2008 12.2.3 is a combo updater. It requires 12.1.0 or later installed.
    • This includes the 13.0.3 updater for the EWS version of Entourage for Exchange users.
  • Office 2004 11.5.6 updater requires 11.5.5 be installed.
  • Open XML File Format Converter 1.1.3 requires Office 2004 11.5.0 or later installed.
    • ]]>
  • Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac 11.5.6 Update (English, Japanese, French, German, Swedish, Spanish, Italian and Dutch)
  • Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac 12.2.3 Update (English, Japanese, French, German, Swedish, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian and Finnish)
  • Open XML File Format Converter for Mac 1.1.3 (English, Japanese, French, German, Swedish, Spanish, Italian and Dutch)
  • Microsoft Entourage 2008 for Mac, Web Services Edition (13.0.3) (English, Japanese, French, German, Swedish, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian and Finnish)

    • Install Tips

    • There is no easy way to revert to previous version if you have a problem. Either zip your Microsoft Office 2008 folder in Applications or make sure you have a backup on Time Machine or other backup drive.
    • Launch the MAU from Help in any Microsoft application. When it shows up in the Dock, select "keep in dock".
    • Quit all Microsoft applications.
      • Easy Way: Log out of your User. When you log in, hold down the Shift key to disable all startup items.
    • Launch the MAU from the Dock, download and install the updater.
    • RESTART

    Verify Update

    Option 1: Check the Microsoft Component Plug in this location to verify that you updated. The Microsoft Component Plug is the true test that you are updated. Office 2008 users: /Applications/Microsoft Office 2008/Office/MicrosoftComponentPlugin.framework pathmcp.gif Office 2004 users: /Applications/Microsoft Office 2004/Office/Microsoft Component Plugin" Option 2: Check About menu Except for the EWS version of Entourage, you can verify your update under the About menu. v12.2.3.gif verify.gif verifyv13.gif

    Open XML File Format Converter

    Office 2008 users do not need to download this file.
    The Open XML File Format Converter lets you convert Open XML files that were created in Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac or Microsoft 2007 Office for Windows so that you can open, edit, and save the files in earlier versions of Office for Mac. The Open XML converter can convert Microsoft Office Word documents, Microsoft Office Excel workbooks, and Microsoft Office PowerPoint presentations that are in the Open XML Format so that you can open and edit the files in Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac and Microsoft Office v. X for Mac.
    Users are seeing notices to update this file after updating. Most likely, it's seeing a copy on another drive that needs to be updated. You'll have to boot from that drive to update the copy. [Note added 10.11.09 There was a bug on the MS server that caused the MAU to keep showing update needed for XML File converter. It's fixed now.]
    Additional LInks: Description of the Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac 12.2.3 Update Description of the Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac 11.5.6 Update Description of the Open XML File Format Converter for Mac 1.1.3]]>     Hotmail accounts as IMAP tag:blog.entourage.mvps.org,2009://10.1851 2009-11-05T22:39:52Z 2009-11-05T22:29:57Z Hotmail users have lost functionality when Hotmail switched over to POP access recently. To get back IMAP, sign up to beta test mBox Mail for Mac. Diane Ross http://www.entourage.mvps.org/ This is an announcement not an endorsement. Hotmail users have lost functionality when Hotmail switched over to POP access recently. To get back IMAP sign up here to beta test mBox Mail for Mac. What's the difference between IMAP and POP? IMAP works by keeping mail on the server. POP works by downloading your mail to your computer.
    If you usually use POP to check mail, then when you use the Webmail interface you'll only have access to new mail -- none of your folders will be available. Likewise, if you create folders via Webmail and move mail to them, that mail will not be available the next time you check your mail via POP. If you normally use IMAP to check your mail, then all of your folders will be accessible using the Webmail interface.
    Please leave us your comments on results from beta testing, but we will not be able to help troubleshoot.]]>     Update to shell script used with Super Duper! in Snow Leopard tag:blog.entourage.mvps.org,2009://10.1850 2009-11-02T02:05:48Z 2009-11-02T02:05:41Z After updating to Snow Leopard, some users need to update the shell script used to quit all Microsoft applications in Super Duper! The article also addresses the error with Adobe Unit Types.osax. Diane Ross http://www.entourage.mvps.org/ sd_error.gifAfter updating to Snow Leopard, some Entourage users need to update the shell script provided in this article Backup Entourage with SuperDuper! to quit all Microsoft applications. Users are also getting an error when the script runs in Super Duper! that indicates the Adobe Unit Types.osax is causing the script to fail. ]]> Shell script fails to run in SuperDuper! for Snow Leopard users The Super Duper log will show the following error indicating the shell script to quit all Miscrosoft applications failed and indicates the Adobe Unit Type.osax as part of the problem. The script does not use Adobe Unit Type.osax, but updating the script for Snow Leopard and updating the Adobe Unit Type.osax will fix this problem. sd_logerror.gif

    Changes in shell script

    The following changes were made to each line of the script.
    Original: 
    osascript -e 'tell application "Microsoft Entourage" to quit'
    New: 
    arch -i386 osascript -e 'tell application "Microsoft Entourage" to quit'
    download.jpeg
    1. Download new version for Snow Leopard quitall_sl.sh
    2. Unzip the file and place it in your User's folder.
    3. Open Super Duper!
    4. Select Options tab View image
    5. Click on the Advanced tab View image
    6. Select new shell script quitall_sl.sh
    7. Click OK
    8. Select Copy Now to verify that your new script is working correctly.
    See Backup Entourage with SuperDuper! for detailed instructions on backing up Entourage with Super Duper!

    Update the Adobe Unit Types.osax to version 2.1.0

    1. Download the Adobe Unit Types.osax version 2.1.0 file from this technote.
    2. Choose /Library/Scripting Additions.
    3. Move the existing Adobe Unit Types.osax file to a backup location.
    4. Copy the downloaded version of the Adobe Unit Types.osax file to the /Library/ScriptingAdditions folder. Select Yes to authenticate this operation.
    5. Restart your computer.
    More info on the Adobe forum.
    Links: ]]>     Office 2008 for Mac Trial Edition tag:blog.entourage.mvps.org,2009://10.1849 2009-10-24T00:15:47Z 2009-10-31T19:35:17Z Are you trying to decide if it's the right time to upgrade to Office 2008? Microsoft now offers a trial version of Office for Mac 2008. You can download the trial and test Office 2008 for 30 days free. This article covers the install process and answers questions about the trial. Diane Ross http://www.entourage.mvps.org/ download the trial and test Office 2008 for 30 days free. trial01lg.gif Previous trial versions of Office for Mac could not be converted to the full version; however, the Office for Mac 2008 trial is convertible to a full version of the product, either Home & Student, or Standard Edition (and Standard Upgrade). ]]> Should I upgrade? Upgrading to Snow Leopard has pushed some users with older versions of Office installed to consider upgrading. Consider the pros and cons...
    • Office X is end of life software. No further updates will be issued.
    • Both Office X and Office 2004 will run on Snow Leopard, but a few minor issues have been reported.
    • It was recently announced that support for Office 2004 would be extended for those users that have had to stay with Office 2004 for VBA support.
    • Office 2008 does not include VBA. It's returning in Office v14.
    • You can run both Office 2004 and Office 2008 applications at the same time.
    • Office for Mac v14 with Outlook for Mac won't be released until the holiday season of 2010. Do you want to wait that long?
    • Entourage EWS version has improved performance for Exchange users.
    I would advise all Office X users to upgrade to Office 2008. There have been many improvements since Office X was released. Do you really want to be stuck with the 4GB limit for Entourage databases? Office 2004 users that don't use VBA should also consider upgrading. Entourage's database in 2008 is more stable and the Spotlight search alone is worth the upgrade. If you are an Exchange user, the improvements for Entourage makes it a worthwhile upgrade. If you don't need Exchange support you can get Office 2008 very reasonably from Amazon with free shipping. $126.99 (price can vary slightly) This version comes with 3 CD Keys and can be used on three computers at the same time.
    Still undecided? Download the trial and test out the new features.

    Quick Facts

    The FAQs offered by Microsoft for the trial can be found on this page, but I want to bring your attention to the following issues.
    1. Do not select to remove old versions of Office during the install process.
    2. It's important to understand that the download version is a bit different from the retail version in that it has to be activated if you purchase the trial version.
      1. You cannot use a retail key to activate the trial. If you download the trial then later purchase, you must remove the trial to install the retail version.
      2. You can't use the trial installer if you lost your retail CD.
    3. Feature wise, there is no difference in the download version from retail version.
    4. Your order and confirmation email contain important info. Be sure to keep this info.
    5. Physical backup media are available for purchase along with the product, or alternatively, customers can purchase the Extended Download Service, which allows the customer to re-download the software from Digital River for 3 years after the time of purchase.
    What do I get when I download? The current trial is version 12.2.0 (SP2). This is the standard edition of Entourage and includes Exchange support as well as the Automator actions not included in the Home & Student version. If you meet the requirements for Entourage Web Services (EWS), you can upgrade to v13 after updating to 12.2.1. EWS has improved Exchange support over the 12.2.1 version. The Business Edition extras (tutorial videos, templates and themes, RDC and Entourage EWS on disk) are not included with the trial. [Note: The standard version of Office 2008 upgraded to EWS v13 is the same as the business edition without the extras mentioned above.] Will I need to upgrade after downloading? Yes, currently all users will need to upgrade to 12.2.1. this is a small updater that contains a fix where Open XML files couldn't be opened. Verify the 12.2.1 update Tip: Before updating Office 2008, it's important to quit all applications. Easy way: Log out of your User under the Apple in the menu bar. When you Log in, hold down the Shift key. This will disable all startup items including the hidden ones like the Microsoft Database daemon. What happens to my Entourage data if I decide I don't want to continue with Entourage 2008? The trial version of Entourage is not set to leave your mail on the server for POP accounts. POP accounts delete mail from the server when it downloads so it's important that you set to "leave on server" so the mail will still be available to download if you switch back.
    1. You need to select "leave on server" so the messages will be available to download to your older version. This only gets message you receive. You would need to export your sent messages from Entourage 2008 for import into your old Identity if you are using a POP account.
    2. Export as .rge file and import this file into Entourage 2004. This option is not available for Entourage X.
    Under Tools in the menu bar, select Accounts. Open your Account and click on the Options tab. leave_on_server.gif Do not select to remove older versions of Office during the install. The importer will leave your older identities alone in the Office X Identities or Office 2004 Identities subfolder of the Microsoft User Data folder. When you first launch 2008 Trial, it will make a brand new Office 2008 Identities subfolder in the same Microsoft User Data folder, and will start off with a totally different, brand new, fresh empty identity. You can select to import your old data at this time. Your old Identity is still safe. Any time you choose to go back to your previous version, you can. And, if and when you upgrade to a purchased copy of 2008, you will be able to go on using your Trial 2008 database regardless if it's the trial version or a retail version.

    Install the trial

    For detailed screenshots of the install process, click on this link.

    Remove the trial

    If you decide not to purchase the trial version or want to install a retail version of Office 2008, you will need to fully remove all traces of the Office 2008 Trial version.
    1. Run "Remove Office" found in this location: Applications/Microsoft Office 2008/Additional Tools/Remove Office/
    2. Manually remove these files:
      • Delete Microsoft Office 2008 settings.plist file: /Users/username/Library/Preferences/Microsoft/Office 2008/Microsoft Office 2008 settings.plist
      • Remove all office2008...pkg receipts in /Library/Receipts
        1. If you are running Snow Leopard, remove the com.microsoft....plist files in this folder:
          In the Finder toolbar under Go, paste in this path:
          /private/var/db/receipts
      • Empty the trash.
    Handy Links: [Tip: compare the price of Office 2008 for Mac Special Media Edition to the standard edition. Often it's cheaper.]]]>     Entourage Calendar issues on Snow Leopard tag:blog.entourage.mvps.org,2009://10.1848 2009-10-20T00:51:35Z 2009-10-22T18:58:26Z Snow Leopard has introduced new sync issues with Entourage Calendar events. When syncing with iCal the calendar times will change to be off by a number of hours (depending on the time zone) from when they were originally created. Entourage and ICal Calendar don't sync anymore after upgrade to Snow Leopard. Try these options to fix these issues. Diane Ross http://www.entourage.mvps.org/ Entourage-to-iCal time zone synchronization problems
    Snow Leopard users are experiencing compatibility problem between iCal and Entourage. When syncing with iCal the calendar times will change to be off by a number of hours (depending on the time zone) from when they were originally created.
    Entourage and ICal Calendar don't sync anymore after upgrade to Snow Leopard
    After upgrading to Snow Leopard, Entourage 2008 and iCal calendar events stopped syncing. Contacts and notes are OK, but calendar events just sync one way iCal > Entourage 2008.
    ]]> Options to fix Users with incorrect times will need to do both fixes. Fix for time zone issues:
    • If you are using Entourage 2004, you might have to update to Entourage 2008 to resolve the time zone issue.
    • If you are using Entourage 2008, verify that you are updated to 12.2.1
    • Enabled time zones in iCal (iCal>Preferences>Advanced) View image
      In iCal preferences, there is a check box for "turn on time zone support." If you leave it unchecked, iCal will automatically adjust to your current time zone and move the events forward/back by the appropriate number of hours.
      If you check "turn on time zone support" a drop-down menu will appear at the upper right of the iCal page allowing you to select the time zone you wish to view. In this mode, iCal does not automatically move the events unless you select a new time zone manually.
    • Enabled time zones in Entourage (Entourage>Preferences>General preferences>Calendar) View image
    Fix for sync and time zone issues:
    • Deleting the following Preferences (quit iCal and Entourage before deleting):
      • User>Library>Calenders>Calender Cache
      • User>Library>Preferences>com.apple.iCal.plist
      • User>Library>Preferences>com.microsoft.entourage.syncservices12.plist
    • Re-start your computer
    • Re-start iCal. It will tell you that it is rebuilding the cache.
    • Re-start Entourage
    Note: Cache files are temporary receptacles for data that help OS X and its applications work faster. Occasionally caches become corrupted, impacting the performance and stability of your Mac. Deleting caches won't hurt anything.

    Dealing with duplicates

    Some users have found that selecting only one item at a time to sync in Entourage Sync Services preferences has helped with duplicates. View image If you do get dupes, clean them up with one of the remove duplicate scripts then give every event and contact a category even if it's a generic category like "current". All duplicates will have the category "none" assigned. Sorting by "none" you can easily delete all dupes if it happens again. Scripts to remove duplicates If you aren't familiar with using scripts, see Using AppleScripts with Entourage.

    Backups are critical

    I suggest you backup your calendar events and contacts as individual items in case you need to restore after a bad sync.
    1. Open Entourage
    2. Under File in the menu bar, select Export
    3. Select Items to an Entourage Archive
      1. Select All items
      2. Backup your Contacts and Calendar events separately
    To automate this and for more info see these articles: Backup Your Contacts Backup individual items Recommended Links: ]]>     Synching an iPhone or iPod touch with Entourage tag:blog.entourage.mvps.org,2009://10.1846 2009-10-11T07:15:17Z 2009-10-13T04:43:54Z One question that pops up very frequently on the Entourage newsgroup is the question of how to synch Entourage data with an iPhone or iPod touch. In this article, we will be looking at several methods to do just that, and highlight any advantages and disadvantages of the methods described. Michel Bintener sync.gifOne question that pops up very frequently on the Entourage newsgroup is the question of how to synch Entourage data with an iPhone or iPod touch. In this article, we will be looking at several methods to do just that, and highlight any advantages and disadvantages of the methods described. Please note that since the functionality of both devices is identical in the areas that are going to be discussed in this article, I will use the word "iPhone" to refer to both devices. Any strategy discussed in this article work for both devices. One more fact to point out is that synching via Sync Services has regrettably not changed much under Snow Leopard, which means that the same limitations manifest under Leopard are still there.]]> Sync Services. You can do so by clicking on Entourage>Preferences, switching to the Sync Services section and enabling the options you can see (even though "Notes" is not required; see below for an explanation). Sync Services.png Figure 1: Enabling Sync Services in Entourage Sync Services synchs your Entourage data to a global data repository called "Truth", which is also the repository that the Mac OS X applications Address Book and iCal (called "iApps" hereafter) synch to. While it may look like Entourage is synching directly to iCal and Address Book, it does not do that. Synching.png Figure 2: Sync Services explained

    Synching data between Entourage and the iApps

    Calendar Once you have enabled Sync Services, your Entourage calendar data will be synched to an iCal calendar called "Entourage". You can enable calendar synching in iTunes; specify which iCal calendars you want to be synched with your iPhone, but be sure to include the "Entourage" calendar. Any event you now create in Entourage will be synched to the Truth and subsequently the "Entourage" calendar in iCal. The next time you connect your iPhone to your Mac, iTunes will automatically transfer your events to the iPhone calendar application. Alternatively, if you use over-the-air-synching with Mobile Me, the data will automatically appear on your iPhone shortly afterwards, without your having to connect your iPhone via USB.
    Please note that if you create calendar entries on your iPhone which you want to synch back to Entourage, you must create them in the "Entourage" calendar; any event created in a calendar other than "Entourage" will show up in iCal, but not in Entourage. Read this article for more details.
    Tip: Some users report that if they only sync one item at a time, this results in fewer duplications. Contacts Contacts will be synched to the Truth, and, consequentially, to Address Book. As is the case with calendars, you need to connect your iPhone via USB, or use an over-the-air-synching service such as MobileMe or Exchange, to transfer the contacts to the Contacts application on your iPhone. Contact synching is more straightforward than calendar synching, as the synchronisation is automatic, and there is no restriction such as the requirement that calendar events be in the "Entourage" calendar. One downside is that Entourage does not understand groups in Address Book, and Address Book cannot deal with categories in Entourage. As a result, if you use Entourage as your primary contact list manager and make heavy use of categories to arrange your data, this effort will not show on the iPhone. Also, if you create a new contact on the iPhone, you need to apply categories to it in Entourage; there is no way to apply categories on the iPhone.
    This article describes a script that will allow you to sync categories in Entourage to the Address Book groups, Sync categories in Entourage with groups in Address Book
    That being said, there is a workaround if you do not want all your Entourage contacts on the iPhone. You can instruct iTunes to synch Address Book groups rather than the entire Address Book list. You can therefore create groups in Address Book, add and remove contacts as you see fit, and then only synch those groups to the iPhone. Notes Entourage offers the option to synch its notes via Sync Services and MobileMe, which is why a number of iPhone users are surprised when they open the Notes application on their iPhone only to find that their notes appear to be missing. The reason: Entourage notes are not compatible with the Notes application on the iPhone. The Notes application on the iPhone only synchs with the Notes feature in Mail, Apple's own e-mail application. You may now ask yourself what the point Entourage's synching notes is, and the only explanation is that if you use Entourage on more than one machine, you can keep your notes synchronized between your different databases. Mail There is no way to synch mail messages directly from Entourage to the iPhone. The best solution is therefore to use an IMAP account. IMAP accounts store their messages on the server; any modification you make (receive new messages, reply to them, create new messages) is stored on the server, and these modifications appear on any device that connects to this account. Say, for instance, that you use an IMAP account, and you write a message in Entourage. When you send the message, it gets moved to the Sent Items folder on the server. If you now open the Mail application on your iPhone, you will see the same message in the Sent Items folder. Technically speaking, with IMAP, you are not synching any longer; all the devices use the same server-based data. Alternative solutions PocketMac offer a product called "PocketMac for iPhone", which allows you to synch your Entourage data directly to your iPhone, and vice-versa. I have not tested this product, and therefore cannot judge how efficient it is. There is a trial version, though, so if you want to try a different approach than the one described in this article, just follow this link to the PocketMac for iPhone website.
    For more info see these articles: ]]>     Wanted: toolbar buttons! tag:blog.entourage.mvps.org,2009://10.1845 2009-10-09T17:36:18Z 2009-10-09T17:43:19Z If you ever open Entourage and want to create a new item, you may notice that the all the buttons in the toolbar are missing. You may perhaps know that the latest version of Entourage, Entourage 2008, allows you to customise the toolbar, and you may also have been told on the Entourage newsgroup that you should right-click the toolbar and choose the "Customize Toolbar" option from the contextual menu to restore any missing buttons. That sounds like solid advice, but the only problem is: there is no toolbar to right-click! If this is the case, you have encountered a poorly documented feature in Mac OS X that can be highly useful once you know how to use it. And what is even better: you can solve this problem in just one click! Michel Bintener If you ever open Entourage and want to create a new item, you may notice that all the buttons in the toolbar are missing. You may perhaps know that the latest version of Entourage, Entourage 2008, allows you to customise the toolbar, and you may also have been told on the Entourage newsgroup that you should right-click the toolbar and choose the "Customize Toolbar" option from the contextual menu to restore any missing buttons. That sounds like solid advice, but the only problem is: there is no toolbar to right-click! If this is the case, you have encountered a poorly documented feature in Mac OS X that can be highly useful once you know how to use it. And what is even better: you can solve this problem in just one click! Toolbar (hidden).jpg Do you notice the tiny oval button in the upper right corner? This button is part of the Mac OS X user interface, and you can find it in many applications, among them Apple's iWork suite. This button has a very specific purpose: it hides the toolbar with just one click, thus allowing you to get rid of the toolbar when you do not need it. This feature is also part of Microsoft Office 2008, and that is also the explanation for what you can see in Entourage. You must have clicked the button at some point, without noticing it, and it is now hiding your toolbar, as you have inadvertently instructed it to do. One click on that button is enough to restore the toolbar. There you are: your problem, solved in one mouse click! For those of you intrigued by the possibilities of this mystery button: there is another, even more poorly documented feature related to the toolbar. As you may know, you can customise the toolbar in many different ways ("Icon and Text", "Icon Only", "Text Only", and all of them can be combined with "Use Small Size"). If you hold down the Cmd or Apple key while clicking this button, the toolbar will cycle through all the possible display modes, one after the other.]]> Work around Entourage Web Services Edition installer issues tag:blog.entourage.mvps.org,2009://10.1844 2009-09-29T03:58:42Z 2009-09-29T04:59:01Z 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... William M. Smith https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile/william.smith 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."
    compatibilitycheck.jpg
    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.]]> 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 Identities
    The 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 Identity
    With 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.plist
    When 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. serverversions.jpg 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."
    compatibilitycheck2.jpg
    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.]]>     Poll: Install MS Office 2008 on Snow Leopard tag:blog.entourage.mvps.org,2009://10.1843 2009-09-10T00:26:18Z 2009-09-10T01:16:49Z If you upgraded to Snow Leopard, please send your feedback on how Office 2008 works with Snow Leopard using our Poll: Install MS Office 2008 on Snow Leopard Diane Ross http://www.entourage.mvps.org/ ]]> Troubleshooting Office for Mac with Snow Leopard tag:blog.entourage.mvps.org,2009://10.1842 2009-09-03T00:15:17Z 2009-11-03T19:43:49Z Troubleshoot Office for Mac on Snow Leopard. Tips and steps to get Office running under Snow Leopard. Diane Ross http://www.entourage.mvps.org/ "Since installing 10.6, I have not been able to get any Microsoft Office 2008 program to run. All Office applications hang on "Optimizing Font Menu Performance."

    Fonts seem to be the most common cause of problems using Office 2008 and Office 2004 with Snow Leopard. Deleting font caches BEFORE you update to Snow Leopard is advised since many of the utilities are not working in Snow Leopard yet. I suggest you delete all the older Microsoft fonts replaced by the newer ones installed by Snow Leopard. If you use a lot of custom fonts read this thread on Apple Discussions for more details. View link Before you start troubleshooting,
    • Restart your computer at least twice. This has fixed many issues for some users.
    • Verify that you are running the latest version of Office.
    ]]> Download links for 2008 for Office 2004 and Office X see this page.

    Simple troubleshooting steps

    1. Create a new User
      1. Go to System Preferences > Accounts
      2. Add a new User account and make it an admin account
      3. Switch to the New User by logging out/in or use Fast User Switching
      4. Test Office in the new User
    2. If the issue is limited to your regular User account try starting up Safe Mode.When booting into safe mode it forces your computer to run various maintenance tasks.
      1. Boot into safe mode using the Shift key. Then, reboot again. (These are some of the items disabled on safe boot:)
        • Disables all fonts other than those in /System/Library/Fonts
        • It moves to the Trash all font caches normally stored in /Library/Caches/com.apple.ATS/(uid)/
        • Disables all startup items and login items
      2. Re-install the problem application. I found this worked for several of my applications.
      3. Restart and restart again! I had everything working correctly, then after sleep nothing worked. Restarting fixed it.
      4. Check your applications for Snow Leopard compatibility.
    3. If the issues exists in the new User and you have verified that you are running a Snow Leopard ready application, then you have problems with your Snow Leopard install.
      1. First check that it's not hardware related by disconnecting any peripheral devices (be sure to unmount drives before disconnecting).
      2. Run Repair Permissions from Disk Utility.
      3. Log into your problem account go to Users/yourname/Library/Preferences/*com.apple.systemuiserver.plist* and delete this file. Log out and back in. See note 1
      4. Some users reported that doing a re-install of Snow Leopard worked. It appears that the Snow Leopard installer will work like a combo updater and install over the same version.
      5. Resetting the PRAM memory (CMD+ALT+P+R keys together at start up for Three Bongs) and resetting the SMC/PMU on Laptops . Some newer iMacs reset PRAM by disconnecting power for at least 10 minutes.
    4. If it works in Safe Mode but not in normal mode...
      5. 1) Remove Login Items. Open System Preferences > Accounts. Click on the Login Items tab. Remove items. You'll have to test to see which one (s) is the culprit. Verify that you are running the latest updates for all applications. Some might not be Snow Leopard ready. 2) Check your Fonts. There appears to be a widespread issue with FontBook and font substitution in 10.6. Something having to do with the fact that Snow Leopard has moved to .ttf as the preferred font library format over .dfont. Office 2008 does not need ANY of its fonts to "run." However, various features of Office 2008 will be broken or display poorly unless you leave the fonts it installs in place. It's OK to delete the ones replaced by newer ones installed by Apple.
      Path to Microsoft Fonts: Microsoft installs Office 2008 fonts in a folder named "Microsoft" in the Library/Fonts folder. Your Office 2004 fonts could be in your User's Library/Fonts folder. For font locations see this page.
      Apple updated some of their fonts for 10.6. These fonts are also installed in the Microsoft folder. The ones in the Microsoft folder are older and should be deleted. [Added link: details on removing fonts and font caches]
      • Andale Mono
      • Arial
      • Arial Black
      • Arial Narrow
      • Arial Rounded Bold
      • Brush Script.ttf
      • Comic Sans MS
      • Georgia
      • Impact
      • Tahoma
      • Times New Roman
      • Trebuchet MS
      • Verdana
      • Wingdings 2
      • Wingdings 3
      Open Font Book. You'll notice a yellow "!" next to the ones with duplicates. (You could have other fonts installed by other applications that are duplicates too). Open a window so you can see the Font Book and the Microsoft fonts folder. Delete the font in the Microsoft folder and you'll see the yellow "!" disappear in Font Book.
      Users are reporting that resolving duplicates didn't work successfully. I suggest you manually delete the duplicates.
      If that doesn't work, look at the various Font conflict resolution user tips in these articles: Note: I also sorted my fonts by date and found some from way back in 2002. They were not duplicates, but I decided to delete them for good measure. YMMV 3) Check Contextual Menu Items: Go to ~(yourHome)/Library/Contextual Menu Items and move whatever is there to the desktop. Then do the same with /Library/Contextual Menu Items.This tip was posted by macjack on Apple Discussions.
    Note 1: One user reported: "Each time I would delete that plist file it would inexplicably undelete itself! Anyhow, I tried it again; it disappeared." Seems restarting isn't the only thing we need to do over and over. User tips to solve crashing problems.
    • I had a bunch of Datafork TrueType fonts. I removed all of these and suddenly everything worked fine.
    • Some antivirus software is incompatitble (in my case, it made the fonts disappear and I needed to install SL again).
    • I removed Office 2004, restarted the computer (restart is important here) and did a clean installation and updated MS Office 2004 running Microsoft AutoUpdate. It now works!
    If you find a tip to share, please leave a comment.

    Installing Office 2008 on a clean install of Snow Leopard

    Yes, Office 2008 will install and update on a clean install of Leopard. I've seen reports were some users were skeptical that Office would install and update on a clean install of Snow Leopard. If you are having trouble it's not a bug in Snow Leopard, but with YOUR install. My install of Office 2008 on a clean install of Snow Leopard I did a clean install of Snow Leopard and selected to install Rosetta. I had an early version of the Office 2008 DVD that installs 12.0.0. If you have a later release that installs 12.1.0 you do not have to install Rosetta to update Office 2008, however you might need Rosetta for other applications. BTW, having Rosetta installed will have no impact on applications that are Universal or Intel-only.More info on Rosetta After installing from my DVD, the Microsoft AutoUpdater (MAU) automatically popped up asking me to update the Microsoft AutoUpdater. This is a crucial step. The original VISE installer will not recognize any further updates until it's updated to the package installer. More info on this change in file types. This issue does not affect users with the DVDs that install 12.1.0 (SP1) Restarting between each update is important. Don't leave out this step. I suggest you see Restarting your computer after an update is important! for full details. It's also important to quit all open applications when installing Office. Log out of your User. When you Log in, hold down the Shift key to disable all Login Items. Now run your Updater. (Select to keep the MAU in the Dock so you don't have to open an Office application to select "Check for Updates" that launches the MAU. When I launched the MAU to download the 12.1.0 (SP1) updater, it downloaded but did not update. I was still at 12.0.0 after restart. I don't know if this was specific to my install or if using the MAU download has problems in Snow Leopard.
    You can verify the update by checking the Microsoft Component Plugin
    Applications/Microsoft Office 2008/Office/MicrosoftComponentPlugin.framework/Versions/12/MicrosoftComponentPlugin
    I selected to use the download installer and this time the update was successful. For the remainder of my updates I selected to download rather than using the MAU to download and install. Direct download links: Confused over version info after updating to 12.1.0? See: Verify 12.2.1 update

    Original DVDs of Office come with the installed version 12.0.0.

    Install 12.1.0 SP1
    Install 12.2.0 SP2
    Install 12.2.1

    Current shipping DVDs will install 12.1.0 (SP1).

    Install 12.2.0 SP
    Install 12.2.1

    EWS Version of Entourage for Exchange support requires 12.2.1 be installed. For full requirements see Entourage 2008, Web Services Edition has launched

    Applications ready for Snow Leopard to help with troubleshooting

    Additional Info added after published date ]]>     Before you install Snow Leopard... tag:blog.entourage.mvps.org,2009://10.1841 2009-09-02T00:47:34Z 2009-09-09T02:53:07Z If you haven't installed Snow Leopard yet, see these tips for a successful install and avoid problems with this error: "Optimizing Font Menu Performance." Diane Ross http://www.entourage.mvps.org/ An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. -Benjamin Franklin

    Snow Leopard is a major change. Be prepared!
    1. Perform a full bootable backup of your system! If your experience with Snow Leopard is bad, you can simply boot from your backup.
    2. 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?

    ]]> 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 **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 Requirements and Compatibility Coming shortly, Troubleshooting Office for Mac with Snow Leopard.

    Applications ready for Snow Leopard to help with troubleshooting

    Additional Info added after published date ]]>     Possible workaround for crashes involving Webcore tag:blog.entourage.mvps.org,2009://10.1840 2009-08-21T22:47:40Z 2009-08-22T21:34:41Z Some Entourage users are experiencing frequent crashes involving Webcore and JavaScriptCore. Try this workaround: In Entourage preferences, go to Security and uncheck "Display complex HTML in messages" and make sure that "Download pictures" is set to "Never". Diane Ross http://www.entourage.mvps.org/ WebCore involved in crashes some Entourage users are experiencing frequent crashes involving Webcore and JavaScriptCore. Matt Ridella, an Entourage user has suggest this workaround to stop the crashes until a fix is found. Please let us know if this workaround stops the crashes for you.
    In Entourage preferences, go to Security and uncheck "Display complex HTML in messages" and make sure that "Download pictures" is set to "Never".
    security_prefs.gif (Edited photo 082209 for clarity) Preferences can be found under Entourage in the Menu bar.]]> Examples of crash reports Error Signature: Exception: EXC_BAD_ACCESS Date/Time: 2009-08-19 10:14:54 -0700 Application Name: Microsoft Entourage Application Bundle ID: com.microsoft.Entourage Application Signature: OPIM Application Version: 12.2.0.090605 Crashed Module Name: JavaScriptCore Crashed Module Version: unknown Crashed Module Offset: 0x0000382c Blame Module Name: JavaScriptCore Blame Module Version: unknown Blame Module Offset: 0x0000382c Application LCID: 1033 Extra app info: Reg=en Loc=0x0409 Error Signature: Exception: EXC_BAD_ACCESS Date/Time: 2009-08-19 12:01:48 -0700 Application Name: Microsoft Entourage Application Bundle ID: com.microsoft.Entourage Application Signature: OPIM Application Version: 12.2.0.090605 Crashed Module Name: WebCore Crashed Module Version: unknown Crashed Module Offset: 0x0000c070 Blame Module Name: WebCore Blame Module Version: unknown Blame Module Offset: 0x0000c070 Application LCID: 1033 Extra app info: Reg=en Loc=0x0409]]>     Restarting your computer after an update is important! tag:blog.entourage.mvps.org,2009://10.1839 2009-08-14T01:35:50Z 2009-08-14T01:37:15Z Having problems after updating Office 2008? Can't find anything to update? Try restarting. This simple step could be the one thing that will fix your problems. It's important to quit all Microsoft applications including the hidden ones before installing. It's also, as important to restart between each update. The reason is simple - the Apple Installer (which MSFT uses for updates) creates a temp folder to do the update. Some times the temp folder does not get deleted after the... Diane Ross http://www.entourage.mvps.org/
  • It's important to quit all Microsoft applications including the hidden ones before installing.
  • It's also, as important to restart between each update.
    • The reason is simple - the Apple Installer (which MSFT uses for updates) creates a temp folder to do the update. Some times the temp folder does not get deleted after the update is done. When you try to start another update, if that temp folder is still locked, the installer cannot write to that space and the updater fails. Restarting causes that temp folder to be deleted. Thus, when the updater launches it does not find the pre-existing folder and then can write a new one. More Dos and Don'ts for a good install Check List to troubleshoot your install Help with Install & Update Errors Steps to re-install Office ]]>     Entourage 2008, Web Services Edition has launched tag:blog.entourage.mvps.org,2009://10.1837 2009-08-14T00:28:47Z 2009-08-14T00:29:05Z Entourage 2008, Web Services Edition has launched and is now available for download. Diane Ross http://www.entourage.mvps.org/ Mactopia. Because EWS final release requires 12.2.1 to be installed, it's currently only available for English and Japanese users. (If you don't use Exchange you don't need this update!)
    Microsoft Entourage 2008 for Mac, Web Services Edition uses Exchange Web Services as the primary protocol to communicate with Exchange Server. In addition to several calendaring improvements, this new version of Entourage synchronizes notes, tasks, and categories with Exchange Server. This update also enables logging that can be used for diagnostic purposes. For detailed information about this update, see the IT Pros section of the Microsoft Web site.

    Requirements & Update Help

    ]]> Requirements
    • Microsoft Exchange Server: Connectivity to Update Rollup 4 for Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 1 (KB952580) or later version.
      • Update Rollup 4 for Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 1 (KB952580) must be applied to both the Mailbox server and the Client Access server roles.
    • Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac 12.2.1 Update
    Install EWS Final Release In order to install the final release,
    1. Completely remove your beta build of Office 2008/Entourage, Web Services Edition
    2. Reinstall your licensed version of Office 2008 for Mac
    3. Update to SP2 and the 12.2.1 release that just recently came out.
      • Users with original DVDs will need to update to 12.1.0 before updating to 12.2.0
    4. Once you are fully up-to-date, you can download the Entourage 2008, Web Services Edition release build

    Verify your update

    To verify that you have installed this update, you can open any Microsoft Office 2008 application to check the version number. For example, open Word, and then on the Word menu, click About Word. In the dialog box, compare the version number next to Latest Installed Update. about_ews.gif]]>