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Office 2004 users not forgotten, 11.5.0 released today

Michael Rose
Editor
Updated ·5 min read

OK, you aren't running the latest and greatest version of Microsoft Office for Mac -- does that make you a bad person. No! You deserve updates too, just like the new stuff does. Along with Office 2008 12.1.1 sliding out the door today, Office 2004 11.5.0 is available, and it addresses the following pain points:

  • Adds read/write compatibility for Open XML Format (.docx, .xlsx, etc.) files if installed with the Open XML Format Converter

  • Better stability and printing/page setup fixes for Word

  • Better paste compatibility with Office 2008 for all apps

  • Powerpoint fixes for stability with large documents

The full rundown is in the continuation of the post and over at Microsoft's support site. The download weighs in at 59 MB.

Update: We initially failed to note that there is a new version -- apparently the final one -- of the Open XML Format Converter that pairs with 11.5.0 to provide full read/write compatibility with the new formats. It will work in standalone mode if you don't run 11.5, and it includes the new Office 2008/Office 2007 "C" fonts to provide maximum round-trippy goodness.

Thanks, Laurie!

Release notes via support.microsoft.com:

Improvements that are included in the update
The Office 2004 for Mac 11.5.0 Update includes the following improvements.
Improvements for all Office 2004 for Mac applications
• Compatibility is improved for documents that are in Open XML Format.

If the Open XML File Format Converter for Mac is installed, this update enables Office 2004 for Mac to read and to write Office documents that are in Open XML Format. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
953823 Information about how to work with Open XML Format files in Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac
• The update installer now ignores backup copies of Office that were created by the Time Machine backup tool.

For users of Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard), this update fixes an issue that causes the update installer to find copies of Office in backup folders that were created by Time Machine. Folders that are created by Time Machine use the ".backupdb" folder name extension.

Improvements for Microsoft Word 2004 for Mac
• Stability is improved.

This update fixes several issues that cause Word 2004 to close unexpectedly.
• For users of Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard), this update fixes issues that cause Word 2004 to close unexpectedly during a typical operation. For example, Word 2004 may close when you use it to create a new document, to print a document, or to use the Print Preview feature.
• For users of Office 2008 for Mac, this update also fixes an issue that causes Word 2004 to close unexpectedly when you paste content from a document that is generated by an Office 2008 application into a Word 2004 document.
• For users of AppleScript, this update fixes an issue that causes Word 2004 to close unexpectedly when you run a script that contains the following syntax.
get properties of hyperlink of shape 1 of active document
• The text display is improved when you change the size of table columns.

This update fixes an issue that causes parts of text in a table cell to be partly displayed when you change the size of the column that contains the table cell.
• The "Page Setup" dialog box now displays correctly.

For users of Mac OS X 10.5, this update fixes an issue that causes the Page Setup dialog box to display incorrectly. This issue causes some options in the dialog box to be obscured.
Improvements for Microsoft Excel 2004 for Mac
• Paper size is saved correctly.

This update fixes an issue that causes some paper size settings, such as A3, to be lost when users of Excel 2004 and Excel 2008 open and save the same workbook.
• Reliability is improved when you paste content from Excel 2008 into Excel 2004.

This update fixes an issue that causes Excel 2004 to display the following error message when you paste content from a workbook that is open in Excel 2008 to a workbook that is open in Excel 2004:
Microsoft Excel cannot paste the data.
• Stability is improved when you open a workbook that contains a shape, a SmartArt graphic, or a text box.

This update fixes an issue that causes Excel 2004 to close unexpectedly when you open a workbook that contains a shape, a SmartArt graphic, or a text box. This behavior occurs if you created or saved the shape, the SmartArt graphic, or the text box in Excel 2007 for Windows or in Excel 2008 for Mac.
• You can now use the Open dialog box in Excel 2004 to select workbooks that were created in Excel 2007 for Windows.

This update fixes an issue in which you could not use the Open dialog box in Excel 2004 to select workbooks that were created in Excel 2007 for Windows.
Improvements for Microsoft PowerPoint 2004 for Mac
• Reliability and stability are improved when you paste content from an Office 2008 application into PowerPoint 2004.

For users of Intel-based Macintosh computers, this update fixes an issue that causes PowerPoint 2004 to close unexpectedly or to lose formatting when you paste content from a document that is open in an Office 2008 application into a PowerPoint 2004 presentation.
• Stability is improved when you open a very large PowerPoint presentation.

This update fixes several issues that cause PowerPoint to close unexpectedly when you open a presentation that contains many slides.