Microsoft Releases Office 2008 12.1.4 Update to Fix Entourage Bug [Archive]

MacRumors

Oct 30, 2008, 04:36 PM

http://www.macrumors.com/images/macrumorsthreadlogo.gif (http://www.macrumors.com/2008/10/30/microsoft-release-office-2008-12-1-4-update-to-fix-entourage-bug/)

Microsoft announced (http://www.officeformac.com/blog/12-1-4-Fixes-Entourage-Meeting-Invite-Issue) the release of a 12.1.4 update to Mac Office 2008 that fixes an Entourage bug introduced with the last update:We’ve been working hard for the last week and a half to bring Entourage users today’s 12.1.4 update. It’s incredibly frustrating when we get through a release process and a new issue is introduced by an update. When we start to hear feedback and customer reports about issues with an update, I simply cringe because so much work goes into preventing that from happening. Unfortunately, the recent Office for Mac 2008 12.1.3 update introduced a bug that prevented some Entourage users from sending meeting invites to others. We’re sorry.The update is available for download (http://www.microsoft.com/mac/downloads.mspx?pid=Mactopia_Office2008&fid=910BDFBE-8575-4F3A-AF07-8E61FD153650#viewer).

Article Link: Microsoft Releases Office 2008 12.1.4 Update to Fix Entourage Bug (http://www.macrumors.com/2008/10/30/microsoft-release-office-2008-12-1-4-update-to-fix-entourage-bug/)

11800506

Oct 30, 2008, 05:15 PM

I know I shouldn't be waiting since I'm going to be waiting for a long time, but I'm still waiting for a fix that resolves the issue with Spaces. And yes I know it is an architecture problem that MacBU can't fix without a major overhaul of Office which is too risky for a point release, but frankly this issue makes Office almost unusable, IMO.

Anyways, it is good that they got this patch out relatively quickly as I'm sure it was quite frustrating for those who experienced the problem.

parapup

Oct 30, 2008, 05:31 PM

Microsoft announced (http://www.officeformac.com/blog/12-1-4-Fixes-Entourage-Meeting-Invite-Issue) the release of a 12.1.4 update to Mac Offic 2008 which fixes an Entourage bug that was introduced with the last update

Office Mac even in its latest avatar, and Entourage specifically is stinkin pile of you know what. Crap interface, crappy Exchange support, effing bugs - sending mail fails for no apparent reason - it's just useless. I am generally better off using an IMAP client like Mail.app or Thunderbird with Exchange. Outlook 2007 on Vista in comparison feels way more reliable and usable.

Come on MSFT - give it a little love or just don't sell it.

TheNorthWaves

Oct 30, 2008, 06:44 PM

12.1.1... spaces?
12.1.2... spaces?
12.1.3... spaces?
12.1.4... you know the question.

Is it fixed yet?

SailorTom

Oct 30, 2008, 06:46 PM

Entourage works fine for me, gives me the least problems from the suite:p

But...
What's up with my syncing?
My calendar events and addresses sync between entourage and sync services because when I use iSync the everything gets updated. However none of my new events created in entourage actually show up in iCal, which kinda sucks because i like to use the 'Organized' dashboard widget.

This used to work without a problem now doesn't. i think it must of stopped working early to mid october.

Just hope this update fixes it. Edit: looks like it doesn't :(

hithere

Oct 30, 2008, 06:54 PM

I am not surprised of another bug in Entourage. The whole software is full of bugs and utterly unreliable.

I think that Microsoft is consciously selling a suboptimal (to say the least) product to scare customers away from mac platforms.

Entourage is ugly, like all MS Office for mac. If one uses it it is because it is forced (like I am) by the religious adherence to Microsoft proprietary formats and exchange protocols that too many IT departments adopt.

So, given that one is obliged to use this ugly piece of bloatware, at least it would be nice if it worked well. No way:
- reply flags are not syncronized, which means that if you use a mac alongside a Windows machine you'll end up not knowing whom you have answered to!
- calendars... well let us say that you are lucky if you you get a sync between Entourage and Outlook. And if this happens, don't force your luck and try to sync with iCal or even worse Mobile Me. I just spent the whole afternoon sorting out the huge mess that resulted.

I don't know about you, but these problems alone are huge if you rely for your work on emails and a calendar!

I don't think that Entourage will ever be a reliable piece of software, there is no will. I do not really understand why Apple does not provide integration with Exchange in Mail, iCal and Address Book. Would it be that difficult? If you use a mac you are way worse off than Linux users, who can rely on Evolution which works flawlessly (I wish somebody ported it to OS X in a decent way!!).

cbrain

Oct 30, 2008, 07:24 PM

I do not really understand why Apple does not provide integration with Exchange in Mail, iCal and Address Book. Would it be that difficult?

Exchange support is coming in Snow Leopard.

wwjdjoe

Oct 30, 2008, 09:36 PM

I'm on 12.1.3 and when I click on Check for Updates, it comes back with there are no updates available. Maybe it takes some time for the update to propagate to update servers.

KingYaba

Oct 30, 2008, 10:30 PM

I had to reinstall to get the 1.4 update to work. Entourage update? I use Thunderbird.

nadyne

Oct 31, 2008, 12:16 AM

12.1.1... spaces?
12.1.2... spaces?
12.1.3... spaces?
12.1.4... you know the question.
Is it fixed yet?

Sorry, the Spaces issues aren't fixed yet. Schwieb, one of our senior developers, has a lot of the gory technical details about why this issue still exists over on his blog (http://www.schwieb.com/blog/2008/10/23/risks-and-rewards/) (it's a long post; the Spaces stuff starts about halfway through).

What's up with my syncing?
My calendar events and addresses sync between entourage and sync services because when I use iSync the everything gets updated. However none of my new events created in entourage actually show up in iCal, which kinda sucks because i like to use the 'Organized' dashboard widget.

Are you sure that your syncing is still turned on? In Entourage, open up the Preferences, then go to Sync Services, and see if the appropriate checkboxes are all checked.

If your syncing is still turned on and you're having this trouble, you can try to turn off syncing, then turning it back on. Sometimes that will force Sync Services to do the right thing.

Regards,
Nadyne.

juamps

Oct 31, 2008, 12:52 AM

nadyne

Oct 31, 2008, 01:00 AM

Are the syncing issues with blackberry fixed?
Its really annoying...If I accept a meeting on my blackberry it doesn't show up on entourage and vice-versa. Also - pretty often appointments I create on entourage dont show up on my blackberry either.

Are you syncing your BlackBerry with Entourage, or does your BlackBerry connect directly to your server?

Another annoying difference is Entourage not showing invites in your calendar as "tentative" when you receive an invite and havent opened it. Outlook is pretty good with that. Can you bring that feature into entourage?

Are you connecting to Exchange? If so, that's a server-side setting that your administrator will need to enable on Exchange. Here's some information for setting it up in Exchange 2003 (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa996253.aspx) that your server admin can use.

Regards,
Nadyne.

juamps

Oct 31, 2008, 01:16 AM

Are you syncing your BlackBerry with Entourage, or does your BlackBerry connect directly to your server?

Yes it is connecting directly to the server.

Are you connecting to Exchange? If so, that's a server-side setting that your administrator will need to enable on Exchange. Here's some information for setting it up in Exchange 2003 (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa996253.aspx) that your server admin can use.

I don't want it to auto-accept. I just want it to show up in my calendar. When I used Outlook on my windows machine, the invites would show up in my calendar - without me accepting or anything. They show up on my blackberry though.

I'm thinking the problem is actually entourage syncing properly with the exchange server...

twoodcc

Oct 31, 2008, 01:17 AM

well i am glad to see them fixing the problem at least

surfbo740

Oct 31, 2008, 03:57 AM

I know this is slightly off topic, but in the 2008 version or whatever the newest version of Office for Mac is, I cannot find any "Analysis Toolpak" related statistical analysis add-ons/etc. Is there an update out that has these included, or is there anyway to add them in with some form of freeware plugin? Sorry about being slightly off topic, but this seems like a pretty big issue as I know a lot of students use this. Thanks in advance.

cabes

Oct 31, 2008, 09:27 AM

Isn't this the update I downloaded a few weeks ago??? The spaces thing is terrible, agreed, but they did finally port "presenter mode" in PPT.

I love Entourage, but it sucks. I'm putting up with Mail.app and t-bird because I got tired of constantly having to rebuild my Entourage (2004) database which caused 1) lost/corrupt messages, 2) deleted messages to reappear in my Inbox, 3) read messages became unread, and 4) monthly, sometimes weekly database corruption (did I mention that already? :) ). Ya think they'd be able to get Entourage to have a stable data store behind it by now....

nadyne

Oct 31, 2008, 12:28 PM

Yes it is connecting directly to the server.

If your Exchange calendar has everything, you can force Entourage to re-sync with Exchange by going into the Calendar view, selecting your Exchange calendar from the list on the left, option-clicking on it, selecting "folder properties", and then selecting "empty cache". Entourage will then re-download everything from Exchange again.

If you're having issues where items created in Entourage aren't showing up on your BlackBerry, but they are showing up when you view your Exchange calendar elsewhere (such as via Outlook Web Access or Outlook), or if items created/accepted on your BlackBerry are only showing up on your BlackBerry but not on your Exchange calendar when viewed through Outlook Web Access or Outlook, then you might want to talk to your server admin to see if they can help you out.

I don't want it to auto-accept. I just want it to show up in my calendar. When I used Outlook on my windows machine, the invites would show up in my calendar - without me accepting or anything. They show up on my blackberry though.

That's what the auto-accept agent does: it automatically marks the incoming events as "tentative", which is how they get onto your Exchange calendar. They still appear in your inbox like normal, and you still act on them (accept, decline) like you normally would.

Regards,
Nadyne.

hithere

Oct 31, 2008, 01:25 PM

juamps

Oct 31, 2008, 05:49 PM

If your Exchange calendar has everything, you can force Entourage to re-sync with Exchange by going into the Calendar view, selecting your Exchange calendar from the list on the left, option-clicking on it, selecting "folder properties", and then selecting "empty cache". Entourage will then re-download everything from Exchange again.

If you're having issues where items created in Entourage aren't showing up on your BlackBerry, but they are showing up when you view your Exchange calendar elsewhere (such as via Outlook Web Access or Outlook), or if items created/accepted on your BlackBerry are only showing up on your BlackBerry but not on your Exchange calendar when viewed through Outlook Web Access or Outlook, then you might want to talk to your server admin to see if they can help you out.

Thanks. Unfortunately the problem is still there. It's actually not just with my Blackberry, they are not showing up elsewhere - like outlook web access.
For some reason Entourage is not syncing properly.

I've done some research and this seems to be a known problem.

My BB is syncing fine with the exchange server. Its entourage not syncing correctly with the exchange server.

nadyne

Oct 31, 2008, 06:42 PM

Its entourage not syncing correctly with the exchange server.

This is the point where you need to work with the tech support within your company to resolve this. Since you're using Exchange, you've probably got a support contract with us. Your IT guys can work with your company's Microsoft account manager to see if they can sort out the problem, or, if necessary, get additional data from your company about their Exchange set-up and your Entourage set-up to give to my app team to get it sorted out.

Regards,
Nadyne.

MS Engineer

Oct 31, 2008, 07:04 PM

I'm on 12.1.3 and when I click on Check for Updates, it comes back with there are no updates available. Maybe it takes some time for the update to propagate to update servers.

The new update 12.1.4 is now available in AutoUpdate

SailorTom

Nov 1, 2008, 09:11 AM

Are you sure that your syncing is still turned on? In Entourage, open up the Preferences, then go to Sync Services, and see if the appropriate checkboxes are all checked.

If your syncing is still turned on and you're having this trouble, you can try to turn off syncing, then turning it back on. Sometimes that will force Sync Services to do the right thing.

Regards,
Nadyne.[/QUOTE]

Yeah i've tried that a couple of times to no avail. Like I say it used to be working fine, and now it's just stopped for no reason (the best reason i can think of it 12.1.3, when did that come out). The syncing to sync services does work, because I can sync to my phone using iSync etc. I just don't see anything in iCal or Organized.

Thanks for your help though.

benthewraith

Nov 1, 2008, 11:58 AM

Damn, I was hoping for a silent patch to fix my troubles of all my docked toolbars vanishing every time I start up Word.

James17

Nov 1, 2008, 12:45 PM

Office 2008 for Mac is garbage compared to Office 2007 for Windows. They've released so many "Critical" updates for it but yet it still takes ages to open and has overall less functionality than its Windows counterpart. All Office 07 programs open instantly. There is no comparison between Entourage and Outlook. I wasted my money buying it and now I'm buying the Windows version. Shame on you for this crap Microsoft!

wwjdjoe

Nov 1, 2008, 01:08 PM

The new update 12.1.4 is now available in AutoUpdate

Thanks

nadyne

Nov 1, 2008, 10:05 PM

Yeah i've tried that a couple of times to no avail. Like I say it used to be working fine, and now it's just stopped for no reason (the best reason i can think of it 12.1.3, when did that come out). The syncing to sync services does work, because I can sync to my phone using iSync etc. I just don't see anything in iCal or Organized.

If it's syncing to Sync Services, it is syncing to iCal. Make sure that you have the calendar named "Entourage" selected to display in iCal.

I'm going to go off on a tangent and explain a bit about how all of this works. Any application that hooks into Sync Services writes data to a database called the Truth. Entourage reads from and writes to the Truth, as does iCal. (There's a more in-depth discussion of this over on the Entourage MVP page, written by one of the members of the Entourage team: Sync Services basics (http://www.entourage.mvps.org/faq_topic/sync_services_basics.html).) So if something is syncing to Sync Services, that's the same thing as syncing to iCal.

If you continue having problems seeing the Entourage calendar in iCal, you're probably getting over my head. You might want to check out the Entourage public forums (http://www.officeformac.com/ProductForums/Entourage/) -- the Entourage MVPs monitor that group, and they're a great group of people who are hugely knowledgeable. I'm not an iCal expert, so I don't want to lead you astray.

Regards,
Nadyne.

SailorTom

Nov 2, 2008, 08:12 AM

Sorry, everything is definately setup as it should be, I'm just not seeing anything in my iCal or Organized, except for the first week of october. Problem affects both calendar and tasks. Perhaps it's a problem with iCal, but i don't remember any updates for iCal recently. I'll have a look at those links though.

sdf

Nov 2, 2008, 01:44 PM

12.1.1... spaces?
12.1.2... spaces?
12.1.3... spaces?
12.1.4... you know the question.

Is it fixed yet?

I know it's Microsoft, but that's still not fair at all. Spaces is a Leopard feature, and it's up to Apple to fix it so it works properly.

dianer

Nov 2, 2008, 07:00 PM

ChiaJesus

Nov 3, 2008, 09:45 AM

arun.agarwala

Nov 3, 2008, 03:54 PM

Hi Guys,

Can someone please help me with Entourage. We've got a MAC at work (the one and only MAC). I've setup 2 user's on it, one with admin rights and the other account with no admin rights.

Entourage seems to work fine with my exchange server under the admin account, syn'c and downloads emails fine
When I login as the 2nd user, entourage prompts me for a username and password, but does not sync with the exchange server.

Any help would be appreciated.

Btw.. its office 2008 and exchange server 2007.

Thanks

nadyne

Nov 3, 2008, 10:38 PM

I'd just be happy if I could install the stupid update. Despite having running version 12.1.3 of Entourage (I just checked), and despite AutoUpdate encouraging me to download/install the update, when I go through the Installer program I get a stop sign icon through my Macintosh HD icon and a message saying "You cannot install Office 2008 12.1.4 Update on this volume. A version of the software required to install this update was not found on this volume."

Have you moved the Office folder? Have you run an application like Xslimmer or Monolingual?

Entourage seems to work fine with my exchange server under the admin account, syn'c and downloads emails fine
When I login as the 2nd user, entourage prompts me for a username and password, but does not sync with the exchange server.

Do you get an error message? If you open the progress window (in Entourage, go to the Window menu, then select Progress), what do you see when Entourage tries to sync?

Regards,
Nadyne.

jules2008

Nov 4, 2008, 09:06 AM

Hi nadyne,
You hit the nailed in the head asking about Monolingual. I happen to have downloaded and ran that app last week. Could that be the cause of my getting the MS Office Update error mentioned above? Could you please suggest a fix for that?
Thanks in advance for any help,
Jules

nadyne

Nov 4, 2008, 03:51 PM

You hit the nailed in the head asking about Monolingual. I happen to have downloaded and ran that app last week. Could that be the cause of my getting the MS Office Update error mentioned above? Could you please suggest a fix for that?

I've got a fix, but you're probably not going to like it. :(

Uninstall Office. Reinstall Office using the custom installation to only install what you need to save disk space (since that's usually why people run Monolingual). Finally, reinstall the updates in order (12.1, 12.1.1, 12.1.2, 12.1.3, and 12.1.4).

To avoid this problem in the future, don't run Monolingual on a machine on which you've installed Office. If you want more details about why apps like Monolingual and Xslimmer cause problems with your Office install, check out this blog post from one of our senior developers: leave those bits alone! (http://www.schwieb.com/blog/2008/08/14/leave-those-bits-alone/)

Regards,
Nadyne.

SailorTom

Nov 10, 2008, 09:40 AM

See these steps to reset Sync Services in Entourage (http://www.entourage.mvps.org/troubleshoot/syncservices.html#ss2) and this Apple KB Resetting the Sync Services folder. (http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1627?viewlocale=en_US)

If you set your Exchange account as the default account in Tools>Account, the main Exchange Address Book and Calendar will be the ones that sync.

Always work with backups when syncing.

Problem solved
i reset all the sync services as suggested using entourage data. it was probably a good idea anyway just as a clean up. It didn't actually solve my problem immediately. In the end, because i was resetting everything, i deleted the entourage calendar out of ical before re-syncing and it all works ok now. Don't know what was the cause of the problem. it seems odd ical/sync services would just randomly stop working. anyway's all's well as ends well. Thanks for your help :)

jonnyspeed

Nov 15, 2008, 06:56 PM

This works for 12.1.4 if it says 'You cannot install Office 2008 12.1.4 Update on this volume. A version of the software required to install this update was not found on this volume.'

1) Download the 12.1.4 update directly from Microsoft's Mactopia website.
2) Mount the downloaded DMG file and copy the installer to your desktop.
3) Right-click the installer and select "show package contents"
4) Navigate to Office 2008 12.1.4
Update/Contents/Resources/package_updatable and open the file in TextEdit
5) Scroll to the first line that says "found_valid_version="
6) ensure this says "found_valid_version=True"
7) Then delete all the text below right to the end of the file.
8) Close the window, it will ask if you want to overwrite the file. Say yes.
9) Close the finder window and then run the installer like normal.
10) Reboot.