Microsoft releases Office 2004 Update (Service Pack 2)

The long awaited update from Microsoft to the Mac version of Office 2004 was released today. The new version features bug fixes and improvements in all of the applications, but focuses mostly on improving Entourage’s enterprise features.

From Microsoft’s web site, the improvements are:

Word 2004

• Improved performance when using a scroll wheel.
• Improved performance when formatting documents.
• Improved encryption for password protected documents.

Excel 2004

• Improved encryption for password protected documents.
• Improved performance when using scroll wheel in Page Layout view.
• Improved stability when opening spreadsheets from other Excel versions in Excel 2004.

PowerPoint 2004

• Improved text compatibility with Microsoft PowerPoint for Windows.
• Increased performance when using QuickTime movies in presentations.
• Improved stability when opening presentations saved with Microsoft PowerPoint for Windows.

Entourage 2004 Exchange Server Support Improvements

• Gain full access to your organization’s Global Address List information.
• Provide delegate access to your Mail folders, Calendar and Address Book.
• Share your Mail folders, Calendar and Address Book with assistants and colleagues.
• Take advantage of improved public folder performance.
• Receive password expiration notification before it expires.
• View and manage how much disk space your Mail folders use to ensure you don’t exceed your organization’s set storage limits.

As one who uses Entourage in a company that is a sea of PC’s running Outlook on an Exchange server, this upgrade was welcome. Many of my criticisms of Entourage have been addressed, and I can now remove my dependence upon Outlook at work.

Category: Software