Washington College: A Top-Tier Maryland Liberal Arts College

Most commonly - and as with all software - the version installed from a boxed retail package is not the same as the most recently released version. Luckily, Microsoft provides the Microsoft AutoUpdater functionality with its Office 2007 & 2008 releases. AutoUpdater will periodically check for and install the latest versions of all of your applications.

A very crucial update for Office 2008 for Mac users is the May 2008 Service Pack 1. OIT recommends installing this update immediately after install Office 2008. To force the update to install, simply:

Office Mac 2008 Update

After installing the Office 2008 for Mac Service Pack 1 update, users may occasionally have difficulty opening files associated with Office applications simply by double clicking on their icons. To resolve this issue, it is recommended to use the File > Open... command in the menu bar.

Users of Office 2007 for Windows and Office 2008 for Mac may experience problems when sharing files they have created with colleagues who are using older versions of Office. Make sure you follow the instructions below to ensure backwards compatibility when saving your files.

It's important that you set your default save format for compatibility with colleagues who may be using Office versions prior to 2007 & 2008. The following instructions will help you with this easy process:

Saving Files - Office 2007 & 2008

Workshops on Microsoft Office 2007 for Windows and Office 2008 for Mac will be offered during the Spring 2009 semester. These workshops will cover what's new in each version of the software and give participants a chance to ask questions of live experts. To learn more about course contents, availability and registration, visit the Training & Tutorials page.