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The About Microsoft <Program name> dialog box reports a service pack version that is different from what is expected in Office XP and in Office 2003

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Article ID:328294
Last Review:August 29, 2006
Revision:3.6
This article was previously published under Q328294
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SYMPTOMS

When you try to determine the version of Microsoft Office XP or Microsoft Office 2003 by clicking Help and then clicking About Microsoft Program name, such as About Microsoft Excel, the About Microsoft Program name dialog box reports that a service pack has been installed. The letters SP with a number after the version number are displayed, for example SP1. However, the service pack that the About Microsoft Program name dialog box reports may not have been installed.

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CAUSE

This problem occurs because the About Microsoft Program name dialog box in Microsoft Office retrieves the version information and the service pack information from the primary shared Office file, the Mso.dll file. Therefore, the service pack version that the About Microsoft Program name dialog box reports may not be the correct service pack version for all Office programs. For example, this may occur when a full service pack for Office has not been applied.

Conversely, the About Microsoft Program name dialog box for an individual Office program, such as Microsoft Project or Microsoft Visio, may report that a service pack has been applied when the service pack was applied to only the primary Office installation.

Microsoft provides binary updates for individual programs. These updates are applied to the latest service pack version and to the full-file updates that provide fixes for customers who are using earlier versions of a service pack. If the full-file update modifies the Mso.dll file, the About Microsoft Program name dialog box in the Office programs will report the latest service pack version.

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STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.

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MORE INFORMATION

How to determine whether an Office service pack is installed

To determine whether an Office service pack is installed or whether an update for an individual program is installed, use the information provided by the Add or Remove Programs dialog box. This version information is the most accurate documentation of the product version that is available on your computer. For more information about how to use the Add or Remove Programs dialog box and the version numbers for the original release and service pack releases for the Office products, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
291331 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/291331/) How to check the version of Office XP

821549 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/821549/) How to check the version of Office 2003 products

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REFERENCES

For more information about other updates available for Office 2003 or Office XP, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
305095 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/305095/) History of Office XP Updates
883677 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/883677/) History of Office 2003 updates

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APPLIES TO
•Microsoft Access 2002 Standard Edition
•Microsoft Excel 2002 Standard Edition
•Microsoft FrontPage 2002 Standard Edition
•Microsoft Outlook 2002 Standard Edition
•Microsoft PowerPoint 2002 Standard Edition
•Microsoft Word 2002 Standard Edition
•Microsoft Project 2002 Standard Edition
•Microsoft Publisher 2002 Standard Edition
•Microsoft Visio 2002 Standard Edition
•Microsoft Visio 2002 Professional Edition
•Microsoft Office Access 2003
•Microsoft Office Excel 2003
•Microsoft Office FrontPage 2003
•Microsoft Office InfoPath 2003
•Microsoft Office Outlook 2003
•Microsoft Office Outlook 2003 with Business Contact Manager
•Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003
•Microsoft Office Word 2003
•Microsoft Office OneNote 2003
•Microsoft Office Project Standard 2003
•Microsoft Office Project Professional 2003
•Microsoft Office Publisher 2003
•Microsoft Office Publisher 2003 with Digital Imaging
•Microsoft Office Visio Standard 2003
•Microsoft Office Visio Professional 2003
•Microsoft Office XP Small Business Edition
•Microsoft Office XP Standard Edition for Students and Teachers
•Microsoft Office XP Professional
•Microsoft Office XP Standard Edition
•Microsoft Office XP Developer Edition
•Microsoft Office Professional Edition 2003
•Microsoft Office Standard Edition 2003
•Microsoft Office Student and Teacher Edition 2003
•Microsoft Office Small Business Edition 2003
•Microsoft Office Basic Edition 2003

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Keywords: 
kbtshoot kbbug KB328294

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