Description of the Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac 12.1.5 Update

Microsoft has released security bulletins MS08-072 and MS08-074. These security bulletins contain all the relevant information about the security updates for Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac. To view the complete security bulletins, visit the following Microsoft Web sites:

• http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms08-072.mspx (http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms08-072.mspx)
• http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms08-074.mspx (http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms08-074.mspx)

The Office 2008 for Mac 12.1.5 Update contains several changes that improve security, stability, reliability, and performance. Additionally, this update includes fixes for vulnerabilities that an attacker can use to overwrite the contents of a computer's memory by using malicious code.

Improvements that are included in the update

The Office 2008 for Mac 12.1.5 Update includes the following improvements.

Improvements for all Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac applications

• Security is improved
  This update fixes vulnerabilities in Office 2008 for Mac that an attacker can use to overwrite the contents of your computer's memory with malicious code. For more information, see the security bulletin listed earlier in this document.
• Stability is improved
  This update fixes an issue that causes Office 2008 applications to close unexpectedly when you open or use Office 2008 applications.
• Performance is improved when typing in Excel and in PowerPoint
  This update improves typing performance in Excel and in PowerPoint when documents from a network share or from a shared folder on a virtual machine appear in the recently used files list.

Improvements for Microsoft Word 2008 for Mac

• Formatting is improved in documents that are saved in Word 97-2004 format. This update fixes an issue that causes some formatting issues when you save a Word document in the Word 97-2004 format and then reopen it in Word 2003 for Windows.

Improvements for Microsoft Excel 2008 for Mac

• Reliability is improved in calculation
  This update fixes the following calculation issues:
  • The SUMIFS and AVERAGEIFS functions may produce an incorrect result if cells in the sum or average range contain formulas that evaluate to text.
  • The XIRR function may perform an incorrect calculation when the function references uncalculated cells.
  • The AVERAGEIF and AVERAGEIFS functions produce incorrect results if at least one cell in the average range is the result of a formula.
  • The order of calculation does not load correctly when you open certain Open XML Format files or Excel Binary Workbook files. This may produce incorrect results.
  • The BIN2OCT, BIN2HEX, OCT2BIN, OCT2HEX, DEC2BIN, DEC2OCT, DEC2HEX, HEX2BIN, and HEX2OCT functions return a #NUM! error when you pass 0 as the number argument and you do not provide a places argument.
• Reliability is improved when pasting pictures from the Excel worksheet to PowerPoint or Word documents
  This update fixes an issue that causes the Paste As Picture or Paste As PDF options to fail when you try to use these options to paste an Excel worksheet into Word or PowerPoint. It also fixes an issue that occurs when dragging picture clippings to the desktop from Excel.
• Stability is improved when sorting items in a PivotTable report
  This update fixes an issue that may cause Excel to close unexpectedly when sorting the PivotTable items in ascending or descending order.
• Stability is improved when you delete a row or column from a workbook that contains array entered formulas
  This update fixes an issue that may cause Excel to crash or close unexpectedly after you insert or delete a row or column in an Open XML format or Excel Binary Workbook format workbook that contains array-entered formulas.

Improvements for Microsoft Entourage 2008 for Mac

• Updated time zone information.
  This update provides updated time zone information.

Previously released improvements included in this update

This update includes all the improvements that were released in Office 2008 for Mac 12.1.1 or later updates. For more information about the improvements in a previous update, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: For more information about the improvements in the Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac 12.1.4 Update, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

Prerequisites

Before you install the Office 2008 for Mac 12.1.5 Update, make sure that the computer is running Mac OS X 10.4.9 (Tiger) or a later version of the Mac OS X operating system.

To verify that the computer meets this prerequisite, click About This Mac on the Apple menu.

Additionally, one of the following updates must be installed on the computer before you install the Office 2008 for Mac 12.1.5 Update:

• Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac 12.1.0 Update
• Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac 12.1.1 Update
• Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac 12.1.2 Update
• Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac 12.1.3 Update
• Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac 12.1.4 Update

To verify that one of these updates is installed, follow these steps:

1. On the Go menu, click Applications.
2. Open the Microsoft Office 2008 folder, and then open any Office application (for example, open Word).
3. On the Word menu, click About Word.
4. In the About Word dialog box, compare the version number next to Latest Installed Update.

How to obtain the update

The following file is available for download from the Microsoft Download Center:

Download the Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac 12.1.5 Update package now. (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=AB31A564-43D2-45BD-98BF-19E9CA477B62)

Release Date: December 9, 2008

For more information about how to download Microsoft support files, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: Microsoft scanned this file for viruses. Microsoft used the most current virus-detection software that was available on the date that the file was posted. The file is stored on security-enhanced servers that help prevent any unauthorized changes to the file.

Updated Files

For a complete list of the files that this update adds or changes, double-click the update installer, and then on the File menu, click Show Files.

Notes

• The Office 2008 for Mac 12.1.5 Update is also available from Microsoft AutoUpdate. AutoUpdate is a program that automatically keeps Microsoft software up-to-date.
  
  To use AutoUpdate, start a Microsoft Office program. Then, on the Help menu, click Check for Updates.
  
  For more information about resources for Office 2008 for Mac, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
  http://www.microsoft.com/mac (http://www.microsoft.com/mac)