Microsoft has released Service Pack 2 for its Office 2007 software suite, and promises general product fixes, including improvements in stability, performance, and security.
The release, weighing in at 290.2MB, incorporates all prior updates release through February 2009. Its most significant new feature, however, is arguably the built-in support for ODF and PDF file formats - both of which were previously excluded from the Office suite.
Elsewhere, users can expect increased performance from Microsoft Outlook, improved charting in Microsoft Excel and improved SharePoint synchronisation.
Service Pack 2 can be downloaded via Microsoft Update or as a standalone package from Microsoft.com. The complete list of Service Pack 2 improvements is detailed by Microsoft below:
Microsoft Office Access
- Lets you export reports to Microsoft Office Excel.
- Supports memo fields in the mailing label wizard for addresses.
- Fixes issues that occur in the import data wizards, in report printing and previewing, in macros, in Excel integration, and in date filters.
- Includes updates to Access Developer Extensions.
Microsoft Office Excel
- Improves the charting mechanism in Excel 2007. This includes better parity with Office 2003, improved robustness, and targeted performance improvements.
- Adds a chart object model to Word and to PowerPoint.
- Improves shapes that are surfaced in Excel. This includes better parity with Office 2003 and targeted performance improvements.
- Improves the method by which Excel prints graphical content, especially when it prints to PCL printers.
- Adds conversion rates to the Excel Euro Currency Tools add-in for the Maltese lira and for the Cypriot pound.
Microsoft Office Groove
- Improves Groove 2007 form tools. In particular, international users in certain locales will benefit from correct interpretation of spaces for digit grouping in currency values.
- Limits the number of file-sharing workspaces to 64 to make sure that all workspaces can be synchronised. This limit applies only to adding new file-sharing workspaces. If you already have more than 64 file-sharing workspaces, you can continue to use them.
- Optimises synchronisation reliability.
Microsoft Office InfoPath
- Fixes for overall security and stability in InfoPath 2007
- Provides improved compatibility between InfoPath forms and other Microsoft products, such as Groove and Outlook.
Microsoft Office OneNote
- Improves SharePoint sync functionality. This helps reduce the load on SharePoint servers, and it helps produce fewer sync errors.
- If the OneNote tray notification icon was previously dismissed, the icon will now appear in the notification area. Additionally, this icon can now be dismissed only in the Options dialogue box in OneNote.
- Adds support for Optical Character Recognition (OCR) for the Japanese language.
Microsoft Office Outlook
- Performance improvements that apply to the following general responsiveness areas:
- Startup
Removes lengthy operations from initial startup. - Shutdown
Makes Outlook exit predictably despite pending activities. - Folder View and Switch
Improves view rendering and folder switching.
- Startup
- Calendar improvements
Improves underlying data structures and the general reliability of calendar updates. - Data file checks
Greatly reduces the number of scenarios in which you receive the following error message when you start Outlook: "The data file 'file name' was not closed properly. This file is being checked for problems." - Search reliability
Improves search reliability when you use SP2 with Windows Desktop Search 4 - Improvements to Really Simple Syndication (RSS)
There are now fewer duplicated items. - Object Model improvements
Now contains many customer-driven fixes.
Microsoft Office PowerPoint
- Improves the control of shape editing while you are zoomed in.
- Provides faster file resaves.
- Improves image quality after files are saved in the .jpeg, .png, and .gif formats.
- Provides better text representation when the representation is saved in earlier PowerPoint formats.
- Fixes several printer-specific problems.
- Provides better compatibility with Explorer preview in Windows Vista.
- Provides fuller integration of the Microsoft Office Excel Chart Object Model.
Microsoft Office Publisher
- Improves the printing of double-sided postcards and small booklets.
- Fixes issues in print preview, in HTML layout of grouped objects in Internet Explorer 8, in tab-stop, in e-mail, in content library, and in Design Checker.
Microsoft Office Word
- Improves the fidelity of .pdf and .xps output.
- Improves Outlook performance.
- Provides fuller integration of the Office Excel Chart Object Model.
