Office 2003 SP3 Things You Should Know

I’m a big fan of the Service Pack updates that Microsoft provides for free. I’m also a big fan of being informed before you install any new software on your computer.

Like any update, I recommend against rushing out to be the first. It never hurts to let others be test subjects for a few weeks before making major changes to the machine that your productivity or life style may depend on.

Microsoft has released Service Pack 3 for Office 2003 which contains number of needed fixes and security enhancements. I’m pretty sure I’ll install the Service Pack on my machines running Office 2003 but it won’t be today. Even as it’s being released Microsoft has acknowledged a few possible quirks that you should certainly be aware of.

The known issues below should be reviewed before anyone installs SP3.
(Click number link for more info)

• You are unexpectedly prompted to restart the computer after you install an Office service pack or an Office update (905726)


• The functionality of an add-in, an ActiveX control, or a COM add-in is reduced, or the functionality is blocked after you install Office 2003 Service Pack 3 (938814)


• Error message when you try to create a new MAPI form in Outlook 2003: "contact the administrator" (938816)


• Attachments that contain the .gadget extension cannot be opened in Outlook 2003 after you install Office 2003 Service Pack 3 (938811)


• The Fast Saves feature in Word 2003 no longer functions after you install Office 2003 Service Pack 3 (938808)


• You may experience issues when you run the Microsoft Office Document Imaging program after you install Office 2003 Service Pack 3 (938813)


• You receive an error message when you try to open a file or to save a file after you install Office 2003 Service Pack 3 (941636)


• You cannot open Microsoft Excel 5.0/95 Workbook files that contain Visual Basic for Applications macros in Excel 2003 after you install Office 2003 Service Pack 3 (938806)


• Office files that are saved in certain formats no longer contain the version number of Office after you install Office 2003 Service Pack 3(938807)

Some of these issues may not apply to everyone, but you should be familiar with them before installation. In time, I suspect this list will grow.

For detailed information about these issues as well as the benefits of Office 2003 Service Pack 3 go to http://support.microsoft.com/kb/923618.