[QSilver]

Picked up one of the new MBPs over the weekend. Rather than buying Office 2008 and putting up with what is clearly a beta release, I plan to load Office v.X from my original CD.

I know that MS has released several revisions and security updates to v.X. I took a look around Mactopia.com but was not able to find anything to download for v.X. Did I miss something there? Or can you suggest another way of finding those updates?

TIA
QS

[Big Mac]

There's no way Office v.X is going to run acceptably at all on a MBP. It was their first OS X release. 2004 barely runs properly in Leopard, AFAIK. You'd be better off running the Windows version in virtualization than attempting v.X.

[QSilver]

Define "run acceptably."

Is it a CPU issue? There's been no issue running Office v.X on G4 iLamp with versions of OS X up through 10.4.11.

QS

[Big Mac]

I'm basing it on what people have reported here about Leopard, Intel and Office 2004.

[Cold Warrior]

Look in the v.X folder for Microsoft AutoUpdate. It might be there. Office uses it on 2004 and 2008 to check MS for software updates. I used to have v.X, but don't remember if AutoUpdate was with it.

[amazing]

Microsoft evidently decided to stop supporting v.X so you have to look elsewhere for the updates. You'll also have to start with downloading the earlier updates, because the later updates require certain earlier updates--you'd better plan on archiving the updates for later use if you don't upgrade to Office 2004.

Maybe this link will still work. I have the updates archived so I didn't actually attempt a download:

Software downloads and reviews at Download.com

[0157988944]

I run v.X on my Intel iMac. It runs absolutely fine. In fact, it runs better than Office 08 or iWork.

[Big Mac]

Okay then, I guess I'm wrong. Sorry about that.

[QSilver]

I'll give it a try tonight and check those updates on Download.com.

QS

[naphtali]

The links were gone only after the recent design update to Mactopia.

You can still find the updates straight from Microsoft by going to www.microsoft.com/downloads > Mac & Other Platforms

The direct link to the download page is
Download details: Microsoft Office v. X for Mac 10.1.9 Update

[QSilver]

@naphtali
Thanks for the direct link to that update. When I had looked around microsoft.com for downloads, I kept getting re-directed to the Office2008 page.

Anyone have an opinion on whether only the latest Office v.X update (10.1.9) needs to be applied or if all updates should applied in sequence? The detailed page for 10.1.9 shows no requirement for previous updates but it also shows no info as to whether it includes eveything from prior updates. It looks like there are a total of 6 prior updates (ordered by release date): 10.1.6, PowerPointX Security Update, 10.1.7, 2006-08-08, 10.1.8, 2006-12-19.

QS

[naphtali]

I am quite sure that only the 10.1.9 update is necessary - contains the prior updates.

That's the only update I install alongside v.X nowadays anyways.

The few times I tried printing with v.X on Leopard, I seemed to have crashes. I don't print much, so I didn't go check again, but it'll be interesting if you could replicate the problem

[QSilver]

I installed v.X from CD last night and created a very simple spreadsheet (for income taxes, no less). No problems but it wasn't a heavy-duty test. I'll try to print different kinds of Office files tonight, both before and after updating to 10.1.9.

QS

[amazing]

I recently reinstalled v.X on Leopard, printing works fine to a variety of printers.

Also, as I recall, 10.1.9 required previous updates. I didn't take notes, but I think the 10.1.3 or 10.1. 2 update is the first install requirement, followed by either (or both) 10.1.4 and 10.1.6, then 10.1.8 and 10.1.9.

Or it could be that I just gave up on trying to work backwards to whatever was required and just reapplied my archived installs.

If you figure out the requirements, please report back here.

[QSilver]

Before updating to 10.1.9, I printed reasonable complex documents each from Excel, Word, and PowerPoint. All printed fine, although when I started, I has a 2-page spreadsheet with basic formatting that crashed Excel when I click the Print button in Page Preview. I updated to 10.1.9 and printed everything again; again it worked fine.

BTW, the ReadMe included in the 10.1.9 disk image states that all prior updates are included when you run the 10.1.9 installer.

Thanks for all the help.
QS

[rem]

...alternatively I would suggest checking out OpenOffice. Its free, there are native OS X builds now (not just NeoOffice) so you get spreadsheets and presentations software with. You can open and save as MS Office formats, and if you save a doc as html or xml it more closely resembles html and xml than the gobbly-goop MS Office produces. Some encoding issues I had with MS Office were handled better by OO too. OO for OS X is in its 2nd release candidate (its a native OS X build, not one of the X11 builds). Did I mention that its free?

I have Office X on CD but have not bothered to install it on my MBP as I'm more satisfied with OO even though the OS X native version is not quite at a release build yet.

[naphtali]

@QS - Thanks for taking the effort to test before and after! Glad everything's ok for you

[ghporter]

I've been running Office 2004 under Leopard on both my 2.4GHz aluminum iMac and my 2.16GHz Core Duo (NOT Core 2 Duo) MBP, and there is only a slight lag which only happens occasionally. This is only noted when I am typing AND Word is both spell checking and grammar checking-and you can almost always dump its grammar checker because it's dumber than my dog when it comes to grammar.

Office X should probably be about the same, since they didn't change the internals so much as they provided "new and improved" features in the version change from X to 2004. Remember that these are still PPC apps, so Rosetta has to interpret for you, but that's not a really big deal. With 2+GHz, dual core processors, and lots and lots of RAM, it won't seem like it's reading your mind, but Word and Excel should work just fine. Not at all "unacceptable" speed.

[QSilver]

Originally Posted by ghporter 

With 2+GHz, dual core processors, and lots and lots of RAM, it won't seem like it's reading your mind, but Word and Excel should work just fine. Not at all "unacceptable" speed.

Oh, that reminds me...my MBP will be a week old tomorrow. I need to order more RAM to get it over the stock 2GB.

QS

[amazing]

Glad to hear that 10.1.9 worked for you. Guess it depends on what vintage v.X install disk you have. Mine's from the very beginning, probably why it needs the early updates. Later install disks would have those updates incorporated. Given how convoluted it was to find the updates, you'll want to archive any updates to CD or whatever.

Best upgrade: more RAM. Next best upgrade: good backpack/bag

[kennedy]

So, what's the more reliable Office program, 10.1.9 or 11.4.1?

[osxpinot]

I'm using 2004 now. I'd be open to switch to v.X if it runs better. Can anybody shed any light on the subject?

[analogika]

Step 1: TURN OFF AUTO GRAMMAR CHECKING.

It will run MUCH smoother from then on.