Microsoft Office 2007 Service Pack 2

Microsoft last provided a service pack for their Office 2007 suite of applications in early December 2007. Since then, they have been providing Office 2007 users with regular updates and patches, albeit available only through Windows Update or Office Update. It was more than about time for Microsoft to release a new service pack that would compile all patches released since Office 2007 Service Pack 1.

On November 20, 2008, Microsoft's Office Client marketing group informed their OEM customers that Microsoft would be making the 2007 Microsoft Office System Service Pack 2 (SP2) available to them in late May 2009. This article is based on that announcement, as well as recently obtained internal documents. Like our other exposes on Microsoft, we will be updating this article as and when we receive updated information, so be sure to check back often!

Update @ May 1 : Updated the article with details of the Service Pack 2 for Microsoft Office 2007.

Update @ May 20 : Updated the article with news on the RTM of Microsoft Office 2007 SP2, as well as added four new pages on key improvements in Service Pack 2.

What Is Office 2007 Service Pack 2?

Although service packs are usually compilations of previously-released patches and bug fixes, it appears that this service pack will be more than just a compilation of previous updates.

• The Microsoft Office 2007 Service Pack 2 will include significant new work (features), along with performance enhancements, bug fixes, and various other improvements.
   
• The Microsoft Office 2007 Service Pack 2 will include all public updates, security updates, cumulative updates and hotfixes that have been previously released for Office 2007 products through February 2009.

Update @ May 1 : Service Pack 2 for Office 2007 has a download size of 247.9 MB.

Office 2007 Service Pack Release Schedule

• The Microsoft Office 2007 Service Pack 2 is currently scheduled for release between February and April 2009.
   
• Microsoft will reveal further details on SP2's release timing and additional resources later this month (January, 2009).

Update @ May 1 : Microsoft released Service Pack 2 for Office 2007 on the Microsoft Download Center on April 24 with a public release on Windows Update on April 28, 2009. We noted a tiered release though - it only popped up in our Automatic Update on May 1, 2009. You can also download Service Pack 2 for Office 2007 from here. The Windows Update download is about 247.9 MB in size, while the standalone update from the MS Download Center weighs in at 290.2 MB.

Update @ May 20 : Microsoft has announced that they will release Microsoft Office 2007 SP2 to manufacturing (RTM) on May 29, 2009. Consumers should be to purchase Microsoft Office 2007 SP2 from OEMs or retailers in June/July, obviating the need to upgrade to SP2 after installation.

What's New In Office 2007 Service Pack 2?

Here's a short summary of what's new in Service Pack 2 for Microsoft Office 2007. We have a much longer list of key improvements in Service Pack 2 in the following pages.

• Support for Open Document Format (ODF), XML Paper Specification (XPS) and Portable Document Format (PDF).
   
• Improved Outlook Calendaring reliability.
   
• Improved Outlook performance.
   
• Enabling Object Model support for Charts in Microsoft Ofice PowerPoint 2007 and Microsoft Office Word 2007.
   
• Improved cryptographic functionality b supporting all cryptographic algorithms offered by the operating system.
   
• Improved functionality in Microsoft Office Excel 2007 charting mechanism.
   
• Ability to ungroup SmartArt graphics (and as a result, the ability to add animations to them in PowerPoint 2007).
   
• Ability for Visio 2007 to export UML models to an XML file compliant with the XMI standard.
   
• Tool that enables the uninstallation of Office client Service Packs.

Support Tech ARP!

If you like our work, you can help support out work by visiting our sponsors, participate in the Tech ARP Forums, or even donate to our fund. Any help you can render is greatly appreciated!