The main SP1 download is 18MB but there’s a larger version for people in specific circumstances that is a whopping 73MB. There’s also separate SP1 updates for OneNote 2003, Project 2003, Project Server 2003 and Visio 2003. There is a single downloadable update for the ‘major’ Office 2003 programs – Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook and Access plus shared programs. If you think the latter option is unlikely you haven’t had to suffer the spotty documentation that has often accompanied Office updates. We’ve queried this from Microsoft but not had a reply yet – so we can’t tell you if Office XP web components are really patched or this is a typo. It seems strange that “Office XP Web Components” are patched in what is otherwise an Office 2003 update. The most interesting item on the list above is the last one. In other words all the many and varied Office 2003 bundles and separate products. SP1 replaces and includes the previously released security updates for Office 2003.Īccording to Microsoft the following packages are covered by SP1: Some of the fixes are for bugs already admitted by Microsoft, others are fixes for bugs that the company has not previously acknowledged. Office 2003 Service Pack 1 (SP1) is a collection of fixes for bugs – sorry ‘issues’ – in the various programs that make up Office 2003. If you’re wondering what to do, we recommend you hold off downloading and installing SP1 for a few days or weeks. Microsoft is usually sluggish about posting details of any problems that arise from the Service Pack. Historically Office updates have had some problems with the installation / updating process – once the update is installed the programs usually work OK.

In the next issue we will tell you what is really happening, after we’ve had some time to test SP1 and see how it is behaving. So in this issue we’ll tell you what is supposed to be in SP1 and how you can install it. As regular Office Watch readers know, updates to Office have always been full of, shall we say, surprises for the unwary.

There’s a new update for Office 2003 called Service Pack 1 (SP1 to its friends). We tell you what is supposed to be in SP1 and how you can install it. There’s a new update for Office 2003 called Service Pack 1.

Microsoft office 2003 service pack 1