Mac OS X 10.5.2 Special Report: Microsoft Office applications slow to launch

CNET staff

Sept. 2, 2009 2:24 a.m. PT

2 min read

Microsoft Office 2008 apps slow to launch A number of users are reporting incredibly slow launch times (up to several minutes) for Office 2008 applications under Mac OS X 10.5.2. Some MacFixIt readers report that Apple and Microsoft have both identified this as a known issue.

For some users, the following fixe has proven mildly successful: In Word, turn off WYSIWYG fonts and "Show Project Gallery at Startup" in (go the "Word" menu, then Preferences > General). Quit any Office apps. Next delete the files:

~/Library/Application Support/Microsoft/Office/User Templates/Normal.dotm
~/Library/Preferences/com.microsoft.Word.plist
~/Library/Preferences/Microsoft/Office 2008

and restart.

For others the slowness persists.

One MacFixIt reader writes:

"I was on the phone with Microsoft yesterday for about one hour... They are aware it is a known problem. They said a few things have worked for some people, but there is a bigger issue still at hand... I then called Apple, they said they are aware of the issue and are working with Microsoft. They said it only affects 10.5.2 users. They said it isn't a bug, it is a conflict."

Note that an update to Office 2008 -- version 12.0.1 -- is forthcoming.

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