Office 2004 Service Pack 1 (#4): Compile error fix; PowerPoint font issue

Our coverage of the Office 2004 Service Pack 1 update continues today with more on "PDFMaker" conflicts and a font issue with PowerPoint.

"Compile errors" solutions We previously covered an issue where attempting to quit Excel after applying the update results in the error message "Compile Error in Hidden Module: AutoExec." The cause of the problem is the file /Applications/Microsoft Office 2004/Office/Startup/Excel/PDFMaker.xla, installed by Adobe Acrobat -- removing that file fixes the problem (although it also removes the PDF Maker functionality from Excel). Unfortunately, for some users, the file is automatically reinstalled the next time Acrobat is launched, which results in the same problem occurring the next time Excel is launched.

Several users have offered tips for making sure that the offending file is never reinstalled. Michael Genzuk notes that the simplest approach is to tell Acrobat not to "fix" missing Office plug-ins for Acrobat:

"Adobe Acrobat automatically performs a system check when it launches, and will try and repair these 'missing' files once you have deleted them. Thankfully, the people at Adobe have provided a 'do not ask again' option, so just say no thanks to the repairs, and turn the warning off. If you do not turn the warning off the dreaded PDF Maker will return the next time you open office."

If this doesn't work for you, of if you no longer get the option to turn off such repairs, readers have suggested a few other approaches. The easiest (and likely the safest) solution -- proposed by a number of readers -- is to simply create an empty folder called "PDFMaker.xla" inside /Applications/Microsoft Office 2004/Office/Startup/Excel. By doing this, Acrobat will think that the appropriate file exists and won't try to install a new copy.

Alternatively, Manual Miseré and Leonel Silva suggest removing the PDFMaker.xla file from the Acrobat Professional application bundle itself:

1. Select the Acrobat 6.0.2 Professional icon in the Finder.
2. In the Finder's Action menu or contextual menu, choose Show Package Contents.
3. Navigate to Contents/MacOS/SelfHealFiles/PDFMaker.
4. Delete the file PDFMaker.xla or move it elsewhere on your hard drive for safe keeping.

Note that taking this approach may cause problems when you try to update the Acrobat Professional application itself.

PowerPoint font issue and solution Reader Bryan Kalms reports an issue with PowerPoint after installing the update where the application consistently reports a missing font but doesn't indicate what that font is:

"If you disable Hiragino Kaku Gothic Pro with Font Book, PowerPoint gives an error message (four messages actually) that there's a font missing. And because the missing font name uses foreign characters, it's impossible to know what font is missing. Enable Hiragino Kaku Gothic Pro and the error message disappears."

What are your experiences with the Service Pack 1 update to Office 2004? Drop us an email at Late-breakers@macfixit.com.

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