Ongoing Office 2008 problems with Spaces

We previously reported on incompatibilities between Microsoft Office 2008 and the Spaces virtual desktop features in Mac OS X. While some Spaces-related issues have been addressed in updates, users are still experiencing problems.

Apple Discussions poster BigTuna56 writes:

"I'm working in two spaces (space A, and B) I have a word document I am working on in space A, and I want to read my mail (just an example) and I switch to space B, and then I'm done reading it, so I go back to space A. Now that I am back in space A, the document I was working on, is gone, it's in space B."

This problem may be due to something simple, like a preferences file that needs to be replaced, or it could be the result of a conflict between some Word add-on and spaces, since it is not widespread and has only affected a few users.

Problems such as these have persisted for users despite having updated both Word and OS X to the latest versions, which when coupled with others not experience it indicates its more of a configuration problem than a problem with any particular update. In the case of Office-related spaces issues, Microsoft is aware of several problems, and has outlined the following known issues on its website:

• When you switch between spaces, the Formatting Palette in Microsoft Word 2008 for Mac might move to another space.
• When you drag open Word documents to two different spaces, they might relocate automatically to a single space.
• Word might open in front of other application windows that are running in the active space.
• When you switch to the space assigned to Word, an open Word document might be hidden behind other active application windows, and clicking in the document or on the document window toolbar might not bring the document to the foreground.
• Office 2008 for Mac applications might quit unexpectedly.

For Spaces-related issues, users can try removing the preference files associated with Spaces, as well as changing a few spaces-related settings.

Potential Fixes

Remove the Dock's preferences file Spaces settings are actually stored in the Dock's preferences file, and as such users can remove that file to have the settings reset. It may be that a corruption in the Dock preferences is affecting the placement of various documents. To remove the file, locate com.apple.Dock.plist in the /username/Library/Preferences/ folder and move it out of the folder. Then logout and log back in to the current account.

In doing this, the Dock will be reset, so beforehand be sure to write down the placement of Dock applications and other Dock settings.

Set the application to be in one space Users have found that this problem occurs when users migrate between different spaces, so one workaround is to associate the problematic application to one space. To do this, open the "Expose & Spaces" system preferences and in the "Spaces" tab add the application to the list of "Application Assignments", and then select a space for that application.

Turn off automatic space switching In addition to assigning applications to a specific space, users can try turning off the option to go to the space that has open windows for an application when users switch to that application. This option is the checkbox at the bottom of the "Spaces" tab in the "Expose & Spaces" system preferences.

Resources