Entourage / Office 2008 questions.

  • Thread starter Joseph Chamberlain, D.D.S.
  • Start date
J

Joseph Chamberlain, D.D.S.

Dear members:

I have recently purchased a copy of Office 2008 for my office but still run
Office 2004 at home. I have some questions:

1. My database (MUD) is kept on a removable hard disk that I take with me
between the office and home. Each one of my computers has a shorcut in place
of the MUD pointing to the database located on this hard disk. In case I
install Office 2008 in my office computer and keep Office 2004 in my home
computer, will it create a problem ? In other words, once I install Office
2008 will it try to upgrade my MUD to a different format that would no
longer be compatible with Office 2004 ?

2. In case I am forced to upgrade both computers and not just one to Office
2008 what is the current status of this application in terms of bugs or
other problems ? Office 2004 is running well in both computers at this
point. Will the upgrade bring any problems since the software is fairly new
?

Thank you in advance for your help.

Joseph Chamberlain
 
M

Michel Bintener

Hi Joseph,
1. My database (MUD) is kept on a removable hard disk that I take with me
between the office and home. Each one of my computers has a shorcut in place
of the MUD pointing to the database located on this hard disk. In case I
install Office 2008 in my office computer and keep Office 2004 in my home
computer, will it create a problem ? In other words, once I install Office
2008 will it try to upgrade my MUD to a different format that would no
longer be compatible with Office 2004 ?
Click to expand...

When you first launch Entourage 2008, it will offer to upgrade your
Entourage 2004 identity. Once that process is complete, your Entourage 2008
identity cannot be read by Entourage 2004 anymore. However, your Entourage
2004 identity is left intact; that one is stored in the Office 2004
Identities folder, while the new identity is stored in the Office 2008
Identities folder. You will have to keep in mind that this leaves you with
two separate identities, one for Entourage 2004 and one for Entourage 2008,
which also means that you will need to organise your data accordingly (i.e.
if you create a new contact in Entourage 2004, you will need to create a
copy in Entourage 2008 and vice-versa). In other words, you'd be much better
off if you used one version only as this would allow you to access the
*same* identity folder on different Macs.
2. In case I am forced to upgrade both computers and not just one to Office
2008 what is the current status of this application in terms of bugs or
other problems ? Office 2004 is running well in both computers at this
point. Will the upgrade bring any problems since the software is fairly new
?
Click to expand...

It largely depends on your needs, which makes your question difficult to
answer. Generally speaking, though, you should find Entourage 2008 more
responsive (unless you are on a PowerPC), and it offers a range of features
that are worth the upgrade, above all the ability to perform
Spotlight-powered searches. I have found it to be very stable and usable and
can only recommend it; however, if you heavily rely on Palm synching or the
Sync Services, you might want to wait, as its performance in that area is
less than stellar compared to Entourage 2004.

--
Michel Bintener
Microsoft MVP
Office:mac (Entourage & Word)

*** Please always reply to the newsgroup. ***
 
J

Joseph Chamberlain, D.D.S.

Hi, Michel.


After reading your response to my post I feel the best option for me at this
time is to stay with 2004. I don't wish to upgrade my database or to install
2008 at home. As you stated it is simpler for me to work with just one
identity that I can access both at home and at the office.

Thank you very much for your help and reply.

Joseph

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