Publisher 2009 Cannot open files after Security update applied

[Anthony]

I know this question has been asked before, but I am looking for different
answers than what the other questions have asked for.

There has been an assumption that Office 2007 SP2 has been causing a problem
with .pub files.
The problem actually appears to be KB 969693

The fix is given here:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/972566/

They say here, however, that the problem is related to the installation of
SP2.
I don't actually think this is entirely accurate, as KB 969693 is what
caused the issue for us.
SP2 probably includes this update within it.

My question is 2 part:

1. What part of the Publisher file causes the problem? What is it that is
inside the file that causes publisher to not open it?
Is there a certain object within the file that I can remove to allow it to
be opened (eg. Pictures, text boxes etc)?

2. Will the fix mentioned above work on a computer not running Office SP2?


It would be easier for us if we can fix the faulty files rather than install
SP2 then apply the fix to all of our computers.

 

[Anthony]

Ooops, This should be 2007, not 2009. I am so used to typing 2009...

Anyway, i'm sure you get me meaning.

A followup email for this issue.
The hotfix did not solve the problem in my case.

I also tried installing SP2, then re-applying this hotfix, but it still does
not work.

So, it appears my issue is a different one.

Can I get some assistance with this one?

How can I edit these files to be compliant?
We need to be able to open these files on any computer, and we do not want
to have to start uninstalling security patches on all our computers.

 

[Anthony]

Oops, this should be 2007, not 2009.

Would like to provide an update.

I have tried installing the fix, but it does not solve our issue.
I tried installing SP2 and then reapplying the fix, but it still does not
work.

It appears this one is a different issue than what is described elsewhere.

I need to know how to fix these files so they can be opened on all compuers.
What do I need to change so that the patch KB 969693 will not prevent me
opening these files?

 

[LL3]

Hi Anthony,

We have been trying to narrow down which object(s) are causing the file to
get corrupted on save, but at this time we have not been able to pin- point
it to one particular object. We think it has to do with tables but again
we’re not 100% sure.

The fix that we released is only for Office 2007 SP2. You should not see
this problem if you open the file in a pre-SP2 version. With the fix you
should be able to upgrade to SP2 without any problems.

I did see in a follow up post that you installed the fix and are still
having a problem opening a file in SP2. Is that correct? If so, I’d like to
get the file from you to test with.

Thanks,
LL3

 

[Anthony]

Thanks for the reply.
I had installed SP2 but the file still would not open. Even after reapplying
the hotfix.

Could you let me know your email address? I know you have posted it
elsewhere, but it would be good to have it all in the one thread in case I
need to refer back later.
I will send one of our files through.

 

[Anthony]

Another note.

I have edited the file, deleting object by object, until the file empty.

The file still will not open.

I have also deleted all but page one so that the document is a single page
blank document.
Yet it still will not open.

Could there be any hidden objects? How would I find them if there are?

 

[Mary Sauer]

How did you open the file you edited? Did you select a different printer driver?
Did you try saving the file in a different version, for example 1998? Open the
Design Checker, does it tell you anything?

Leroy's email
llaney at hotmail.com

 

[Anthony]

Thanks Mary,

I will send Leroy an email tomorrow when I get in to work.
I can open the file from another machine that does not have the Security fix
from my first post installed.
We do not want to roll back that update as it will eave us open to
legitimate threats.
I was just hoping that I could find out what we need to change in the files
to allow the to be opened while that patch is installed.

What confused me is that after I delete all content and save it, I still
cannot open the file.
I will send Leroy the full document and the blank one so he can see if there
is something I have not removed from the blank document.

I will try saving it as an earlier format.
I think I tried as a 2000 format, but will retry to be sure.

 

[Anthony]

(I apologise if this is a double post, but my browser is giving errors when I
submit.)


Thanks Mary,

I will send Leroy an email tomorrow when I get in to work.
I can open the file from another machine that does not have the Security fix
from my first post installed.
We do not want to roll back that update as it will eave us open to
legitimate threats.
I was just hoping that I could find out what we need to change in the files
to allow the to be opened while that patch is installed.

What confused me is that after I delete all content and save it, I still
cannot open the file.
I will send Leroy the full document and the blank one so he can see if there
is something I have not removed from the blank document.

I will try saving it as an earlier format.
I think I tried as a 2000 format, but will retry to be sure.

 

[dddrag]

I have the same problem - cannot open a Pub file created on my laptop after
applying security update, but can open the file on my desktop. I'm so sorry
that I did the update!!

The stranger thing is that I can open some other Pub files on my laptop, but
not others. I don't know how they differ ... So I can indeed open and work on
my files, but would like to know what the heck is going on.

 

[LL3]

Anthony,

When you said, †I can open the file from another machine that does not have
the Security fix
from my first post installed.â€, does that machine have Publisher 2007 SP2 on
it or SP1? There are a set of users who upgraded to Publisher 2007 SP2 and
then ran into the problem that you’re seeing, so we released a fix for SP2. I
just want to be clear about which version of Publisher you have on the
machine that opens the file correctly.

Also, which version of Publisher did you originally create the file in? Did
you ever down save the file and open it in an older version, or once you got
a new version of Publisher have you always saved the file in that current
version and opened it in that version?

dddraq,

What version of Publisher did you create your file in? On your laptop are
you running Publisher 2007 SP2 + the fix? What are you running on your
desktop where you can open the file? Did you updated that machine to SP2 +
fix?

If you have files that do not open in the SP2 + fix, would you mind sending
us those files so we can take a look? I can setup an FTP site for you to
upload them to, if the files are too big to send to though Hotmail. The same
thing goes for you too Anthony; if you have files that are not opening in SP2
+ fix please send those to me so we can take a look at what’s happening.

Lastly dddraq, when you say, “So I can indeed open and work on my files, but
would like to know what the heck is going on.†Are you saying that you have a
machine where you can open all of your file and continue working? If so,
what’s the setup of that machine, meaning which version of Publisher are you
running and does it have any updates on it? If so, is it the fix that we
released on the 30th of June?

Thank you for your help,
LL3

 

[Anthony]

The files in question are reports which are done each year.
The original file was created in Publisher XP/2002 back in 2004.
Each year, the user would open the previous years report, modify it and then
"save as" the new report.
Publisher 2003 was introduced somewhere in the next few years, then
Publisher 2007 was brought in during January 2008.


A new machine set up with Office 2007 SP1 can open all files.
As soon as I install the KB 969693 patch (or SP2) then most of these files
become unopenable.
It is quite confusing as I can't seem to tell what would stop some opening
but not others.
I will send you a couple of files.
One can be opened on Publisher 2007 SP2
The other cannot. (But can be opened on Pub2007 SP1 without KB 969693)
If you don't receive the files, then can you please provide the FTP details
instead?
My email is (anthony . green at rcpaqap . com . au)
Cheers

 

[Anthony]

I have tried saving in both 98 and 2000 formats, but it says it is unable to
save the file.

The design checker gives the following errors, some multiple times:
"Text Box is empty"
"Object is not visible"
"Story with text in overflow area"
"Object partially off page"
"Picture is not scaled proportionally"

 

[LL3]

Anthony, on your SP2 machine try installing the security fix that we released
on 6/30. If you are still having problems please let me know.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/972566/
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/972632

 

[Anthony]

Thanks Leroy,

Still had the same trouble after installing that patch.
Though, I had installed it first when only SP1 was installed.
I then uninstalled the hotfix, installed SP2, then reinstalled the hotfix.

As it turns out, this stuffed my machine.
On the other machine where I only had SP1 installed, I installed SP2 THEN
the patch, and it can now open the files.

I will try it out on a few other machines, and see if it works elsewhere.


But before this job disappears into the solved basket, I would like to point
out that this issue initially occured after installing security update KB
969693, not SP2.

You may like to include that somewhere in case there are other not quite
ready to deploy SP2.

Thanks for all the help with this issue. I know some people who will be very
happy if this works on their machines.

 

[LL3]

Anthony,

I’m glad to hear that most of your problems are fixed, at least the biggest
one is. I’m trying to figure out why you saw this problem first with KB
969693. Did you install that KB on top of your SP1? Were you able to open
other files on that machine?

On the machine that you said is now “stuffedâ€, what exactly do you mean?
Are you not able to use Pub at all or are you just not able to open certain
files?

We haven’t been getting reports of customers seeing blocked files in SP1;
although SP1 + KB 969693 might be an interesting combination. We’ll keep an
eye out for that.

Thanks for your help Anthony and I’ll post again if I learn something about
SP1 + KB 969693.

LL3

 

[Anthony]

I can create new files and open some existing files, but the ones that should
be fixed by SP2 + hotfix I still cannot open.
Though on another machine I installed SP2 THEN the hotfix and the files can
open on there.
I think something went haywire when I tested the hotfix on my computer. If I
have any trouble with the other machines I will get back to you also.

It would be good to hear if you do discover any other cases of this.
Thanks again!

 

[DavidF]

Read the thread:

Warning for update KB969693
from: webmaster GCR
microsoft.public.publisher.webdesign
Wednesday, July 15, 2009 3:41 PM

User experienced the problem of not being able to open existing pub files
after installing KB969693.

DavidF

 

[Anthony]

Another update.

I have installed SP2 and the neccesary hotfix on another machine having this
problem.
Most files are now openable, however some files still will not open.

I went back to the first machine and tried these files there. They do not
open there either.
These files were ones I was not testing earlier because I thought id it
worked for one file it would work for them all.

I can open them with Publisher 2003, but if I try to save them as 98 or 2000
it crashes Publisher.

 

[LL3]

Anthony,

Sounds like on your stuffed machine you’ve gotten into a strange install
state, which could be causing the problem of some files not opening.

For the files that still won’t open on the machine(s) where you installed in
order (SP1, Hotfixes, SP2, Hotfix) and you still have files that will not
open, would you be able to send me those files so we can take a look at them?

My email address is (e-mail address removed) and if they are too big to send
there, I can give you access to our FTP site.

Thanks,
LL3