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Beta 2 Technical Refresh Available Now

This morning, the Beta 2 Technical Refresh of the 2007 Microsoft Office system became available for download.

You can download it now from the Microsoft Download Center.

(The download link above is the main download link. You also view the list of all available Beta 2 Technical Refresh updates for client and server by clicking the Beta 2 Technical Refresh link on this page.)

You must have Beta 2 installed in order to patch it to Beta 2 Technical Refresh, so don't uninstall Beta 2.

Why a patch instead of a full release? Primarily because we need to test the patching technology broadly, and this is a great chance to make sure it works well. Patching is the way we release updates to Office after it ships, so making sure it works well is an important part of the beta process.

Please also consider downloading the Send a Smile Feedback Tool to tell us what you think about Office 2007. If you already had it installed from Beta 2, you can continue to use it in B2TR.

In my post yesterday, I posted a list of the most substantive changes to the user interface in the new build. Consider this by no means a full list of changes in B2TR—just those in the UI.

I've also posted a list of Ribbon Control IDs for use with B2TR for RibbonX developers. These should also show up on MSDN sometime in the next few weeks. It's a 1.3 MB download (.zip file) if you need to grab it now.

Note: If you're having trouble installing the patch, try following the instructions in this article.

Note 2: Patrick Schmid is keeping a great log of solutions to issues people are encountering with B2TR.

Posted: Thursday, September 14, 2006 2:00 PM by jensenh

Comments

Francis said:

How exciting!!! I am installing as 'we' speak. :-)

Apropos patching--I always thought patching was used to reduce the size of downloads. Yet the B2TR download is 495 MB. I take it possible future service packs will be smaller?
# September 14, 2006 6:46 PM

Ali said:

The patch is almost the same size as the original distribution. How strange!
# September 14, 2006 6:57 PM

jensenh said:

Francis, Ali:

It's so big because nearly every file in Office changed between Beta 2 and B2TR.

The average update patch contains a few lines of updated code... not five months of work by hundreds of developers! :)
# September 14, 2006 7:05 PM

James said:

The patching is broken: it set Outlook to be the default mail client and created icons everywhere (again!).

Actually, running Outlook as a non-admin user also seems to register the mailto protocol under  HKCU\Software\Classes instead of HKLM\S\C, which is especially annoying since the other applications don't think to change that (not OE, not Thunderbird, not Set Program Access and Defaults...). It's so frustrating.
# September 14, 2006 7:11 PM

Josh Einstein said:

Everything worked (unfortunately, like a sucker though I paid to download Beta 2 thinking it was the tech refresh even though I was already a registered beta user)

But I can't seem to find a Tech Refresh for Business Contact Manager and it refuses to run in Outlook B2TR.
# September 14, 2006 7:14 PM

Jeff said:

Hi Jensen -

B2TR works for me.  Quick question:  I noticed that in the outlook message compose window, the Send button has moved off the ribbon and is now left of the addressing section of the message.  Can you share the thinking on that change?  My spinal macros have trained me that actions such as "Reply", "Forward", "Accept Meeting", etc. are on the top-left of the Ribbon.  I find myself clicking on the greyed out "Paste" button and then saying, "Shoot, I need to aim lower - they moved the Send button"

Thanks!
# September 14, 2006 8:02 PM

Steve said:

I'm new to the Office beta program.  I got the Beta 2 download, and the B2TR download.  I want to install on Vista RC1.  

Should I just install B2, then immediately (without trying anything out, etc.) install B2TR?  I've heard the B2 and Vista RC1 don't get along, but will it at least install enough to get the B2TR on there?

Thanks!
# September 14, 2006 9:11 PM

jensenh said:

Jeff,

I'll post about this soon.  Very briefly: it's so that you can send regardless of what tab you're on or if the Ribbon is minimized or not.

After two days or so, you'll be totally used to it and glad it's there.  (That seems to be how long it took for me to get used to the change.)

In the final product, the vast majority of people won't have ever used Beta 2, so won't have the transition period.
# September 14, 2006 9:35 PM

jensenh said:

Folks:

If the patch seems to have failed, try following the instructions here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/923718
# September 14, 2006 9:35 PM

Patrick Schmid said:

I am keeping a list of problems with fixes for B2TR at http://pschmid.net/blog/2006/09/14/43. You should read this post BEFORE installing B2TR, as there are some critical issues involving files created in Beta 2.
# September 14, 2006 9:43 PM

Aaron said:

Will we be seeing full Vista type icons for the file types in the final release? By this I mean that the file type do not display larger than 48x48 icons.
# September 14, 2006 10:46 PM

gary k said:

well, i'm not too happy about the upgrade installation path of beta 2. it sees i have o2k3 installed and suggests upgrade. to me, upgrade means upgrade, not install everything, including apps i never had installed.

i never had outlook installed, and i never want outlook installed, but an upgrade itnstalled it.

this is wrong.
# September 14, 2006 10:57 PM

gary k said:

and one other thing, while i'm at it. i thought i read in this blog, or it could have been the excel blog, that in this day and age all dialogs should be resizeable. well, what happened to the change dialog in the add remove features? doesn't appear to be resizeable to me.
# September 14, 2006 11:01 PM

Phil Wright said:

Every since installing the B2TR, Office Word 2007 will not open any files of any type!!

I always get....

'The file Example.txt is not available.'

With the filename being whatever I try and open. Even saving a new file of type .txt cannot be opened again using Word. I have tried rebooting and it makes no different.

Environment: XP SP2

Any ideas?
# September 15, 2006 12:20 AM

Patrick Schmid said:

Phil: from the known issues list:
Office has an anti-virus API which we call every time we load a file. In 2007 Microsoft Office a change was made to support scanning encrypted macros. In making this change, we inadvertently changed the size of a data structure in the conversation, and Symantec's Norton scanner returns an error saying this was unexpected.

We treat ANY error from the scanner as a critical failure and block opening files. Unfortunately we do that in ALL cases where the scanner is called. In short with 2007 Office Beta 2 Technical Refresh and Norton Antivirus (any version) the user cannot open any files in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher, Access and Project. The user receives an error of File failed to open, File not found, etc.
Resolution:
We currently only see this with the Symantec's Consumer Norton AV product. Most corporate deployments do not use this plug-in. We are also checking other scanners to see if they are affected.

In the Norton case the best option is to disable the Office plug-in.

See Method 2: in the following KB for guidance on how to do that: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/329820/en-us
----------
Phil, please let us know if this is the issue you are having and whether the resolution helps you.
# September 15, 2006 12:29 AM

John Smulo said:

I had the same problem as Phil above with Word not opening. That was a scary problem to have. But I used the Method 2 link above and I can use Word fine.

Thanks,

John
# September 15, 2006 1:06 AM

Benny Christen Grandahl said:

Hi Jensen

Downloaded it as soon as it was released and am thrilled about the new stuff - and it is a more stable animal also.

Danes can read my first impressions on my blog - just follow the link.
# September 15, 2006 1:46 AM

Phil Wright said:

Patrick Schmid,

Thanks for the information, I disabled the Office Add-In for Norton 2005 and after a reboot everything works fine again. Thanks for the speedy response.
# September 15, 2006 2:51 AM

arturogoga » Office 2007 Beta 2 Technical Refresh said:

PingBack from http://www.arturogoga.com/2006/09/15/office-2007-beta-2-technical-refresh/
# September 15, 2006 3:07 AM

Nick Whittome - "The Naked MVP" said:

If you are running Office 2007 Beta, then be sure to download the beta 2 refresh that was released today.
# September 15, 2006 6:02 AM

Markus S said:

Office 2007 Beta 2 TR works fine on my pc. Installation took some time but in the end it works until BCM (Business Contact Manager) the Old one doesn't work neither did Outlook. Try to deinstall the old BCM.

Is there a BCM Beta 2 TR anywhere? If one had the link it would be very nice. I like the tool and it works really fine in the Original Beta2.
# September 15, 2006 6:12 AM

Markus S said:

Due to my personell research about Beta 2 Technical Refresh i found out a search string for maybe all Beta2 TR included my missed BCM ;)
so here it is:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/results.aspx?pocId=9&freetext=office%202007%20technical%20refresh&DisplayLang=en

have a nice try and certainly day ;)
# September 15, 2006 6:46 AM

Critter said:

Alas, I am disappointed with the patch. It did not fix the errors I was getting with Outlook.

Everything was running fine for a while, then outlook started crashing as soon as I would open it. I had hoped wiping it off and re-installing it would sort the problem. It did not. So I went back to 2003.

Even after clean installing the beta2 and TR outlook still throws an immediate error. *sigh* guess I'll wait for RC1 :)
# September 15, 2006 6:51 AM

lstrite said:

Jensen, you noted yesterday that "A full list of new features and improvements to the entire product (not just the user interface) will be available along with the download tomorrow."

Will you post that soon? Keenly interested to learn about all the features that have been updated (both UI and functional).

Thanks in advance...:]
# September 15, 2006 7:20 AM

Patrick Schmid said:

Critter,
does it crash if you open it with Start, Run, "outlook /safe"?
# September 15, 2006 8:57 AM

Jim Rech said:

>>I've also posted a list of Ribbon Control IDs for use with B2TR for RibbonX developers.

77 duplicates in the Excel list, Jensen (excluding the Ordering column of course).  Not that I'm not grateful for this!
# September 15, 2006 9:42 AM

mentas said:

Powerpoint can't read...
Word can't read...
... can't read...

"The presentation cannot be opened. Your antivirus program may prevent you from opening the presentation. To fix this problem, make sure your antivirus program is current and working correctly. If the problem persists and the presentation is from someone that you trust, turn off your antivirus program, and then try to open the presentation again. If you do this, make sure you turn on your antivirus program again after you open the presentation."

I have Norton Antivirus.

I hate antivirus!!!
# September 15, 2006 10:04 AM

Jeff said:

Thanks to Microsoft for fixing the links problem in plain-text emails!  I was missing being able to click on links.
# September 15, 2006 3:08 PM

Adam said:

"Why a patch instead of a full release? Primarily because we need to test the patching technology broadly, and this is a great chance to make sure it works well."

Hang on ... what do you mean "test the patching technology"?

Isn't the patching technology part of Windows Installer? If so, why aren't the Windows Installer team testing the patching technology? If not, does this mean that the Office team have rolled their own version of an existing MS technology (again!)?
# September 16, 2006 10:43 AM

Patrick Schmid said:

Adam,

Windows Installer is just the underlying technology. MS can easily make mistakes when using that technology. Hence they need to test it. None of us wants something going wrong with Office 2007 Service Packs.
# September 16, 2006 10:47 AM

ChadB said:

Ok, so i went off and excitedly downloaded the B2TR after much anticipation and waiting for it to be releated the public. Yet when i actually try run the file, it seems to run and then nothing happens.

I've followed the instructions given in: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/923718

And i still don't even seem to be able to run the file! What am I missing here...?

I also checked the running processes as i execute the file, and it launches a process, which after a few seconds terminates. Can anyone offer some advice... or guidance?
# September 16, 2006 7:21 PM

Patrick Schmid said:

Hi Jensen,
I actually liked my electrocuted printer :) Any chance the icon can be available in the final product as alternative to the one that is there now?
# September 17, 2006 6:35 AM

Alan said:

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# September 17, 2006 8:23 PM

Jill said:

Thank you!
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# September 17, 2006 8:23 PM

Troy said:

Thank you!
http://zpccnvml.com/hrpc/wugu.html | http://akwqqxxh.com/ulrq/xksw.html
# September 17, 2006 8:23 PM

GregM said:

"Actually, running Outlook as a non-admin user also seems to register the mailto protocol under  HKCU\Software\Classes instead of HKLM\S\C, which is especially annoying since the other applications don't think to change that (not OE, not Thunderbird, not Set Program Access and Defaults...). It's so frustrating. "

James, that's the absolutely correct behavior for a non-admin user.  HKCR is a merger of HKLM\S\C and HKCU\S\C.  If the HKCU key exists, then the write to HKCR goes to HKCU, otherwise it goes to HKLM.  So, once Office writes to HKCU, then the other programs that write to HCKR will write there too.  If they're writing to HKLM directly, then they're broken.
# September 17, 2006 10:40 PM

Anonymous said:

Great patch! Not for its Guinness Book size <g>, but because it is so much stable, until now I didn’t experience any GPF. Congratulations!

Unfortunately, maybe fortunately for others, the installation didn’t restore default options. Now I can’t remember what is default or customized. It would be best if there is a default button in each dialog to restore shipped options.
# September 18, 2006 9:38 AM

Vaibhav Garg said:

I have an issue regarding Word changes in the b2tr.
I can not change text direction in text boxes anymore. I just tried it in beta2 and it works seemlessly. But in b2tr, the button is disabled no matter what. So is the button to rotate the text box which worked fine in beta2.
I dont know if this is the right place to ask, but could anybody help me in this regard? Is anyone else experiencing the same issue?
Thanks for you help.
# September 18, 2006 12:19 PM

Windows Observer » Blog Archive » In and Around the Net - Going to Sea Edition said:

PingBack from http://www.windowsobserver.com/2006/09/18/in-and-around-the-net-going-to-sea-edition/
# September 18, 2006 7:24 PM

Joe said:

The download page seems to have been removed?

"We’re sorry, but there is no Microsoft.com Web page that matches your entry."
# September 19, 2006 3:08 AM

Waterfall Web » Quick Links for 21 September said:

PingBack from http://www.waterfallweb.net/archives/2006/01/quick-links-for-21-september/
# September 21, 2006 6:28 AM

Hastings said:

Dear Jeff,

Disaster of disaters. I loaded the Tech refresh and now am unable to open any of my office document files in any suite(  error, Files not available ) although all the office beta programs work individualy. What have I done incorrectly?
# October 1, 2006 7:08 PM

Patrick Schmid said:

Hastings: follow the steps under "file not found" on my b2tr page at http://pschmid.net

Patrick
# October 1, 2006 8:24 PM

Lokesh said:

Teried the steps  http://pschmid.net but alas it does not work for me -- Does not open any file old or new

# October 3, 2006 4:48 AM

Shawn said:

Doesn't work still. I uninstalled Norton.

On top of that I can't open half my old Powerpoint files.

# October 6, 2006 8:16 PM

ife said:

I am having the same problem too.  Unable to open old files in word, excel, etc

# October 11, 2006 4:18 PM

Richard said:

I am having a really horrible time trying to get the Beta 2 Technical Refresh to install.I have saved it to disk and have tried Patrick Schmids few ideas and they dont work.I have installed Vista Rc 1 and have the Microsoft Office Pro-Plus 2007 and the trouble is with my Outlook and its the Beta 2 one.Can you help?

Really I want to use all the features that are up to date and my Diagnostic test says Beta installation is out of date.

I really dont know who to ask anymore,from the Office discussion forum I really havent seen any kind of solution, just people with a lot of troubles with the Refresh.

# October 12, 2006 4:39 PM

Malcolm Gin’s SharePoint and .NET Tips » Office 2007 Beta 2 Technical Refresh (B2TR) and the “The file is not available.” error. said:

PingBack from http://www.malcolmgin.com/msblog/?p=20

# October 12, 2006 9:38 PM

Steve Camilleri said:

WinXPSP2 with OfficeXP SP3 also installed.

Install went well at first, but having problems with the NAV2006 Office Plug-in, which I now disabled. Had a few random crashes in Word & Excel. Then ran the Microsoft Office Diagnostics which threw up some errors in Setup Diagnostic — File corruption or altered file. Fixed successfuly & B2TR now runs ok.

Looking forward to NAV2006 office plug-in update :)

Everytime i click on the OfficeXP icons windows installer kicks in (at first asking for install disk, but then in later runs doesn't). Otehrwise behaves normally so i'mn assuming this is the expected behaviour.

Thanks

Steve

# November 4, 2006 10:39 AM
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