Microsoft releases Mac Office service pack

Microsoft has released the Service Pack 2 (SP2) update for its Office 2008 suite for Apple Mac users, adding improvements to performance, stability and compatibility, according to the firm.

Available to download immediately from Microsoft's Mac download site, the free update to Office for Mac adds a new tool called Document Connection for Mac that improves access to documents on SharePoint servers and Microsoft Office Live Workspace, enabling easier collaboration between Mac and PC users.

"With SP2 we are not only delivering on top customer requests mid-cycle, but taking a first step in bringing Microsoft software plus services to Mac users," said Mike Tedesco, senior product manager for Microsoft's Mac business unit.

Document Connection enables a more seamless experience for Mac users to save and open documents to Office Live Workspace from Office 2008 applications, according to Microsoft.

Microsoft also announced that Office Live Workspace now supports the Safari 4 browser alongside the existing support for Firefox 2.0.

The Office 2008 SP2 update also brings improved performance, with faster launching and scrolling in Word 2008 and speedier calculation in Excel 2008.

Microsoft said it has added some features requested by users, such as the ability to define the default theme, including fonts, colour scheme and slide layouts. Users can also now author motion-path animations.

Last week, Microsoft unveiled a technical preview of the forthcoming next version of its application suite for Windows, Office 2010.

Mac users can access a full trial version of Office 2008 from Microsoft's web site.