Office 2003 Service Pack 3--subsequent problems opening Publisher

[Austin]

I run Publisher 2003 on Windows XP. On June 13, I updated my system with
Office 2003 Service Pack 3 so that I could open Word documents with the file
ext docx. Subsequent to the Service Pack 3 installation, whenever I open a
Publisher file (which I created), I get the following message: "Publisher has
detected a problem in the file you are trying to open. If you are certain
that this file came from a trusted source and does not contain harmful
information, click OK." What is causing this and is there a way to stop this
pop-up message?

 

[Mary Sauer]

All publications?

Error message when you try to open a publication in Publisher: "Publisher cannot
open the file" or "Publisher has detected a problem"
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/928890/en-us

 

[Austin]

I create one large newsletter per month in Microsoft Publisher 2003. I just
went back and was able to open my February edition without getting the
message, but for each subsequent month's issue/Publisher file, I get the
message that I quoted in my original post. Thanks, Sue

 

[Mary Sauer]

Are you using the same publication over and over? Sounds as though you have some
corruption going on.
How to troubleshoot a damaged publication in Publisher
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/198256/en-us
Do you have Norton?
How to use Office programs with the Norton AntiVirus Office plug-in
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/329820/

 

[Austin]

Mary--the files aren't corrupted. The problem started the minute I re-booted
my system after installing Service Pack 3. I was wondering if there were some
minor updates included within that service pack that might not mesh correctly
with the version of Publisher that I'm using. After installing the service
pack, I am now able to open Word documents with the docx extension (whereas I
couldn't prior to the installation--that's why I downloaded it in the first
place). So, since this problem started immediately after the installation and
reboot, and affects all of my Publisher files from February on, I'm assuming
that it must be related. Also, when I click "OK" to the message, the files
open just fine and I proceed normally. I just don't want to have to keep
getting that message. Thanks, Sue

 

[Mary Sauer]

Try a system restore to before you installed the service pack. It more than
likely is a security update rather than the service pack. I get your message
when I open files from other folks. One security update completely ruled out
opening early version Publisher files.

The .docx extension can be used by downloading the compatible file. It wasn't
available in the 2003 service pack, maybe it was a later update.
Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File
Formats
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...70-3AE9-4AEE-8F43-C6BB74CD1466&displaylang=en

Did you add the "PromptForBadFiles" in the registry as suggested in the first
article?

 

[Austin]

Mary--I think you are right about a security update causing the problem as I
ran a number of Microsoft security updates right after Service Pak 3--is it
better to rremove the security updates or will this problem be resolved by
Microsoft in an upcoming update?

 

[Austin]

As you suggested, I did a system restore to a point before I did any updates.
Then, I checked my Publisher files and all opened without the pop-up message.
I then installed Service Pack 3 and no other updates. I again checked my
Publisher files and they are FINE. Thus, you are correct in that it was one
of the Microsoft security updates that created the problem. I thought that I
would wait until tomorrow and do one update a day so that when I find which
of the updates is creating the problem, I can restore back to just that point
(since the Service Pack 3 update takes a good hour). One of the updates (the
number ended in 213) was a security update for Publisher, so I'm guessing at
this point that that is the problem. I will keep you posted. Thanks for your
help.

 

[Mary Sauer]

Let me know what update you think caused the grief. Maybe it is why I can't open
some files I receive from other folks. The only update I have that ends with 213
is the Silverlight program, May 23.

 

[Austin]

Well, Mary, my plan for a controlled update didn't work! After I reinstalled
Service Pack 3 and found that that did NOT cause my problem, a huge
thunderstorm came through and I turned off my computer--all of the updates
automatically came through again! And, the problem with open the files came
back too! I can OPEN my files, it's just that I get a warning message every
time--it says that Publisher DETECTS a possible problem and if I know that
the file came from a secure source, go ahead and open it, otherwise click
'cancel.' The update that I'm SUSPECTING may be causing this is KB950213
"Security Update for Microsoft Publisher 2003."

 

[Mary Sauer]

According to the description there is no known issues with the security patch. I
am guessing folks that coded the security patch had no known problems.

MS08-027: Description of the security bulletin for Publisher 2003: May 13, 2008
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/950213/en-us

MS08-027: Vulnerability in Microsoft Publisher could allow remote code execution
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/951208/en-us