Microsoft KB Archive/935865

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Article ID: 935865

Article Last Modified on 10/31/2007


APPLIES TO

  • Microsoft Office Standard Edition 2003
  • Microsoft Office Professional Edition 2003
  • Microsoft Office Professional Enterprise Edition 2003
  • Microsoft Office Professional 2007
  • Microsoft Office Small Business 2007
  • Microsoft Office Standard 2007
  • Microsoft Office Ultimate 2007


Important This article contains information about how to modify the registry. Make sure that you back up the registry before you modify it. Make sure that you know how to restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up, restore, and modify the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

256986 Description of the Microsoft Windows registry


INTRODUCTION

The Microsoft Office Isolated Conversion Environment (MOICE) feature that is added to the Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats is used to more securely open Word, Excel, and PowerPoint binary format files.

MORE INFORMATION

To help protect your computer from risk, generally do not open files that you receive as attachments to e-mail messages if the messages arrive unexpectedly. Also, do not open files that you receive as attachments if the files are from a person whom you do not know.

If you must open attachments, use MOICE to help reduce the security risk. MOICE can help reduce the effect of attacks that come through Word, Excel, or PowerPoint binary format files. Use MOICE when you suspect that you are under direct attack and you do not have a software update that can be used to resolve the vulnerability.

MOICE uses the 2007 Microsoft Office system converters to convert the Office binary format files into the Office Open XML format. This process helps remove the potential threat that may exist if the document is opened in the binary format. Additionally, MOICE converts incoming files in an isolated environment. This helps protect the computer from a potential threat.

Note MOICE is supported only when it is used together with Microsoft Office 2003 or together with the 2007 Office suites. MOICE is not supported for any other version of Microsoft Office.

MOICE currently supports the following document formats:

  • .doc
  • .ppt
  • .pot
  • .pps
  • .xls
  • .xlt
  • .xla

Install MOICE

Prerequisites

Install MOICE

To install MOICE, visit Microsoft Update, and then install all recommended updates:

http://update.microsoft.com/microsoftupdate/v6/default.aspx?ln=en-us


Additionally, install the updates that are described in the following Knowledge Base articles:

934391 Description of the update for the 2007 Office programs: May 18, 2007 (934391)


934390 Description of the update for the 2007 Office programs: May 18, 2007 (934390)


934395 Description of the update for the 2007 Office programs: May 18, 2007 (934395)


Enable MOICE

MOICE must be the registered handler for the document format when you use MOICE. To enable or to disable MOICE for each document format that is supported, you must run the appropriate command. You can use one of the following methods to run the commands:

  • Click Start, click Run, type the command, and the click OK.
  • Type the command at a command prompt.
  • Execute the commands in a batch file.
  • Push the commands by using Group Policy.


Note The Group Policy method must be completed by an administrator.

The following table describes the command to enable or to disable MOICE for the supported document formats:

File name extension of supported document format Command to use to enable MOICE to be the registered handler Command to use to disable MOICE as the registered handler
.doc ASSOC .doc=oice.word.document ASSOC .doc=Word.Document.8
.xls ASSOC .XLS=oice.excel.sheet ASSOC .xls=Excel.Sheet.8
.xlt ASSOC .XLT=oice.excel.template ASSOC .xlt=Excel.Template
.xla ASSOC .XLA=oice.excel.addin ASSOC .xla=Excel.Addin
.ppt ASSOC .PPT=oice.powerpoint.show ASSOC .ppt=PowerPoint.Show.8
.pot ASSOC .POT=oice.powerpoint.template ASSOC .pot=PowerPoint.Template.8
.pps ASSOC .PPS=oice.powerpoint.slideshow ASSOC .pps=PowerPoint.SlideShow.8

Note If Microsoft Office 2003 is upgraded to a later version, you may have to reassociate the file name extensions by using the commands that are described in this table.

After MOICE is enabled for a file type, MOICE will try to validate the file when the file is opened for the first time. If an error occurs, you will receive an error message.

Recommended deployment method

In addition to using MOICE, we recommend that you change the registry settings to prevent file types that you want to pass through MOICE from being opened.

For more information about how to change the registry to prevent .ppt files, .pox files, or .pps files from being opened, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

922847 You receive an error message when you try to open or to save a file type that was blocked by your registry policy settings in PowerPoint 2007 or in PowerPoint 2003


For more information about how to change the registry to prevent .doc files from being opened, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

922849 You receive an error message when you try to open or to save a file type that was blocked by your registry policy settings in Word 2007 or in Word 2003


For more information about how to change the registry to prevent .xls files, .xlt files, and .xla files from being opened, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

922848 You receive an error message when you try to open or to save a file type that was blocked by your registry policy settings in Excel 2007 or in Excel 2003


Issues that may occur when you use MOICE

  • By default, MOICE stops trying to convert a file if the conversion process takes longer than 45 seconds. To customize the time-out value, follow these steps.

    Warning Serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly by using Registry Editor or by using another method. These problems might require that you reinstall the operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that these problems can be solved. Modify the registry at your own risk.
    1. Click Start, click Run, type Regedit, and then click OK.
    2. Expand the following registry subkey:

      HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\12.0\OICE

    3. Right-click OICE, point to New, and then click DWORD Value.
    4. Type MaxConvTime, and then press ENTER to name the new value.
    5. Right-click MaxConvTime, and then click Modify.
    6. In the Value data box, type the time-out value that you want to use, and then click OK. (The time-out value is represented in milliseconds.)
    7. Close Registry Editor.
  • You cannot use MOICE to open a PowerPoint presentation that is created by using Microsoft PowerPoint 97 or that is created by using an earlier version of PowerPoint.
  • After you use MOICE to convert a file, the default save location is the %temp% folder when you try to save the file. Also, the %temp% folder is the default folder when you try to open a file.
  • Anyone who has access to the computer can view the files in the %temp% folder.
  • When you use MOICE to convert a file, the converted file is saved in the %temp% folder. The converted file is not deleted from the %temp% folder when the file is closed. If a file is opened multiple times, the file is converted multiple times. Additionally, more than one copy of the file is saved in the %temp% folder. If you have made changes to the first copy of the document, the second copy of the document will not contain the changes.
  • By default, the applicable program opens after MOICE finishes a file conversion. Then, the converted document is opened. To prevent the applicable program from opening, use the –noapp flag when you enter the MOICE command. The –noapp flag is useful when you want to complete batch conversions.

    For more information about batch conversions, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

    http://technet2.microsoft.com/Office/en-us/library/c6189fcd-3668-4cd7-8bac-5c37e338bde21033.mspx?mfr=true

  • Smart tag data is stripped from PowerPoint presentations when you use MOICE to convert a presentation that contains smart tags.
  • Macros are stripped from files when you use MOICE to convert files that contain macros.
  • When you open a file by using a link inside a file that has been converted by MOICE, the linked file is not converted by MOICE.
  • Embedded documents cannot be converted.
  • Documents that use rights management cannot be converted.
  • Documents that use passwords cannot be converted.
  • You cannot use the Edit Document in Microsoft Office Program_Name feature in Microsoft SharePoint when you use MOICE to convert Office files.
  • If damage exists, it will be removed from a binary Word 97-2003 Document (*.doc) file during the conversion. Therefore, the contents of the file may change unexpectedly.

    For more information about how the file conversion may remove damage from a document, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

    826864 How to troubleshoot damaged Word documents


Keywords: kbhowto kbinfo KB935865



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