Chances are, you may want to change the product key of your Mac Office 2008 upon finishing an update from their site because the product key used to install your Office 2008 installation used an invalid product key.
If after the update it does detect that an invalid product key was used, the office assistant will keep on popping up while the application that you chose to open will never be seen. To reset the product key, delete the following files and send to trash.
- /Users/[username]/Library/Preferences/Microsoft/Office 2008/Microsoft Office 2008 settings.plist
- /Applications/Microsoft Office 2008/Office/OfficePID.plist
[username] would be the username of your laptop. Run any Mac Office 2008 application and the office assistant will now have a textfield of the product key for you to input.
Mac OSX Lion users: here is a tip from commenter Tyson.
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<strong>- To find the “Library” folder, close all windows, click on “go” at the top of the desktop screen. hold the “option” button. While holding the “option” button, the hidden Library file will be exposed. then follow these directions like already stated.</strong> |
many thanks..it worked..regards
glad this post helped you
This is amazing! It worked… this has been getting on my nerves for months. Whenever my dad uses office I wouldn’t be able to use it because we have the same product key. Thanks!
glad it helped you john
Thanks. Huge help. Saved me so much time.
you’re welcome man
Thanks, worked like magic.
anytime
worked as smooth as silk, thanks
this worked! thank you soooo much!
glad it helped ya 😉
Not working for me. It cleared my product key. But it won’t accept either of 2 valid keys taken right off the box.
Worked for me. Thanks for the tip. This was very useful.
These Destroyit shredder models handle data printouts, CD’s (strip cuts only) and entire file folders while providing centralized shredding for the whole office.
thanks so much! saved me a whole lot of time. 🙂
good to know 😉
thanks a lot man this was real simple and fully effective….saved me a headache for sure(:
yeah, same here.
It worked perfect for me!
I had a similar problem installing Office Mac 2008 for the first time. During the installation I was not asked for a product key, and later it would not launch, but just stopped after running the customer experience and updates sections of the installation manager.
The solution was:
1: trash the OfficePID.list file from Applications/Microsoft Office 2008/OfficePID.list
2. trash the folder “Office 2008” from [username]/Library/Preferences/Microsoft/Office 2008
After that, running any application brought up the product key entry window normally. The installation manager asked for customer experience entry and updates timing one final time. Then, after closing installation manager and re-opening the application it worked fine, as did the others.
Thanks to microsoft tech support.
Fantastic, thanks very much x
welcome. do come back. 🙂 pls help support this blog by visiting
Thanks for the help this saved me loads of time.
cheers, jim.
Thank you…thank you…and thank you again.
Of course the MS support site was useless and Mactopia forums and blog sites were not working. Sure they had the pages where you could buy more crap working….but if you were a customer that needed support…oh well. Typical Microsoft.
Thank you so much for this. Worked perfectly.
Genius. The one voice of sense in the wilderness!
Many thanks,
R
So helpful, I can’t even explain. thank you for posting this.
Not working with me, still asking Product Key…dam.
this helped a TON. THANK YOU!!!
Yeah…it’s still not working for me. Any other ideas???
PERFECT! Thanks so much!
@barbara sorry got no other ideas. it worked for me so i did not check for any other alternative
@JD: welcome 😉
please do rate this post
thanks so much who ever found this
i was scured trying t fix this problem for over a week
tnks tnks tnks
welcome 😉 please don’t forget to rate the post.
How do I find those files? I’m not very high tech.. Thanks!!!
hey hanna, in the GO menu, choose GO TO FOLDER to go to the folder where the files are found
I’m having a hard time finding the files that i’m supposed to delete. what is the GO menu?
@Jodi: go menu is under finder. 🙂 if you still are having a hard time, use the short cut
SHIFT + APPLE + G
make sure the finder icon has the focus.
I did all this and everything is all well and good—except now I don’t know what product key to use or where to find it. I downloaded the software online, and there were product keys in my confirmation email, but now I am not sure how to return to the email. What do I do?
Thanks for the very helpful information. I almost reinstalled MAC OS out of frustration. Thanks a bunch! The advice above is very effective.
you’re welcome 😉 please do rate my post. thank you
What if I don’t have a product key or my DVD or Install Guide on me?
can’t help you if you do not have your product key with you. sorry.
super! worked a treat…thanks
Adrian got it right above. Just deleting the OfficePID.list file didnt work. I had to delete the preferences folder as well.
The solution was:
1: trash the OfficePID.list file from Applications/Microsoft Office 2008/OfficePID.list
2. trash the folder “Office 2008″ from [username]/Library/Preferences/Microsoft/Office 2008
hey! thanks for that added tip!
Thanks! The other places I looked did not have all the needed file deletions. Worked great.
thenks that is awsome
you’re welcome. dont forget to rate this post and subscribe to this rss. would be appreciated
Thanks for posting this, I followed the direction precisely and Office is now running. I don’t know what I would’ve done without this. Very helpful and simple! Thank you again!
Hey gang, I found this tip and tried it . . . but when the assistant pops up for me to input a new product key, when I click it doesn’t do anything. At all.
Idears?
Thanks!
This will help in imaging… we can install 2008 on a machine to be cloned to many machines and then do this trick to enter a new code. Much better than having to install office a number of times. Cool!
hey guys…i tried it…and i couldnt find the ”microsoft office 2008 settings.plist file… so i tried it just like that and when i type on the new code and press continue ..and it doesnt do anything…it doesnt move at all .. please help
hi alonso, did you change the string [username] to your username?
The same thing just happend to me. help please
After an automatic update, my key was not recognized. Then I put the named files in the bin. After opening an office application I entered my key but after clicking continue it does not do anything!
I am desperate! What else to do?
Get a free CD Key at http://www.premiumforfree.com/key.php
Thank you SOOOO much. I have been trying for days to get this fixed. Your suggestion fixed it and I’m very thankful!
Michele
you’re welcome 😉 please don’t forget to rate the post
Thank you very much for the Tech Tip.
i have done wat it says in here… after that i go and open it again and a box saying activate purchase comes up! asking me for a product key…any key i put in ut doesn’t recognize it. =[
perhaps your key is not recognized by microsoft office to begin with
The whole thing with getting it to work with this link that’s supposed to provide you with working keys is just crap! Do what I did: uninstall Microsoft Office 2008 for mac, reinstall it and NEVER do an update again. Works fine for me since then!
Thanks, worked excellent with me
Same problem as gins. Removed those two files just fine. The box comes up to activate what I opened, Word, and when I put the key in, it says in red text you’ve entered an invalid product key please try again. It also says my 30-day trial version has expired. But I searched for the trial version just in case and it’s called Test, which isn’t on my computer anymore.
I tried the manual activation with the product key and it says call cust service for the activation code. That pages takes you to another page that you have to fill out and THEN it says they’ll get back to you in 2 biz days. Does anyone know any other way to contact customer service to get a real person in order to get the lousy activation code? First mac, I’ve never been so frustrated. Ever.
Gins, I hope you’re reading! I just spoke with a microsoft tech rep, 800-936-5700, and she was the best. Did you have the 30-day trial version first by any chance? I did, and that was the problem. Yes, I searched for it with the Remove Office tool, but it doesn’t always find it apparently, and some components remain, interfering with the components of the full version. If you have a blue folder called Microsoft under Go, Home, Library, Preferences, it needs to be put in the trash. (It has confused registration components in it). Empty trash. Restart. If a Microsoft Office 2008 folder is still in the trash, empty the trash. Next, trash the W, X, P, E, messenger, and doc collection icons on the bottom. Empty the trash. Reinstall MS Office from the disc. Check for updates and first install 12.2.3, then it’ll auto check for updates again. Install 12.2.4. It should be good to go. -Tammy
I was pleased to read this article, keep up the good work.
This is a wonderful post, but I was wondering how do I suscribe to the RSS feed?
there is a subscribe link in the upper right portion of this page
i need a 2008 office product key. Does anybody have one. Hope you can give it now. Thanks in advance
Hi i have downloaded the Microsoft office 2008, and and i have mac. and after download the installation page did not come??? any thre to help me please.. am not good with computers Thanks
hi nas, your problem is very vague. there are many possible causes with what you just mentioned.
unless you can specify something more in detail, people here may be able to help you.
i deleted those files but it still pops up and asks for the product key.. then when i typed the product key it says it is invalid..
i got the product key from microsoft… it was sent to my email… after i use it, the office worked but when my mac collapsed and restarted, suddenly that irritating product key verification pops again… then i retyped the given product key to me and it says it is invalid..
did you try deleting the plist files?
Ok, I still can’t get this to work.
I deleted the plist, but apparently don’t have the other file that I need to delete. Is there anything else I can do to reset the key? I have a new product key to use, and when I enter it in with just the plist deleted nothing happens, although I don’t get an error message, which is promising.
Anywho, this is really helpful, I just need to know if there’s anything to do when I don’t have that other file to delete.
as far as i know, those are the only files that you need to delete
it worked for me
I have the same problem a lot of other people have been mentioning; that after I delete the files and start up the setup assistant, nothing happens when I paste the key and click continue. It’s pretty frustrating.
Any ideas? Help would really be much appreciated. Thanks guys.
I have the same problem a lot of other people have been mentioning; that when I delete the files and start up the setup assistant, absolutely nothing happens after I paste the key and click continue. It’s pretty frustrating.
Any ideas? Help would really be much appreciated. Thanks guys.
I deleted the two files recommended for fixing the invalid product key for office 2008 for the mac, and restarted my iMac. When I returned, I discovered that my computer had taken a trip back to April 2010. I went into Time Machine and “yesterday’s” files are dated April. I went back a month and those files are even older (December). My desktop looks like it did 3 months ago and all my files from April to July have vanished.
Help, has anyone else experienced this? Any suggestions on how to fix it?
please help me re-install a valid product key for my Mac PC, it isn’t allowing me to open up any programs on my mac..i have class coming up, can anyone out there help me?
respectfully yours,
Ty Ross
hi ty, you did follow the instructions in my post right?
Hi I have send you a donation for a cup of coffee via paypal as i’m interest in finding the hidden files and Product keys .I have MacBook 13.3 2007 model black
@dane: thank you very much! 🙂
Thank you. A lot better and simpler than the steps discussed on the MSFT web site
@selwyn: thanks! glad it helped you out
thanks for this and its straight tot he point too. 🙂
Worked like a charm! Thanks!
Sorry, didn’t work like a charm. On snow leopard there is no microsoft subdirectory under library. Still at square one here.
This worked perfectly and easily first time - thank you, helped me loads!
- I use OSX
- Needs products from China? We run a product sourcing and trading business based from within China.
I had the 2004 Office and upgraded to the 2008 via the web and not from Microsoft. How do I find the files you mentioned above. I am now in a quandary because I can not run any Microsoft products.
Thanks!
this solved my problem. Thanks!!!
Muchas gracias por el recurso, lo estoy poniendo en práctica espero que funcione.
this saved my life…I accidentally downloaded the same office I had on another mac from the home and student addition…now I can use office! thanks
This was really really useful, thanks very much!!
Thanks!
You saved me from having to reinstall! Thanks again!
Thank you - perfect, quick and very easy!
Big THX, this worked very fine for me. 😉
Thank you!!! Worked like a charm. Why MS doesn’t make this easier to do is beyond me.
you’re welcome 😉
Thanks for your support…..
Thanks a lot mate! 🙂
@milko: you’re welcome. do +1 this post
thankkkkkkkkkk you
Tan q. “U r a life saver”
@Karan Dogra: you’re welcome. do +1 the post 😉
Hi, I can’t find the file
/Users/[username]/Library/Preferences/Microsoft/Office 2008/Microsoft Office 2008 settings.plist
no matter how I look for it (by name, from the folder etc etc)
and thus I am not able to make the change you suggested. It might be because I messed up with documents a bit in the past.
Any suggestions? Other ways to do it?
Thanks a lot
@ast: sorry, this is the only one that i know. i have not explored other alternatives
I having the same problem. I did all the above just as it is written. Microsoft office setup Assistance comes up but there is no option to enter the product key, only feedback and get started.
Hi Tech, I read your tricks and deleted the 2 files. Yet, when the assistant came up, it asks me if I want to provide user opinion, then sent me to the registration site of Microsoft 2011, never for 2008. It never asks me for any key product !
@bebe: not sure about this because i have not experienced your case
Brilliant! Saved sooo much time. I have 3 licensed copies, only used 2 but when I wanted to install the 3rd I didn’t know which product key to use. My first attempt led to a conflict with the other user but by following the instructions I was able to change just the key and now have 3 happy users!
Thank You.
@bradders: good to hear! 😉
This was great except I had no idea how to access the Library, but after 15 min. of investigating I finally got it. Thanks a mil!
Thank You!!! It worked great!!!
@brigitte: you’re welcome 🙂
thanks a whole lot i love this program a whole whole lot. this is the happiest day of my life for my days. signed billy william frderick warman junior
there must have been an update to hide the library file in OS Lion. To find the “Library” folder, close all windows, click on “go” at the top of the desktop screen. hold the “option” button. While holding the “option” button, the hidden Library file will be exposed. then follow these directions like already stated.
@tyson: thanks for the tip. this is a very gold post during leopard’s time so your tips should be helpful for osx lion users. ill put your tip within the post itself
Thanks a lot!
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Yes it works for me too! But of course after hours and hundreds of megabytes of updates.
Thank you again!
Thanks for your added input, Tyson, and for the original posting. It took a little order of operation shifting, but it finally worked for my case. So grateful that threads like this exist.