I am having trouble opening Microsoft Office documents as follows:
1. Outside the sandbox, within a browser (Maxthon or IE6 alone), Office opens as follows:
Word - inside the browser/displaying the document within another browser window - within a couple of minutes
Excel, Powerpoint and Publisher - opens the program independent of the browser - almost immediately - and displays the document
In the sandbox, on the other hand, within Maxthon or IE6 alone, Office opens as follows:
Word, Excel, Powerpoint and Publisher - Sandboxie attempts to open each program independent of the browser - taking up to 45 minutes to do so! It also freezes my browser in the meantime so I cannot continue to surf the web while I'm waiting. The only way of this is to tell Sandboxie to terminate all sandboxed processes.
2. Opening Word sandboxed from the Sandboxie Control Start Menu Programs - it is delayed several minutes, although WINWORD.EXE shows immediately in the control panel list.
Opening Excel, Powerpoint and Publisher the same way - each opens immediately with no delay.
Is there a fix for this? Thanks...
RAFranklin
Microsoft Office Problem
Moderator: Barb@Invincea
what version of Microsoft Office do you have?
i have Office XP and they (word, excel etc..) all work fine in sandboxed.
try open this doc:
http://www.computerbytesman.com/privacy/blair.doc
how long it takes? mine loads in less than 2 seconds in MS Word under sandboxed and not inside the browser.
i have Office XP and they (word, excel etc..) all work fine in sandboxed.
a couple of minutes? you are not opening a big document are you? if it's a small file, i think your MS Word is corrupted or something because a couple of minutes is really long,1. Outside the sandbox, within a browser (Maxthon or IE6 alone), Office opens as follows:
Word - inside the browser/displaying the document within another browser window - within a couple of minutes
try open this doc:
http://www.computerbytesman.com/privacy/blair.doc
how long it takes? mine loads in less than 2 seconds in MS Word under sandboxed and not inside the browser.
did you install any software that install some plugins in MS Word, it could be the plugins are delaying the startup and displaying the file.2. Opening Word sandboxed from the Sandboxie Control Start Menu Programs - it is delayed several minutes, although WINWORD.EXE shows immediately in the control panel list.
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aGuest
kimmchii,
I have Office XP also. Below is a summary of what happened when I tried to open the link in your response, using a sandboxed Maxthon browser:
0555 - clicked on the link in your message, Maxthon attempts to open the document in a new browser window. Mouse pointer turns to hourglass; none of the browser keys respond to me when I click them. I am able to use other programs I have minimized on the taskbar, however.
0557 - the Microsoft Word box pops up on my screen (the one that you see when you first open Word) and remains there. I now have normal mouse function in the browser back.
0612 - Microsoft Word [#] now opens, however, all the buttons are greyed-out and all I see is a blank window where the document would be had it opened now.
0628 - the document finally opens and the buttons are no longer greyed-out.
I also tried opening your link in an unsandboxed Maxthon browser and it opened the document in less than 30 seconds in another browser window. It did not try to completely open a new instance of Word first to do this (as what happened when I tried opening the document in the sanboxed test). The bottom part of the browser window showed the document; the upper part was still the browser function buttons. I also noticed that SB had opened up another instance of my printer software (sandboxed). It normally is just an icon on my taskbar but it popped up open on my desktop.
What I don't understand is why Sandboxie feels that it has to completely open Word first to display a document?
Further testing - Since there was now a SB instance of Word opened, I thought I'd see how quickly the document might open a second time. I closed the document that opened in my first test, but left the Word program open. Here's what happened:
0725 - clicked on the test link in your response again. Maxthon (SB) attempts to open the document in a new browser window again. Mouse pointer turns to hourglass; none of the browser keys respond to me when I click them. I am still able however to use other programs I have minimized on the taskbar.
0740 - I regain mouse function and use of the browser again (wonder why it took longer this time?). The document still has not opened.
0825 - The document still has not opened. I cancelled the request.
I clicked on your link again in the un-sandboxed Maxthon browser and it opened - in the browser - even faster than the first time because it was already cached on my computer.
Sorry this is so wordy. But I hope it helps further investigation of the problem.
RAFranklin
P.S. the two minute reference in my first post was slightly exaggerated. I seems that long to me when I'm in a hurry (which is most of the time).
I have Office XP also. Below is a summary of what happened when I tried to open the link in your response, using a sandboxed Maxthon browser:
0555 - clicked on the link in your message, Maxthon attempts to open the document in a new browser window. Mouse pointer turns to hourglass; none of the browser keys respond to me when I click them. I am able to use other programs I have minimized on the taskbar, however.
0557 - the Microsoft Word box pops up on my screen (the one that you see when you first open Word) and remains there. I now have normal mouse function in the browser back.
0612 - Microsoft Word [#] now opens, however, all the buttons are greyed-out and all I see is a blank window where the document would be had it opened now.
0628 - the document finally opens and the buttons are no longer greyed-out.
I also tried opening your link in an unsandboxed Maxthon browser and it opened the document in less than 30 seconds in another browser window. It did not try to completely open a new instance of Word first to do this (as what happened when I tried opening the document in the sanboxed test). The bottom part of the browser window showed the document; the upper part was still the browser function buttons. I also noticed that SB had opened up another instance of my printer software (sandboxed). It normally is just an icon on my taskbar but it popped up open on my desktop.
What I don't understand is why Sandboxie feels that it has to completely open Word first to display a document?
Further testing - Since there was now a SB instance of Word opened, I thought I'd see how quickly the document might open a second time. I closed the document that opened in my first test, but left the Word program open. Here's what happened:
0725 - clicked on the test link in your response again. Maxthon (SB) attempts to open the document in a new browser window again. Mouse pointer turns to hourglass; none of the browser keys respond to me when I click them. I am still able however to use other programs I have minimized on the taskbar.
0740 - I regain mouse function and use of the browser again (wonder why it took longer this time?). The document still has not opened.
0825 - The document still has not opened. I cancelled the request.
I clicked on your link again in the un-sandboxed Maxthon browser and it opened - in the browser - even faster than the first time because it was already cached on my computer.
Sorry this is so wordy. But I hope it helps further investigation of the problem.
RAFranklin
P.S. the two minute reference in my first post was slightly exaggerated. I seems that long to me when I'm in a hurry (which is most of the time).
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aGuest
On the priniciple of the matter, this is like clicking .txt file, I want a sandboxed notepad to come up. With Word files it's even more important, because they potentially contain macro programs (viruses). So Sandboxie launches a sandboxed instance of whatever document application is needed (Word in this case).What I don't understand is why Sandboxie feels that it has to completely open Word first to display a document?
I can't offer much advice because I don't have Office. I use Word Viewer.
But I know it's possible to install Office "minimally" with most program files coming from the network. Does this apply in your case?
tzuk
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Guest
Tzuk,But I know it's possible to install Office "minimally" with most program files coming from the network. Does this apply in your case?
I'm not sure what your question means to be able to answer you correctly. I'm thinking you mean that "watered-down" version of a particular Office program that under "normal" circumstances, when surfing the web, would open up within your browser (not independently of it) giving you the ability to "view" the document but little else because those functions of the full program are not displayed. To do something more beyond this, you would have to save it and re-open it in the full program. If this is what you meant by your question, then yes, that did/does apply in my case before and outside of the sandbox. But it does not appy now that I'm surfing sandboxed; thus my complaint.
If I did not interpret your question correctly, please elaborate further so that I can.
RAFranklin
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aGuest
Please disregard my previous "Guest" response.
Tzuk,
I'm not sure what your question means to be able to answer you correctly. I'm thinking you mean that "watered-down" version of a particular Office program that under "normal" circumstances, when surfing the web, would open up within your browser (not independently of it) giving you the ability to "view" the document but little else because those functions of the full program are not displayed. To do something more beyond this, you would have to save it and re-open it in the full program. If this is what you meant by your question, then yes, that did/does apply in my case before and outside of the sandbox. But it does not appy now that I'm surfing sandboxed; thus my complaint.
If I did not interpret your question correctly, please elaborate further so that I can.
If this is the case, then shouldn't even Adobe PDF files be forced to launch in a sandboxed instance of the Acrobat Reader, too? They aren't. They just open within your browser when you click on a link leading to one. And to me, this is how Word links, etc should also respond (and they do in an unsandboxed browser) when surfing in a sandboxed browser because the resulting image of the opened file is, correct me if I'm wrong, "cached" in the sandbox where possible macros (viruses) etc would be trapped anyway without access to my hard drive and then eliminated completely when I discard the sandbox.
So then, if this is the case, isn't forcing a sandboxed instance of the needed program a little redundant, if, your program does what you claim it should do?
I ask your forgiveness in advance, if I was not successful in stating myself in a way that did not seem like a personal attack on you or your awesome program. It is not.
RAFranklin
But I know it's possible to install Office "minimally" with most program files coming from the network. Does this apply in your case?
Tzuk,
I'm not sure what your question means to be able to answer you correctly. I'm thinking you mean that "watered-down" version of a particular Office program that under "normal" circumstances, when surfing the web, would open up within your browser (not independently of it) giving you the ability to "view" the document but little else because those functions of the full program are not displayed. To do something more beyond this, you would have to save it and re-open it in the full program. If this is what you meant by your question, then yes, that did/does apply in my case before and outside of the sandbox. But it does not appy now that I'm surfing sandboxed; thus my complaint.
If I did not interpret your question correctly, please elaborate further so that I can.
So Sandboxie launches a sandboxed instance of whatever document application is needed (Word in this case).
If this is the case, then shouldn't even Adobe PDF files be forced to launch in a sandboxed instance of the Acrobat Reader, too? They aren't. They just open within your browser when you click on a link leading to one. And to me, this is how Word links, etc should also respond (and they do in an unsandboxed browser) when surfing in a sandboxed browser because the resulting image of the opened file is, correct me if I'm wrong, "cached" in the sandbox where possible macros (viruses) etc would be trapped anyway without access to my hard drive and then eliminated completely when I discard the sandbox.
So then, if this is the case, isn't forcing a sandboxed instance of the needed program a little redundant, if, your program does what you claim it should do?
I ask your forgiveness in advance, if I was not successful in stating myself in a way that did not seem like a personal attack on you or your awesome program. It is not.RAFranklin
Nah, don't worry about itI ask your forgiveness in advance, if I was not successful in stating myself in a way that did not seem like a personal attack on you or your awesome program. It is not.
As for the rest. The minimal installation of Office that I was talking about, is when you install very little of the whole Office package on your local computer. And you tell Office which computer on the local Windows network has the rest of the stuff.
This is probably more frequent in businesses than in your home network, but I was asking just to be sure. I'm guessing by your response, that you probably have installed Office in its entirety into the local computer.
* * *
This is entirely different than document embedding which is what happens when you click a .doc link and IE embeds the "watered-down" version of WinWord inside the browser window.
By what you say, I understand that in the case of Adobe this embedding works for you, in the case of WinWord, it fails for you.
But in both cases, if you look in Sandboxie Control, you should see the document application listed there. (WINWORD or ACRORD32.) This is what I mean by the separate sandboxed instance. Whether embedded in IE, or in a window of its own, the document application is launched sandboxed.
So far for isolation and protection of macro viruses and evil PDFs. But we also want functionality, right?
I'm afraid I still can't say why your WinWord fails inside Sandboxie.There's a quick debugging guide in the FAQ page. Maybe you could try it and expose the place (in the program code) where WinWord hangs. I can't work on this first-hand, so it'll probably be some guesswork, but if you're up for it, then so am I.
tzuk
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aGuest
Yes, I am up to it! But let me warn you first that I am not as computer savvy as youThere's a quick debugging guide in the FAQ page. Maybe you could try it and expose the place (in the program code) where WinWord hangs. I can't work on this first-hand, so it'll probably be some guesswork, but if you're up for it, then so am I.
, so please don't lose patience with me if I ask too many (simple) questions to help me understand what I need to do to assist you in finding a solution to my problem. I can follow instructions very well as long as I can understand them. And I always welcome a chance to learn something new. I will check out the guide and get back to you.
I just looked in Sandboxie Control to verify this and it says I only have 3 processes running in the sandbox (Maxthon.exe, SandboxieRpcSs.exe and SandboxieDcomlaunch.exe). I clicked on "Show All Processes" and I do see these two items listed (among others) but only the three I listed say "YES" they are sandboxed and I can still open PDF's. What does this mean?But in both cases, if you look in Sandboxie Control, you should see the document application listed there. (WINWORD or ACRORD32.)
RAFranklin
RAFranklin, my guess is that your MS Word is corrupted or infected with malware.
try uninstall all the Office patches from MS, then uninstall MS Word and clean the registry, and then reinstall MS Word, see if it fixes the problem.
you can also try install Word Viewer 2003 and make it the default application for doc filetype, see if it lags or not.
try uninstall all the Office patches from MS, then uninstall MS Word and clean the registry, and then reinstall MS Word, see if it fixes the problem.
you can also try install Word Viewer 2003 and make it the default application for doc filetype, see if it lags or not.
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aGuest
Tzuk! 
After a little Divine assistance, I have discovered what the problem is - Norton AntiVirus!
It installs an Office Plug-in (requires Microsoft Office 2000 or later) that scans Microsoft Office files when they are opened. I disabled that function only and now ALL my Office documents open - within seconds - embedded in the browser window (like they used to before I started using your program) instead of trying to force the full version of the related program to open.
I kept noticing an entry of "navw32.exe" in the Sandboxie Control Panel window everytime your program tried to execute an Office program and investigated what it was. Apparentely (I'm assuming), Sandboxie was trying to recreate the Norton program/plug-in too at the same time, and that caused the problems I described in my first post.
Now, I would like to have that function enabled so when I'm working with Office files outside the sandbox, it can protect me as it is supposed to do. So my question to you now is this...
Can a fix/work-around be created so I don't have to remember to disable that function when I'm using your program and put it back on (which requires a restart) when I'm not? That would be extremely inconvenient because most times I'm working in and out of the sandbox at the same time.
RAFranklin
After a little Divine assistance, I have discovered what the problem is - Norton AntiVirus!
It installs an Office Plug-in (requires Microsoft Office 2000 or later) that scans Microsoft Office files when they are opened. I disabled that function only and now ALL my Office documents open - within seconds - embedded in the browser window (like they used to before I started using your program) instead of trying to force the full version of the related program to open.
I kept noticing an entry of "navw32.exe" in the Sandboxie Control Panel window everytime your program tried to execute an Office program and investigated what it was. Apparentely (I'm assuming), Sandboxie was trying to recreate the Norton program/plug-in too at the same time, and that caused the problems I described in my first post.
Now, I would like to have that function enabled so when I'm working with Office files outside the sandbox, it can protect me as it is supposed to do. So my question to you now is this...
Can a fix/work-around be created so I don't have to remember to disable that function when I'm using your program and put it back on (which requires a restart) when I'm not? That would be extremely inconvenient because most times I'm working in and out of the sandbox at the same time.
RAFranklin
I think Sandboxie would have to talk to the Norton program and ask it to disable the feature. And I have no idea how to do that. And to be honest, no desire to do that. And to be practical, no Norton program to work with.Can a fix/work-around be created so I don't have to remember to disable that function when I'm using your program and put it back on
Maybe you should ask Norton to put a feature that lets you tell their program not to scan stuff in particular folders. Then you could exclude the sandbox folder. Maybe they already have such a feature?
tzuk
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aGuest
Norton Antivirus Gets Stuck in Sandbox
Hello
For example, if I run MS Word 2003 sandboxed and open a file, Norton antivirus 2007 scans, as it should. However, it will not allow the file to open and it will never terminate. It gets stuck in the sandbox. Manually terminating all processes, or emptying the contents just doesn't work. Only a reboot.
Can this somehow be avoided?
Thanks
For example, if I run MS Word 2003 sandboxed and open a file, Norton antivirus 2007 scans, as it should. However, it will not allow the file to open and it will never terminate. It gets stuck in the sandbox. Manually terminating all processes, or emptying the contents just doesn't work. Only a reboot.
Can this somehow be avoided?
Thanks
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