We’ve been getting calls this week about updating Microsoft Entourage for the new Daylight Savings Time (DST) changes this year. We probably should have run this as a tip a week ago. Here it is now:

Microsoft Entourage 2004: Update your copy of Entourage to at least version 11.3.3. Download the latest patch from Microsoft here: Mac Office 11.3.3 update.

Microsoft Entourage X: There is no official patch for Entourage X. The best fix is to upgrade to Entourage 2004, which is more stable in many other ways. Alternatively you can use this unsupported patch (untested by our own team): Unofficial DST Workaround for Entourage X.

So why is Daylight Savings Time a problem for Entourage?

For various reasons Microsoft originally designed Entourage to ignore your computer’s DST settings, and instead use it’s own built-in routine for handling date changes. There is an excellent discussion of why Entourage users are experiencing these problems at The Entourage User’s Weblog.

Source: This tip belatedly inspired by a number of client calls and questions. Special note to our own Jordan Bojar who researched this issue some time ago. Too bad we didn’t take his advice and run this as a tip earlier.