Redmod (WA) - Microsoft this week released the first major update to Office 2007, even though it wasn’t expected to be available until next year.

The update, titled Service Pack 1 (SP1), is the first of its kind for Microsoft’s latest productivity software suite, which went on sale in early 2007.

Office 2007 SP1 packs in additional security for all included programs and fixes issues that caused various applications to crash. Microsoft says it also makes the programs a bit more user-friendly from an ergonomics and operations standpoint.

The update was initially planned for an early 2008 release but Microsoft finished it sooner than expected. That’s a shift from Office 2007 itself, which was pushed back multiple times due to production problems.

Users can download the update at Microsoft’s official Office website, or request a physical copy via CD. The update will not immediately be posted to Microsoft’s automatic updates service.