SpamSieve 2.8.8 crashes Outlook 14.1.4

When the command function for “Train as Spam” is used Outlook crashes with an error message saying, Microsoft Outlook must be closed because an error occurred. Any unsaved work may be lost. Has anyone else had this occur? Are there any options for correcting this problem? I have uninstalled and reinstalled SpamSieve with the same results.

I’ve not seen other reports of that error. Is there any additional error information from Outlook, either in the error window or in the All Messages section of the Console application?

It might help to rebuild Outlook’s database.

I’ve just reinstalled and updated all Microsoft Office products and reinstalled and setup SpamSieve 2.8.8 with the same results. “Train as Good” works correctly, but when I select “Train as Junk” it crashes the program with the same error message. This is definitely an issue with the “Train as Junk” function. I’m running OS 10.6.8 on this computer. On my notebook which is running Lion I don’t have this problem. May this be the issue?

As I said, I’ve not heard any other reports of this problem. Lots of people are using it successfully on Mac OS X 10.6.8.

Why did you go to the trouble of uninstalling and reinstalling multiple products instead of trying the simple suggestions that I made?

The “simple” solution of rebuilding the database is a mysterious how-to problem for me. When I clicked on the link you embedded in the response I’m redirected to a non-responsive site. The uninstall and reinstall procedure was very simple and reconfirmed what the problem is, which remains unresolved.

I rebuilt the database - it did not work. I created a new identity and selected it as the default and that appears to have solved the problem.

Sorry about that. It looks like some incorrect forum markup made the link go to an invalid URL. It’s fixed now.

The problem with uninstalling and reinstalling is that it’s rare that the application file (e.g. “Microsoft Outlook.app” or “SpamSieve.app”) is damaged in such a way as to cause this type of problem. If you replace an undamaged file with an identical copy of that file, you haven’t fixed or confirmed anything. Most problems are caused by damaged data files, e.g. a corrupt Outlook database could cause Outlook to crash or report errors, and a corrupt SpamSieve database could cause SpamSieve to crash. If you do a full uninstall, e.g. remove all of Outlook and SpamSieve’s application and data files, and then start over, that will fix virtually any problem. But it’s a lot of work and rarely needed—hence the suggestion to rebuild Outlook’s database. That’s easy to do and solves at least 95% of the Outlook problems that I see. If the rebuild doesn’t help, it’s good to find the most detailed error information that you can, either from Outlook or the Console log. This can help to pinpoint the problem, and it will also provide a record of what happened that other users can Google for.

Glad to hear that. Some database problems are too severe to be fixed by a rebuild. Creating a new identity (by holding the Option key when you launch Outlook) makes a fresh database that’s in good working order.