Microsoft Office Configuration Analyzer Tool (OffCAT)

When Microsoft Office has misconfigurations, you can search for them with the Microsoft Office Configuration Analyzer Tool (OffCAT).

The program has a simple interface that anyone can figure out how to use. It doesn’t matter if you’re a novice or expert in the IT industry. Information is displayed in the main window, along with a navigational panel for easily accessing the options that are available.

The Outlook scanning functionality of OffCAT is available in the Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant for Office 365 (SaRA) tool. SaRA offers several improvements, including the ability to identify and fix specific issues in Outlook, Office Setup, OneDrive for Business, and several other Office programs. You can use the SaRA tool is used to scan for issues in Outlook.

There is plenty of comprehensive help content available if you need it. You can not only view guides offline and online, but you can look at video tutorials as well.

Note: It was removed from the Microsoft Download Center on June 11, 2018.

To begin the scanning process, you must choose which Office program that you want to scan. Then you’ll type in a label for it and choose the “Start Scanning” option. As the scanning is going on, you’ll be able to see the estimated time left for it and all the details related to the scanning, including the total number of tasks left.

A scan report can be viewed which provides suggestions on how to fix the issues that were detected. You can organize the reports according to their issue, severity, or class. The reports can be displayed in a tree or list format. If you want to save the reports, you can save them as CSV, HTM, HTML, or XML files.

Overall, Microsoft Office Configuration Analyzer Tool (OffCAT) doesn’t consume too many of your computer’s resources, so you won’t notice its performance deteriorate much. It has a decent response time with no registered errors, bugs, or crashes noticed while it was tested.

PROS

• Diagnosis of Issues: It could scan Microsoft Office installations and identify potential issues, such as misconfigurations, conflicting add-ins, or corrupt files. This helped users pinpoint the root cause of problems affecting their Office applications.
• Recommendations: After scanning, it provided recommendations and suggestions for resolving identified issues. This guidance was valuable for users who might not be familiar with the intricacies of Office configuration or troubleshooting.
• Easy to Use: The tool had a user-friendly interface, making it accessible to a wide range of users, including IT professionals, system administrators, and end-users.
• Comprehensive Analysis: It could analyze multiple aspects of Office configuration, including settings, add-ins, registry entries, and more, offering a comprehensive assessment of the Office environment.
• Free: It was available as a free download from the Microsoft Download Center, making it an accessible resource for Office users seeking assistance with troubleshooting.

CONS

• Discontinued Support: Microsoft discontinued support for OffCAT in 2018. While it still functioned for diagnosing issues with older versions of Office, users might encounter limitations or compatibility issues with newer Office releases.
• Limited Scope: It was primarily focused on diagnosing issues related to Microsoft Office applications. It didn't address broader system-level issues or conflicts that might affect Office indirectly.
• No Active Development: With Microsoft ceasing support, there were no further updates or improvements to this program. As a result, it might lack compatibility with newer operating systems or Office versions.
• Dependency on User Action: It required users to download and run the tool actively. It wasn't integrated into Office applications or deployed automatically, which could limit its accessibility for less tech-savvy users.
• Alternative Tools: While the tool was a popular choice for Office diagnostics, there were alternative tools and methods available for troubleshooting Office issues, including built-in diagnostic features and third-party utilities.

Note: Requires .NET Framework. The app was removed from the Microsoft Download Center on June 11, 2018.