Customizing How Office Options Are Set

How to Preset User Options in an OPS File

A Microsoft Office 2000 user can configure Office applications by customizing a broad array of options. Users can select options such as toolbar settings, custom dictionaries, the location of templates, and the default format for saving files.

By using the Profile Wizard and the Office Custom Installation Wizard, you can change the default settings for these options and set new defaults on users’ computers. Your changes are implemented when users install Office 2000 on their computers.

To customize default options for users, follow these general steps:

1. By using the Profile Wizard, create an OPS file that contains your default settings for Office application options.
2. By using the Custom Installation Wizard, create a Windows installer transform (MST file) that contains your OPS file.

   – or –

   Run the Profile Wizard during Office Setup to implement your default settings. You can create an MST file that runs the Profile Wizard immediately after Office 2000 is installed.

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Create an OPS file that contains your settings

Before you create your OPS file, you must start each Office application and set all the options you want for your users. You can set most options by using the Options command (Tools menu). To customize toolbars and menus, use the Customize command (Tools menu).

You can even add words to the custom dictionary by using the Spelling and Grammar command (Tools menu) or by clicking the Dictionaries button on the Spelling & Grammar tab in the Options dialog box.

After you have customized the Office applications, run the Profile Wizard to save the settings to an OPS file.

To save settings to an OPS file

1. Run the Profile Wizard.
2. On the Save or Restore Settings panel, select Save the settings from this machine, and type the name and path for the OPS file.
3. Click Finish.

The Profile Wizard saves all the Office application settings on your computer to the OPS file.

Toolbox   The Profile Wizard allows you to save and restore Office application settings on a user’s computer. For information about installing the wizard, see Profile Wizard.

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Create a transform that contains your OPS file

You use the Custom Installation Wizard to create an MST file that customizes the Office 2000 installation process. By using the wizard, you can customize many aspects of the installation that affect your organization. On the Customize Default Applications Settings panel of the wizard, you can add your OPS file to the transform.

To create a custom transform that contains the OPS file

1. Run the Custom Installation Wizard.
2. On the Customize Default Application Settings panel, select Get values from an existing settings profile, and type the file name and path of the OPS file you created.
3. On the same panel, select the Migrate user settings check box if your users are upgrading from a previous version of Office and you want to apply their former application settings to Office 2000.

The Custom Installation Wizard creates a transform that contains your OPS file and any other customizations you have made.

Toolbox   The Custom Installation Wizard includes extensive online assistance that you can view by clicking the Help button on any panel of the wizard. For information about installing the wizard, see Custom Installation Wizard.

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Run the Profile Wizard during Office Setup

Instead of including an OPS file in the MST file, you can run the Profile Wizard during Setup to restore the settings from the OPS file. This alternative gives you the flexibility to place the OPS file in a common location, such as a network server, so that the OPS file can be modified without having to update the MST file.

To run the Profile Wizard during Setup, run the Custom Installation Wizard to add a command line for the Profile Wizard on the Add Installations and Run Programs panel.

To run the Profile Wizard during Setup

1. Copy the Profile Wizard executable file (Proflwiz.exe) and your customized OPS file to the Office administrative installation point.

   You can place the files in the same folder as Office Setup.exe, or you can create a subfolder for them.

2. Run the Custom Installation Wizard.
3. On the Add Installations and Run Programs panel, click Add.
4. In the Command line box, type the file name and path to Proflwiz.exe, or click Browse to select the file.
5. In the Command line box, add command-line options directing the Profile Wizard to restore the OPS file to the user’s computer, and then click OK.

   For example, to run the Profile Wizard from the Profile subfolder in the Office administrative installation point and restore settings from the file Newprofile.ops, type the following command line:

   profile\proflwiz.exe /q /r profile\newprofile.ops

After Office is installed, the Windows installer starts all the applications you specify on the Add Installations and Run Programs panel in the order in which you specify them.

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See also

You can run the Profile Wizard interactively, or you can use command-line options to run it in quiet mode (without user interaction) to save or restore settings. For more information, see Profile Wizard.

By using the Custom Installation Wizard, you can create a Windows installer transform that contains an OPS file or that runs the Profile Wizard during Setup. For more information about how to create and use a transform, see Storing Values in a Windows Installer Transform.

You can use the Custom Installation Wizard to customize many aspects of your Office installation, including selecting which features are installed and customizing installation options for Internet Explorer 5 and Microsoft Outlook. For more information, see Office Custom Installation Wizard.