Office Setup Program

How to Install Office on Client Computers

Users install Microsoft Office by running Setup from Microsoft Office 2000 Disc 1 or from an administrative installation point that you create. Client Setup guides users through the steps necessary to install Office on their computers.

Enter name and organization

This name and organization appears on users’ computers in the About box (Help menu) in Office applications. If a user is installing Office from the administrative installation point, Setup uses the organization name you specified without prompting the user.

Accept end-user license agreement

Setup displays the end-user license agreement. If a user is installing Office from the administrative installation point, the license agreement you agreed to when creating the administrative installation point applies here.

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Select installation mode

On the third panel in Setup, users click Install Now to perform an automatic installation of Office, or they click Customize to select Office features and specify how they are installed.

Install a predefined set of Office features

When a user clicks Install Now, Setup skips the remaining panels and installs a predefined set of the most frequently used features of Office in the default installation location.

In the Custom Installation Wizard, you can create a Windows installer transform (MST file) that specifies the default features installed by Setup when the user clicks Install Now. You specify the default features on the Set Feature Installation States panel of the wizard.

You can change the label of the Install Now button and the accompanying text by setting the TYPICALINSTALLTEXT, TYPICALINSTALLDESCRIPTION, TYPICALINSTALLHEADER, TYPICALUPGRADEHEADER, or TYPICALUPGRADETEXT properties on the Modify Setup Properties panel. You can also set these properties on the Setup command line or in the Setup settings file.

Select Office features to install

If a user clicks Customize, Setup prompts the user for the installation location and then displays a hierarchy of Office features. The user can select an installation state for each feature.

In the Custom Installation Wizard, you can change the label of the Customize button and the accompanying text by setting the CUSTOMINSTALLTEXT, CUSTOMINSTALLDESCRIPTION, and CUSTOMINSTALLHEADER properties on the Modify Setup Properties panel. You can also set these properties on the Setup command line or in the Setup settings file.

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Enter installation location

Users enter the path where they want Setup to install Office. The default location is the Program Files\Microsoft Office folder.

In the Office Custom Installation Wizard, you can specify a default value for the installation location on the Specify Default Path and Organization panel of the wizard. You can also specify the location by setting the INSTALLLOCATION Setup property on the Modify Setup Properties panel of the wizard, or you can set the property on the Setup command line or in the Setup settings file.

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Select previous versions of Office to keep

If the user is upgrading from a previous version of Office, Setup displays a list of all the Office applications currently installed — applications that Setup removes when it installs Office 2000. If the user installs Office 2000 in a folder that is different from the folder in which the previous version of Office is installed, however, then the user can choose to keep these applications.

If a user chooses to keep programs from a previous version of Office, Setup does not remove these applications. However, Setup does redefine system settings, such as file types, to point to the Office 2000 applications.

Tip    In the Office Custom Installation Wizard, you can create an MST file that specifies the default behavior of this Setup panel, including hiding the panel from users. Set these options on the Keep Previous Versions panel of the wizard.

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Upgrade Microsoft Internet Explorer

The user can choose to upgrade to Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 if a previous version of Internet Explorer is installed on the user’s computer. Several features of Office require Internet Explorer 5 support in order to fully function. If the user chooses not to install Internet Explorer 5, the basic support components of Internet Explorer 5 are installed, but not the entire browser.

Toolbox   The Microsoft Internet Explorer Administration Kit describes many different ways that Setup allows you to install Internet Explorer 5 on users’ computers. You can run the Microsoft Internet Explorer Administration Kit from the Customize IE 5 Installation Options panel of the Office Custom Installation Wizard. For information about the kit, see Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 Administration Kit.

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Select installation options for Office features

If users choose the Customize installation mode, Setup displays Office features on the Selecting Features panel, and users can set an installation state for each feature.

In the hierarchical feature tree, features can contain any number of subordinate child features. A child feature might also contain additional child features. For example, the Microsoft Word for Windows feature includes the child feature Help. The Help feature includes the child feature Help for WordPerfect Users.

To expand the tree and display the child features belonging to that feature, click the plus sign (+) to the left of a feature. To collapse the tree, click the minus sign (–).

Users select the installation state for each feature by clicking the icon to the left of the feature and selecting one of six settings.

When you change the installation state of a feature, Setup sometimes automatically changes the state of other features in the feature tree to match. Setup makes this change to ensure that child features are installed in a state that is consistent with the feature that contains them. If, as a result of your changes, Setup attempts to change a feature to an installation state that the feature does not support, then Setup selects another supported state for that feature.

Note    Changes that you make to the installation state of a child feature might also cause Setup to change the installation state of the feature that contains that child feature. Specifically, if a feature is set to either Installed on First Use or Not Available, and you set one of its child features to Run from My Computer, Run from CD, or Run from Network, then Setup changes the feature to the same state as the child feature.

Run from My Computer

Setup copies files to the user’s hard disk, and the application runs the feature locally. Use this option if the user does not have a persistent network connection, to reduce network usage, or to run the feature with the highest performance.

When you select this option for a feature, Setup automatically changes all associated child features to Run from My Computer, unless the child feature is already set to Installed on First Use or Not Available.

Run all from My Computer

Setup installs this feature and all its child features on the user’s hard disk, and the application runs the feature locally.

When you select this option for a feature, Setup automatically changes all associated child features to Run from My Computer, regardless of the current installation state of the child features.

Run from CD or Run from Network

Setup leaves files on Office Disc 1 or on the administrative installation point, and the application runs the feature from there. Use this option to minimize the amount of local disk space used by the application, provided the user has a CD-ROM drive or a reliable network connection.

When you select this option for a feature, Setup automatically changes all associated child features to Run from CD or Run from Network, unless the child feature is already set to Not Available.

Run all from CD or Run all from Network

Setup leaves this feature and all of its child features on Office Disc 1 or on the administrative installation point, and the application runs the feature from there.

When you select this option for a feature, Setup automatically changes all associated child features to Run from CD or Run from Network, regardless of the current installation state of the child features.

Installed on First Use

Setup does not install the files associated with the feature until the user tries to use the feature through a menu command or shortcut. When the user activates the feature for the first time, the Windows installer copies the files to the local hard disk and runs the feature locally. The feature then remains on the user’s hard disk. Use this option to minimize the use of local disk space by installing only necessary features on the computer.

Important    Installed on First Use is supported only on operating systems that support Windows installer shortcuts, including Windows 98; Windows 95 with Internet Explorer 4.01 with Service Pack 1 or later; and Windows NT 4.0 with Service Pack 3 and Internet Explorer 4.01 with Service Pack 1 or later. On Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0, you must also have Active Desktop installed (but not necessarily enabled) before you install Office. If you install Office on an operating system that does not support Windows installer shortcuts, then features set to Installed on First Use are set to Run from My Computer instead.

When you select this option for a feature, Setup automatically changes all associated child features to Installed on First Use, unless the child is already set to Not Available.

Not Available

Setup does not install the feature or any of its child features. If a user selects a menu command that refers to the feature, an error message instructs the user to rerun Setup and change the installation state in order to use the feature. Setup does not install some associated components, such as templates or converters, and does not create shortcuts for the feature. Use this option to minimize the use of local disk space and to reduce clutter by eliminating features that the user does not need.

When you select this option for a feature, Setup automatically changes all associated child features to Not Available.

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See also

For more information about the Setup command line, the Setup settings file, and Setup properties, see Customizing How Setup Runs.

The Office Custom Installation Wizard allows you to fully customize the installation process, from modifying Setup properties to adding custom files and registry entries to the installation. For more information about the Office Custom Installation Wizard, see Office Custom Installation Wizard.