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Customize Setup before installing Office 2010

 

Applies to: Office 2010

Topic Last Modified: 2011-11-21

Banner stating end of support date for Office 2010 with link to more info

You can use the Office Customization Tool (OCT) to customize and control the installation of Microsoft Office 2010 on users’ computers.

To customize Setup for Microsoft Office 2010, follow the procedures in this article before you begin the installation.

In Office 2010 (as in the 2007 Microsoft Office system), Setup controls the complete installation. This includes processes that Windows Installer handled in Office versions earlier than the 2007 Office system. Customizing the default behavior of Setup lets you control the process — for example, to run the installation without user interaction, to handle the product key and the Microsoft Software License Terms on behalf of users, and to specify an organization name or a different installation location.

We recommend that you read the Volume activation overview for Office 2010, Plan volume activation of Office 2010, and Configure and deploy volume activation of Office 2010 articles before customizing Setup.

In this article:

  • Customize Setup

  • Install Office silently

Customize Setup

To customize how Setup manages the installation process, use the Office Customization Tool (OCT) to create a Setup customization (.msp) file. Setup applies this file when users install Office on their computers.

In Office 2010, two architecture-specific versions of the Office Customization Tool (OCT) are available: one for 32-bit Office 2010 and one for 64-bit Office 2010. The 64-bit version of the OCT supports 64-bit client editions of Office 2010, and provides the same user interface, capabilities, and configurable settings as the 32-bit version. You use the same command to run the 32-bit or 64-bit version of the OCT. For instance, if you want to run the 32-bit OCT, run the setup.exe /admin command line from the x86 (32-bit) folder as shown in the following example: \\server\share\Office14\x86\setup.exe /admin. To run the 64-bit OCT, run the setup.exe /admin command line from the x64 (64-bit) folder. For more information about 64-bit Office 2010, see 64-bit editions of Office 2010.

To customize Office Setup

  1. Create a network installation point by copying all the files and folders from the Office CD to a folder on the network. For more information, see Create a network installation point for Office 2010.

  2. From the root of the network installation point, run the following command line to start the Office Customization Tool:

    setup.exe /admin

  3. Select the product that you want to configure, and then click OK.

  4. In the left pane, click Installation location and organization name.

  5. In the Default installation path box, enter the path of a default installation location on users' computers. You can enter a relative path that includes the folder keyword [ProgramFilesFolder].

  6. In the Organization name box, enter a default organization name for all users who install Office with this customization file.

  7. In the left pane, click Additional network sources, and then click Add.

  8. In the Network server box, enter the path of any backup sources that you have created on the network. If neither the user's local installation source nor the original network installation point is available, Setup uses one of these replicated installation points for operations that require the source. You can add as many sources as you need.

  9. In the left pane, click Licensing and user interface. The following options are available:

    • Use KMS client key – A product key entry is not required for enterprise deployments that are using Key Management Service (KMS) activation because all Volume License editions of Office 2010 have a KMS client key pre-installed. KMS is one of the methods that are provided by Office Activation Technologies for activating products licensed under Microsoft Volume Licensing programs. Only a KMS host computer needs a KMS host key to be activated and to establish a local activation service in your environment. Office 2010 connects to the local KMS host for activation. By default, the Use KMS client key option is selected.

      For more information about the licensing options for Office 2010, see Volume activation overview for Office 2010. For information about how to configure the KMS host, see Install and configure the KMS host in Deploy volume activation of Office 2010.

    • Enter another product key – You can enter a valid Multiple Activation Key (MAK) key in the OCT by using the Enter another product key entry. A MAK key is another method that Office Activation Technologies provide for activating products licensed under Microsoft Volume Licensing programs. With a MAK, clients activate Office 2010 online by using the Microsoft hosted activation servers or by telephone.

      To use a MAK key, select the Enter another product key option, and in the Product key text box, enter the MAK key (twenty-five numbers or characters) without spaces. For more information about using a MAK key, see Deploy volume activation of Office 2010.

      Note

      You can also use the Enter another product key option to enter a KMS key for Microsoft Visio Standard 2010 or Microsoft Visio Professional 2010. Visio 2010 is preinstalled with the Microsoft Visio Premium 2010 KMS client key. This enables all the Microsoft Visio Premium 2010 features. However, if you have a license agreement for either Microsoft Visio Standard 2010 or Microsoft Visio Professional 2010, you must install the appropriate KMS client key. The features that are available depend on the key that is installed.
      For more information that includes a list of KMS keys for license agreements for Microsoft Visio Standard 2010 or Microsoft Visio Professional 2010, see Deploy Visio 2010 in Deploy volume activation of Office 2010.

  10. Select the I accept the terms in the License Agreement check box. When you provide this information in a Setup customization file, users are not prompted for a product key or Microsoft Software License Terms during the installation or the first time that they start an Office application.

  11. In the right pane, set the Display Level to Basic or None to install Office quietly (without user interaction). More information about display settings is provided later in this article.

    Note

    In enterprise deployments, we recommend that you set Display level to None to ensure that Setup runs silently, to prevent prompting users to enter information, and to prevent the installation from waiting for any user interaction, including when files are being used. Setting Display Level to none assumes that the Suppress modal and Completion notice options are silenced and that the Microsoft Software License Terms is accepted. Administrators must also make sure that no Office applications are running during an installation of Office 2010.
    If you set Display level to Basic and select the Suppress modal option, users may be prompted if any Office files are being used. Setting Display level to None prevents prompting users in these cases. The Suppress modal option does not prevent files-in-use messages from displaying; only Display level set to None prevents their display.

  12. Make any additional customizations. Click Save on the File menu, and then click save the Setup customization file in the Updates folder at the root of the network installation point.

Your customizations apply to any language version of the specified product that is available on the network installation point. Most customizations apply to the language-neutral core product. However, the feature tree in the tool also includes a subset of language-specific features. Customizations to language-specific features are applied when a user installs that language; otherwise, they are ignored.

Note

Typically, you do not need to customize logging options. By default, Setup creates a standard log file and saves it as a text file in the %Temp% folder on the user's computer. If an installation fails, Setup creates a verbose log file, starting with the package that caused the failure, in the same location. To change logging options, open the Config.xml file in Notepad and modify the <Logging> element. For more information, see Config.xml file in Office 2010.

Install Office silently

When you deploy Office throughout an organization, you determine how much of the Setup user interface is displayed to users. By default, Setup runs interactively and gives users choices during the installation. If you are distributing a customized configuration, we recommend that you limit how much users interact with Setup. The installation continues with fewer interruptions, and your customizations are set by default for all users. For more information about display options, see Licensing and user interface in Office Customization Tool in Office 2010.

If you are using a deployment tool such as Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007 or Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) to deploy Office while users are not logged on to the network, set the display level to None, which installs Office without displaying any Setup user interface.

Note

When you install Office silently, you must provide a valid product key. If the product key is missing, Setup logs an error and exits. As mentioned previously, if you are using KMS activation, a product key entry is not required because all Volume License editions of Office 2010 have a KMS client key pre-installed; however, if you are using MAK, you must enter the MAK key. If you do not accept the license terms on behalf of users, Setup does complete the installation. However, by installing Office silently, you have implicitly accepted the license terms.

The Windows Installer properties DISPLAY and PIDKEY do not work in Office 2010 (or in the 2007 Office system). Instead, in Office 2010 you customize Setup directly by specifying a display setting and specifying a product key in the OCT either by accepting the default option, Use KMS client key if you are using KMS validation, or by entering a MAK key in the Enter another product key textbox if you are using KMS, as described in Customize Setup.

Because Setup plays a more significant role in controlling the installation, many Windows Installer properties are no longer required. In fact, some Windows Installer properties are blocked and generate an error if you try to set them using the Office Customization Tool. For a complete list of the Setup properties that you can use with the Office 2010, and also a list of blocked or unsupported properties and their corresponding new mechanisms, see Setup properties in Office 2010.