In a fitting demonstration of organizational lethargy, one of my first projects of 2011 was to deploy Microsoft Office 2010. Trying to understand what my options were for deploying the update within my organization required reading through a number of Microsoft TechNet pages to figure out what would work best. With this article, hopefully I can save you some time by demonstrating what I did in my organization and at the very least provide you with links to the most useful and relevant TechNet articles on the subject.
Starting with this TechNet page that links to instructions on the various ways to deploy Office 2010, we see there are a number of possibilities and scenarios to consider such as running from a network install point, deploying to those who are not administrators, when capturing an image that includes Office 2010, using Group Policy startup scripts, and many more.
Since there is no option to use a sleek .msi deployment (which has presented problems in the past between Microsoft Updates and .msi self-repair attributes), I chose a modified version of using Group Policy startup scripts to deploy Office 2010. To use this method, it advises to create a config.xml, create a custom.msp, and use startup scripts to deploy the software
Before you get too excited to start writing up the config.xml file for your installation, be sure to check out the Office Customization Tool. On the Office installation media, use the command setup.exe /admin to start the Office Customization Tool. This interface allows you to run through a lot of the configuration settings that are normally selected during installation to create a custom.msp file.
Instead of using a startup script with a silent installation, I am using a specific user account that will trigger the installation with a limited user interface. Through Group Policy, my script is started under: User ConfigurationAdministrative TemplatesSystemLogon – Run these programs at user logon
Along with doing other script things, like restarting upon completion and logging each computer as they install the software, you trigger the install with the file from the Office Customization Tool with a line like this:
“\serveroffice2010setup.exe” /adminfile “\serveroffice2010Config.msp”
In addition to the settings configured with the Office Customization Tool, there is much more customization that can be done through Group Policy .adm/.admx templates for Office 2010. This allows you to configure a lot of the default settings and the user experience through each product. There are options under both User Configuration and Machine Configuration in the Group Policy to tweak the Office 2010 behavior.
In trying to trim down the user interaction, I noticed upon first running the newly installed programs that users were presented with this dialog. You can suppress the Recommended Settings dialog in User ConfigurationAdministrative Templates(ADMADMX)Microsoft Office 2010Miscellaneous
This setting is explained through a ‘Plan privacy options for Office 2010‘ TechNet article.
This also covers the setting to automatically receive small updates to improve reliability. This Group Policy setting is located in the Group Policy Object Editor under User ConfigurationAdministrative Templates(ADMADMX)Microsoft Office 2010 PrivacyTrust Center.
One other area of concern for your environment may entail the volume licensing and activation of Office 2010.
Two other items that surfaced in my memory from the Office 2007 deployment was the PDF or XPS Converter and the Office Compatibility Pack for those with older versions of Office. Fortunately, it appears the Save as PDF option is included with Office 2010 and doesn’t require being installed as an add-on. The Office Compatibility Pack is still available for users of previous versions of Office (before 2007) to allow them to open the new xml based files of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
So far, this deployment has proven itself for a number of users installing Office 2010 on their computers and hopefully the resources linked above may help your deployment.
Update:
Upon request, here is the redacted login script in its entirety:
[text]
@echo off
cls
if exist "C:Program FilesMicrosoft OfficeOffice14winword.exe" goto present
if exist "C:WINNT" goto win2k
echo %computername% >> \serverdeployMicrosoftOfficeLog2010install.txt
"\serverdeploymicrosoftoffice2010 Pro Plussetup.exe" /adminfile "\serverdeploymicrosoftoffice2010 Pro PlusMyConfig.msp"
\server2netlogonshutdown.exe -l -f
goto end
:present
echo Office 2010 is already installed.
echo %computername% >> \serverdeployMicrosoftOfficeLog2010present.txt
pause
\server2netlogonshutdown.exe -l -f
goto end
:win2k
echo WARNING, this machine is running Windows 2000
echo Office 2010 will not be installed
echo %computername% >> \serverdeployMicrosoftOfficeLogoffice2010_win2k.txt
pause
\server2netlogonshutdown.exe -l -f
goto end
:end
exit
[/text]