Updated: 2008-02-15

After you create a network installation point but before you install the 2007 Microsoft Office system, you can use the Office Customization Tool (OCT) to create a Setup customization file to configure the installation for your users. You can use the OCT to change the default way that Office features are installed, setting some to be installed on the user's computer, some to be installed only on first use, and some not to be installed. You can even hide or lock features so that a user running Setup interactively cannot change what you have configured.

To configure Office feature installation states

  1. From the root of the network installation point, run the following command line to start the Office Customization Tool: setup.exe /admin.

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

  3. In the left pane, under Features, click Set feature installation states.

  4. In the right pane, expand the tree and select the feature that you want to customize. For example, to not install the Equation Editor, expand Microsoft Office and Office Tools, and then for Equation Editor select the installation options Not Available, Hidden, and Locked. Setup does not install the Equation Editor and, if Setup is run interactively, this feature is not visible and the user cannot install it.

  5. On the File menu, click Save As.

  6. Specify a path and file name for the Setup customization file, and then click Save.

  7. On the File menu, click Exit.

  8. Copy the Setup customization file to the Updates folder in the network installation point.

When you run Setup to install Office, it uses the customization file it finds in the Updates folder and configures Office features according to your customizations.

The following table describes the available installation options:

Option Description

Run from My Computer

Setup copies files and writes registry entries and shortcuts associated with the feature to the user's hard disk, and the feature (or application) runs on the user's computer.

Run all from My Computer

Same as Run from My Computer, except that all child features belonging to the feature are also set to this state.

Installed on First Use

Setup leaves components for the feature and all its child features in the local installation source until the user first attempts to use the feature, at which time the components are copied to the Office program folder on the user's local hard disk. Some features do not support Installed on First Use; this option is not available for these features in the OCT.

Not Available

The components for the feature, and all of the child features belonging to that feature, are not installed on the user's computer.

Hidden

The feature and all of its child features do not appear in the feature tree when Setup runs interactively. Setup uses the default installation state, or the state specified in the customization file, to determine how to install the feature.

NoteNote:

If you set the Hidden option for a specific feature by using the OCT or the Config.xml file during an initial installation of the 2007 Office system, you cannot unhide that feature in the feature tree by using another Config.xml file or applying a second MSP customization file after the initial installation. This means that the feature is not displayed in the feature tree during installation. The feature remains hidden; the feature will not be displayed in Add or Remove Programs (Change or Remove Programs) in Control Panel under the Add or Remove Features option for Microsoft Office 2007 (or under the Programs and Features option in Windows Vista). However, you can unlock the feature to install and run locally later by using an MSP customization file or a Config.xml file.

If you set the Locked option for a feature by using the OCT or the Config.xml during initial installation, that feature can be unlocked and installed locally by using an MSP customization file or a Config.xml file.

For example, you can customize the Config.xml file to modify the OptionState element and add the following line to uninstall the feature (Access in this case) on the user's computer and set child features of the feature to the specified state:

<OptionState Id="ACCESSFiles" State="Absent" Children="force" />

You can also use the OCT to create an MSP customization file to install the feature later by setting the feature installation state to Run All from My Computer on the Set feature installation states screen.

Locked

The feature cannot be changed by the user during interactive Setup or maintenance mode.

When you change the installation state of a feature, Setup might change the installation state of a parent or child feature to match. For more information, see Set feature installation states in Office Customization Tool in the 2007 Office system.

See Also