Updated: 2009-04-09
The Office Customization Tool (OCT) helps you configure how Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 is installed on users' computers. This tool enables you to include custom settings and Outlook profile configurations in a Setup customization file that is applied when Office Outlook 2007 is installed from a network installation point.
Customizing Outlook by using the Office Customization Tool
You can use the OCT to customize the following aspects of your installation of a network installation point for Office Outlook 2007:
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Specify installation states for Outlook features
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Specify Outlook user settings
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Customize profiles and (optionally) export profile settings to a PRF file
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Configure Send/Receive settings for Microsoft Exchange accounts
After your initial installation, you also use the OCT to modify and deploy updates to customizations.
Specifying installation states for Outlook features
You use the Set Feature Installation States page in the OCT to specify how and when Office Outlook 2007 features are installed.
For example, for the feature Microsoft Outlook for Windows, you might set the installation state to Run all from My Computer. In this case, all Office Outlook 2007 features are installed on the user's computer. Or you might set some features to install locally with Run from My Computer, and others to install when the user first gains access to the feature with Installed on First Use. Another common option, Not Available, Hidden, Locked, sets some features to not install and to not appear in the feature tree if users change the installation state of the parent feature.
Specifying Outlook user settings
There are three ways to use the OCT to customize Outlook user settings for your installation:
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Use the Modify user settings page in the OCT to customize Outlook user settings. This option might be more time-consuming than using the User State Migration Tool, especially if you have a large number of user settings.
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Use Group Policy to specify settings to enforce. Typically, if you use the OCT to define a default setting for options, you can also use Group Policy to lock down those options..
Customizing Outlook profiles
Using the OCT, you can create Outlook profiles and modify the settings in existing Outlook profiles. For example, you can keep all existing Outlook user profiles and specify a default configuration for new profiles.
Your options for configuring profiles include:
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Specifying Exchange server connections
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Defining account information, such as adding POP3 or LDAP accounts
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Saving the configuration in an Office Outlook 2007 profile file (PRF file)
For more information about how to customize Outlook profiles, see the Outlook profile section of the Office Customization Tool in the 2007 Office system
Configure Outlook Send/Receive settings
You can also use the OCT to define Outlook Send/Receive settings. A Send/Receive group contains a collection of Outlook accounts and folders. You specify the tasks that are performed on each group during a Send/Receive in Outlook. You also specify different options for Send/Receive groups when Outlook is online and offline.
For more information about how to customize Send/Receive settings, see the Specify Send/Receive groups section of the Office Customization Tool in the 2007 Office system.
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