Office 2003 Deployment Questions

[Ian Ceicys]

Microsoft Office Team:

I'm the Microsoft Student Ambassador to Bentley College
in Boston. I am aggressively pushing to have Office 2003
deployed to all of the students on my campus. I recently
met with Bentley's Senior Desktop Technology Analyst to
discuss some of the deployment related issues with Office
2003. He informed me that has already searched the online
office resource kits but has not been able to locate the
granular information he needs for deployment. From what I
understand the deployment of Office 2003 cannot move
forward until these issues are resolved (so the quicker
the better).

1. In the Office 2003 Custom Installer, why is it that
applying the transform is done to an .EXE instead of
an .MSI package. The resource documentation explaining
this new implementation isn't comprehensive and a further
explanation is needed.
Example: x:\off2003\setuppro.exe TRANSFORMS=X:\off2003
\pro11.MST /qb+

2. Also when the transform is applied on the .MSI package
the transform works but the customization isn't correct
and the MSO cache isn't present. Where is the MSO cache
located? And why does the transform work on the .MSI
package when it's defaulting to the .EXE in the wizard?

3. When the install on "first use" option is selected for
various individual applications, the programs still
launch and execute on first run. This is after running
the LSI and custom Office 2003 Installer. He is certain
the program launches immediately, because after the
installation, he unplugged the network cable.

4. Why are the .MSI and setup.EXE packages not the same
in the installer folder? What is the naming convention
implemented, and what difference does it make?

I've already provided him the following resources but he
says that they don't answer his questions. Any help would
be welcomed.
http://www.microsoft.com/office/ork/2003/ref/RefA02.htm#su
b_59
http://www.microsoft.com/office/ork/2003/two/ch4/DepB02.ht
m#sub_3
http://www.microsoft.com/office/ork/2003/two/ch4/DepB03.ht
m

 

[Jerry Ham]

Get the Office 2003 Resource Kit book - it will explain all of the
mis-understandings they have.

All of them are actually there online too, but it is quite a pain to find
them online...



Jerry

 

[Bob Buckland ?:-\)]

Hi Ian,

For a deployment testing, not just reading would
make sense but there is a lot of reading.
There are also a lot of resources, but it
doesn't sound like your 'Analyst' is very
enthused about taking on the project

1. Using Setup for MS Office 2003 deployment.

Always use Setup.exe rather than the .MSI directly.
MS Transform (MST) files are always applied
to an MSI file. what you have shown is a commandline.
This is the Sequence of Events topic
http://microsoft.com/office/ork/2003/two/ch3/DepA03.htm
The .MST file contains the name and location of the
MSI file that it is tied to.

2a. MSOCache

If you're creating an Office Admin Point using
Setup /A then deploying from the Admin point you
can't have a Local Install Source (LIS) stored in
the \MSOCache folder. It's not clear what scenario
you'd be using in this case. Admin Point or LIS
is an 'either/or' option.

This article has additional information on the
Local Installation Source feature:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;830168
There won't be an MSOCache if there isn't 1.5 gb
of freespace on a local drive if you're installing
using LIS and the MSOCache folder cannot be a subfolder.
It needs to be off of the root of a drive.

2b. Transform Features
Sorry, but 'customization is not correct' is too vague.
What specifically was put in the MST and what was the
expectation and the result.

2c. Why run Setup's .exe file
See reply to item 1.

3. Install on First Use.
I'm not sure I'm seeing an issue here. If the feature
is set to install on first use of an app, and that appears
to be what you're seeing from the description. Keep in
mind that some granularity of features may not be totally
separate (i.e. one feature may depend on another feature
being present).

4. I don't understand the question. Setup.exe
is the setup program. .MSI files are MS Installer
databases that contain installation instructions
used by the MS Windows installer when part of the
setup task is passed from Setup.exe to MSIExec.exe
There can be more than one .MSI file installed for
a give Office Setup run. For example, there can
be the main Office .MSI file and there can be additional
ones for 'optional' features, such as web components
that not everyone would use or need.


=========
Microsoft Office Team:

I'm the Microsoft Student Ambassador to Bentley College
in Boston. I am aggressively pushing to have Office 2003
deployed to all of the students on my campus. I recently
met with Bentley's Senior Desktop Technology Analyst to
discuss some of the deployment related issues with Office
2003. He informed me that has already searched the online
office resource kits but has not been able to locate the
granular information he needs for deployment. From what I
understand the deployment of Office 2003 cannot move
forward until these issues are resolved (so the quicker
the better).

1. In the Office 2003 Custom Installer, why is it that
applying the transform is done to an .EXE instead of
an .MSI package. The resource documentation explaining
this new implementation isn't comprehensive and a further
explanation is needed.
Example: x:\off2003\setuppro.exe TRANSFORMS=X:\off2003
\pro11.MST /qb+

2. Also when the transform is applied on the .MSI package
the transform works but the customization isn't correct
and the MSO cache isn't present. Where is the MSO cache
located? And why does the transform work on the .MSI
package when it's defaulting to the .EXE in the wizard?

3. When the install on "first use" option is selected for
various individual applications, the programs still
launch and execute on first run. This is after running
the LSI and custom Office 2003 Installer. He is certain
the program launches immediately, because after the
installation, he unplugged the network cable.

4. Why are the .MSI and setup.EXE packages not the same
in the installer folder? What is the naming convention
implemented, and what difference does it make?

I've already provided him the following resources but he
says that they don't answer his questions. Any help would
be welcomed.
http://microsoft.com/office/ork/2003/ref/RefA02.htm#sub_59
http://microsoft.com/office/ork/2003/two/ch4/DepB02.htm#sub_3
http://www.microsoft.com/office/ork/2003/two/ch4/DepB03.htm >>
--
I hope this helps you,

Bob Buckland ?
MS Office System Products MVP

*Courtesy is not expensive and can pay big dividends*

The Office 2003 System parts explained
http://microsoft.com/uk/office/preview/system.asp

MS on 'Why Office System 2003'
http://microsoft.com/mscorp/execmail/2003/10-13productivity.asp