Uninstall parts of Office

[Leo_Schouten]

Version: 2008
Operating System: Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard)
Processor: Intel

Hi All,
Is there a possibility to properly uninstall parts of Office that I don't want on my computer (eg Entourage), or is it just a matter of dragging those elements to trash?

Thanks,
Leo

 

[Adam Bailey]

Is there a possibility to properly uninstall parts of Office that I don't
want on my computer (eg Entourage), or is it just a matter of dragging those
elements to trash?

I don't recommend doing that because you can cause problems when trying
to update Office. Feel free to remove programs you don't intend to use
from the Dock, but I encourage you to leave them as installed on the
computer.

 

[CyberTaz]

.... Entourage in particular -- it's a key player in the Office Suite even if
you don't use the program. As Adam suggests, remove the icon from the Dock
but don't remove the applications or any component files.

 

[Leo_Schouten]

Adam, Bob,
Thank you both for your replies.
Office "as a suite" doesn't mean anything to me. I believe that since Office saw the light there may have been one or two times I used OLE to link information between office applications. Can't be bothered with application interworking.

Office 2000 and earlier (on pc platform) offered the choice to add/remove elements by virtue of (re-)running the installer. This is a function I sorely miss in McOffice.

I think I'll take my chances and take the trash out.

Thanks,
Leo

 

[Adam Bailey]

I think I'll take my chances and take the trash out.

Why take the risk? Surely you can't be out of hard disk space.

 

[jon]

... Entourage in particular -- it's a key player in the Office Suite even if
you don't use the program. As Adam suggests, remove the icon from the Dock
but don't remove the applications or any component files.

This is curious. I have _never_ used Entourage or PowerPoint; they just
take up 45MB and 39MB respectively of disk space. Are you saying that if
I nuke Entourage and/or PowerPoint then Word and Excel won't work?

If so, isn't that a violation of Apple's Human Interface Guidelines --
that non-independent components should not be marketed as or appear to
be independent applications?

 

[CyberTaz]

Hi Jon;

This is curious. I have _never_ used Entourage or PowerPoint; they just
take up 45MB and 39MB respectively of disk space. Are you saying that if
I nuke Entourage and/or PowerPoint then Word and Excel won't work?

If so, isn't that a violation of Apple's Human Interface Guidelines --
that non-independent components should not be marketed as or appear to
be independent applications?

What I'm saying is that you've installed the complete Office suite & that
there are Shared Components. Yanking out bits & pieces can quite possibly
cause problems with performance & future updates because of that packaged
installation. It's also "possible" that you may incur no repercussions at
all, but as Adam points out it's a needless risk.

No offense - just opining here - but 84 MB of disk space today is a spit in
the ocean... Less than 1/10 of a GB. Storage is cheap - if recouping that
space seems critical I'd further speculate that you're going to need a lot
more than that. From personal experience I know that most users can gain far
more disk space by clearing web caches & ridding themselves of other
needless content by moving it to memory sticks or other external devices.
You can get 4 GB USB sticks for as little as US $20 - perhaps less.

There is no violation of the HIG because each component is sold & *can* be
installed as a stand-alone product, but that doesn't mean any of those
components can be individually ripped out once installed as an integrated
package.

If you really want to proceed I'd suggest that you first use the Remove
Office utility to properly remove the software. Then install just the part
of Office you want & reapply the updates accordingly.

Good Luck |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

 

[Leo_Schouten]

Hi Bob,
Thanks for your input. I would have used the partial install option would I have been given the choice. But the installer seems hardcoded to install the whole suite, and doesn't let me make my own choices.
(Home & Student version)
The entourage app sports functionality which is also available in the base OSX installation (mail/calendar/addressbook)
I want to prevent entourage interfering with those apps above and below the surface.

I like Word, Excel and Powerpoint. OpenOffice or Apple's homebrew office applications have considerable catching up to do.

As you say, disk-wise it's not worth the time.
Let's just say that I have an issue with bundles.

Leo

 

[jon]

Hi Jon;



What I'm saying is that you've installed the complete Office suite & that
there are Shared Components. Yanking out bits & pieces can quite possibly
cause problems with performance & future updates because of that packaged
installation. It's also "possible" that you may incur no repercussions at
all, but as Adam points out it's a needless risk.

No offense - just opining here - but 84 MB of disk space today is a spit in
the ocean... Less than 1/10 of a GB. Storage is cheap - if recouping that
space seems critical I'd further speculate that you're going to need a lot
more than that. From personal experience I know that most users can gain far
more disk space by clearing web caches & ridding themselves of other
needless content by moving it to memory sticks or other external devices.
You can get 4 GB USB sticks for as little as US $20 - perhaps less.

There is no violation of the HIG because each component is sold & *can* be
installed as a stand-alone product, but that doesn't mean any of those
components can be individually ripped out once installed as an integrated
package.

If you really want to proceed I'd suggest that you first use the Remove
Office utility to properly remove the software. Then install just the part
of Office you want & reapply the updates accordingly.

Good Luck |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

This is fascinating.

Is there a particular reason you have been maintaining in post after
post that Entourage is an integral part of Office and can't be separated?

Now you're saying if I want just Word and Excel all I have to do is
install just them (and exactly how do I do that, since the installer
script doesn't give that option?)

Which is it? Oh, and thanks for the smarmy tone -- it reminded me that
I'm dealing with Microsoft. "It's not a bug, it's a feature" doesn't
work anymore.

 

[CyberTaz]

This is fascinating.

Is there a particular reason you have been maintaining in post after
post that Entourage is an integral part of Office and can't be separated?

I've not "maintained" any such thing. I referenced & further clarified based
on your installation of the Office Suite, not the individual application
components.

Now you're saying if I want just Word and Excel all I have to do is
install just them (and exactly how do I do that, since the installer
script doesn't give that option?)

Custom Install
The custom installation option allows users to select what they want to
install from a list of Office 2008 components, which include the following:

Microsoft Word

Microsoft Excel

Microsoft PowerPoint

Microsoft Entourage

Microsoft Messenger

Proofing tools for Danish, Dutch, English (Aus), English (UK), English (US),
Finnish, French, French (Canadian), German, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian
(Bokml), Norwegian (Nynorsk), Portuguese, Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish,
Swedish, Swiss German

Office Fonts

Automator Actions

Dock Icons

Which is it? Oh, and thanks for the smarmy tone -- it reminded me that
I'm dealing with Microsoft. "It's not a bug, it's a feature" doesn't
work anymore.

Sorry -- If my responses aren't to your liking I'll do you the favor of
boring you no further... butyou're not dealing with Microsoft in any
capacity when corresponding with the *users* here.

 

[Adam Bailey]

I want to prevent entourage interfering with those apps above and below the
surface.

It will not interfere. Just install it and forget it. Trust us, we're
saving you from headaches down the road.