The following table compares Setup features in the 2007 Office system release to their closest counterparts in previous versions (Microsoft Office 2000, Office XP, and Office 2003).

In previous versions of Office, each product consisted of a single Windows Installer package (MSI file). The chief role of Setup.exe was to call Windows Installer (Msiexec.exe) to install the package. Because Setup passed its command line to Windows Installer, it was possible to manage the installation process by setting Window Installer properties on the command line.

In the 2007 Office release, a single Office product comprises multiple MSI files. Setup—not Windows Installer—combines the language-neutral core product package with one or more language-specific packages to create a complete product. No individual MSI file represents a product that anyone can install or use, and Setup is required to assemble the correct set of MSI files and to coordinate the installation process from beginning to end.

The Office product that you install is defined in the XML files on the installation point. Setup reads data in these XML files, assembles the required set of MSI files for the product, copies all the necessary files to the local installation source, and only then calls Windows Installer to complete the installation process.

Note:

You cannot use the Windows Installer command line (Msiexec.exe) to install any product in the 2007 Office release, nor can you set Windows Installer properties on the Setup command line. You can, however, use the new deployment tools to customize all aspects of the installation process, just as you did in previous versions. For more information, see Language-neutral architecture in the 2007 Office system.

If you installed previous versions of Office in an international setting, you first installed the core English version and then deployed one or more Multilingual User Interface (MUI) Packs to provide additional language versions to users. You may have used the Custom Installation Wizard to configure the MUI Pack, and then edited the Setup.ini file to chain the MUI Pack installation to the primary English installation.

The language-neutral architecture of the 2007 Office release eliminates the need to chain language packs and condenses the process to a single installation. After you create your initial network installation point (which always includes a core product), you copy all the additional language folders you need to the same location. These language folders contain the language-specific packages, or building blocks, that Setup combines with the core product to create a complete product in any language (including English). After you create a network installation point with multiple languages, you can allow Setup to manage the process of assembling the correct language version for each user automatically from the available language options.

When users run Setup for a particular Office product, Setup detects that there is more than one language available and automatically combines the core package with the language that matches the user locale, which is set in Windows. Only one language version is copied to the local installation source; only one product appears in Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel. Without additional steps on your part, other than dragging language folders to the network installation point, you ensure that users in New York get the English language version, users in Tokyo get the Japanese language version, users in Paris get the French language version, and so on.

Customizing a multi-language installation is similarly streamlined. You create only one customization file per product, regardless of the number of languages you are deploying. Most configuration options apply to the core product. The minority of language-specific customizations—for example, the feature installation state for the Japanese Input Method Editor (IME)—are applied where appropriate and otherwise ignored.

Note:
When you customize the installation, you can specify that Setup install more than one language on users’ computers or that Setup install a particular language regardless of the user locale setting. For more information about the new multi-language architecture, see Simplified design for multiple languages in the 2007 Office system.

Regardless of the version of Office you are deploying, you likely want to install Office with a silent install (/q = quietly), handle the product key and Microsoft Software License Terms (formerly the end-user license agreement or EULA) for users, distribute an Outlook profile, specify security settings, and so on. All of these familiar options exist in the 2007 release, but the tools and procedures that you use to specify them are new.

Office Customization Tool

The Office Customization Tool (OCT) is part of the Setup program and is the recommended tool for most customizations. To start the tool, you run Setup.exe with the /admin command-line option and select a product to customize. Thereafter, the user interface looks very similar to the Custom Installation Wizard—all the same options are available.

At the end of the process, the OCT saves your choices in a Setup customization file (MSP file), rather than the transform file (MST file) produced by the Custom Installation Wizard. Like a transform file, the customization file results in uniform default configuration of the product for all users. Unlike a transform file, however, which you had to specify explicitly on the command line or in the Setup.ini file, you can enable Setup to apply the customization file automatically by storing it in the Updates folder at the root of the network installation point.

Note:

During the installation, Setup finds and applies all the MSP files in the Updates folder—both customization files and software updates—that match that product. You can specify an alternate location for MSP files in Config.xml, or you can point to a specific customization file by using the /adminfile command-line option. For detailed information about using the OCT, see Office Customization Tool in the 2007 Office system.

Config.xml file

In previous versions of Office, the Setup program read the Setup.ini file at the start of the installation process. The INI file contained information such as which product to install, which transform to apply, what display setting to use, and which additional installations to chain to the primary Office installation. Setup.ini also allowed you to set a wide range of Windows Installer properties. You edited the default Setup.ini file or created an INI file of your own to customize the installation.

For example, to run the installation of a previous version of Office quietly and to display a completion notice at the end, you added the following property=value entries in the [Display] section of the Setup.ini file:

[Display] Display=basic CompleteNotice=yes

In the 2007 Office release, the role of the INI file has been largely taken over by the Config.xml file. The same customizations are available, but the organization and syntax of the Config.xml file has little resemblance to Setup.ini. The former property=value pairs have been replaced in Config.xml with elements and attributes. Most of the former Windows Installer properties appear as elements, and you assign values to attributes under those elements.

For example, to run the 2007 Office release quietly and to display a completion notice at the end, you add the following lines to the Config.xml file:

<Display Level="Basic" CompletionNotice="Yes" />

In this example, Display is the element, and Level and CompletionNotice are its attributes; the element and all its attributes appear on one line in Config.xml, identified by the beginning and ending angle brackets.

Although the OCT is the recommended tool in most cases, the following customizations can be made only in Config.xml:

• Specifying which product to install.

• Specifying the path to the network installation point.

• Specifying one or more languages to install, other than the default language.

• Chaining an additional installation to the primary installation; for example, installing Microsoft Office Project 2007 with Microsoft Office Professional 2007.

• Changing the default location where Setup searches for customization files and software updates to apply.

• Copying the local installation source to users' computers without installing Office.

• Making very limited or last-minute customizations that do not justify running the OCT to create a customization file.

Note:
If you specify conflicting settings in the OCT and in Config.xml, the setting in Config.xml takes precedence. For detailed information about the contents of the Config.xml file, see Config.xml file in the 2007 Office system.

Command-line options and properties

The Setup program in previous versions of Office passed its command line directly to Windows Installer, including any number of Windows Installer properties. In some cases, a Setup.exe command line might be many characters in length.

The Setup command line in the 2007 Office release, by contrast, recognizes only a few options, and you cannot set any Windows Installer properties on the command line. Instead, you use the OCT to make the same customizations or you set the appropriate attributes in Config.xml.

For example, in previous versions you might specify an installation location on the command line by setting the INSTALLLOCATION property:

setup.exe INSTALLLOCATION="path"

In the OCT, you enter the same information in the Default installation path box on the Install location and organization name page.

In Config.xml, you make the same customization by setting the Value attribute of the INSTALLLOCATION element as follows:

<INSTALLLOCATION Value="path" />

Note:

Some properties do not have corresponding elements in Config.xml. You can set some of these properties as attributes of the Settings element. Other Windows Installer properties are blocked in the 2007 Office release and may cause the installation to fail. For more information, see Setup properties in the 2007 Office system. For more information about how to customize an installation of the 2007 Office release, see Streamlined customization model for the 2007 Office system.

Having created a network installation point and configured the 2007 Office release for users, you run Setup the same way you always run Setup, by using a log-on script, a batch file, or a tool such as Microsoft Systems Management Server. The activities that take place in the background are different, but the results are the same: your custom configuration of Office is installed on users’ computers.

For more information about how the Setup program in the 2007 Office release works, see Setup sequence of events in the 2007 Office system.

If you installed a previous version of Office after one or more software updates (MSP files) were released, you had to take extra steps to handle the updates. For example:

• Apply the administrative (full file) version of the update to the administrative installation point before new users installed Office; this method also required you to recache and reinstall Office on all existing clients.

• Chain the software update to the primary Office installation. For example, deploy Office Professional and chain Service Pack 1.

The Setup program in the 2007 Office release has built-in mechanisms for including software updates in the initial installation. Store all the updates you want in the Updates folder. Setup finds and applies them automatically, and the network installation point for the product remains unchanged.

Note:
You cannot use Setup to distribute software updates after the initial installation. For more information about updating 2007 Office release clients, see Distribute product updates for the 2007 Office system.

In previous versions of Office, you ran the Custom Maintenance Wizard to change a default setting or add a feature. The wizard produced a custom maintenance file (CMW file) that Windows Installer used to apply the changes to users’ computers.

In the 2007 Office release, there is no separate tool for post-installation changes. You use the Office Customization Tool to create a new customization file (MSP file) and distribute that file directly to users. For more information, see Change users' configurations after installing the 2007 Office system.