Updated: 2006-07-25
In the 2007 Microsoft Office system, Setup creates a local installation source on the user's computer as part of the default installation process. Setup installs all 2007 Office system products in a two-step process: first, Setup copies compressed installation source files to the user's computer; second, Setup calls Windows Installer to perform the actual installation from the local installation source. After the installation is complete, the local installation source remains available for any Setup operations that require access to an original source. Minimum disk space requirements include the local installation source.
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| In Microsoft Office 2003, large organizations typically installed the product from an administrative installation point; installing from a local installation source was optional. In the 2007 Office system, however, the administrative installation option no longer exists, and the local installation source is a required part of the design. |
The local installation source makes the process of distributing software updates more efficient and reliable. Neither the network installation point nor the user's local installation source is ever updated directly. Users' installations remain synchronized when they apply the client version of software updates.
Additional benefits of having a complete installation source always available on the local computer include the following:
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You can deploy the local installation source to users before they install Office. This minimizes the impact on the network and ensures that all users install the product and begin using 2007 Office system applications at exactly the same time.
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Users can perform maintenance tasks, such as applying software updates, without being prompted for their Office CD or a network source.
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Traveling users, or users with slow or intermittent network connections, can run Setup without access to the network if they have a local installation source installed in advance.
These benefits come at minimal cost. Although the local installation source does use some hard disk space, creating the local installation source and installing Office takes approximately the same amount of time as installing Office by itself.
Creating a local installation source on users' computers
When users install Office from the CD or from a network installation point, Setup creates the local installation source by using a program called the Office Source Engine (Ose.exe) to copy required installation files to a hidden folder on the local computer. The default location is \MSOCache\All Users at the root of the drive on which Office is installed.
Each package that comprises an Office product—both the language-neutral core package and one or more language-specific packages—has a separate download code and is cached in the subfolder under MSOCache\All Users. Setup always caches a complete local installation source, which includes all the files associated with the product that is being installed. If the installation point includes multiple languages, Setup caches only the packages for the languages that are installed on the user's computer.
When additional Office products are installed on the user's computer, those products are cached in the same local installation source.
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| If a user installs a second Office product on a different drive, Setup creates a second local installation source at the root of that drive. In this scenario, shared files may be duplicated between the two local installation sources; however, this design ensures that each local installation source is complete and functions correctly. |
Users cannot inadvertently delete the local installation source or remove it by using the Setup user interface or the Windows Disk Cleanup Wizard. If the MSOCache folder is deleted or corrupted, Setup automatically re-creates or repairs the folder the next time a source is required. If users do not have sufficient disk space, they are prompted to free some space. You can rely on the fact that every user has access to a source when you distribute new updates or customizations.
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| Once the local installation source is created, its location on the user's computer is fixed. Unless the user specifies a different drive, additional Office products installed later are always added to the existing MSOCache\All Users folder. |
Deploying the local installation source by itself
Because Setup performs the installation of Office from the local installation source, you can minimize the demand on the network by deploying the installation source ahead of time. For example, using your usual method for running Setup on users' computers, you can distribute the local installation source to one group of users at a time. Once all users have a precached source, you can have everyone run Setup to install Office at the same time. In this scenario, most of the installation activity takes place on the local computer instead of over the network.
For more information, see Precache the local installation source for the 2007 Office system.
You can also run Setup directly from the local installation source on the local computer. Running Setup locally means that no activity, including loading Setup files and reading metadata, takes place over the network. In this scenario, you must identify the subfolder in MSOCache\All Users that contains the core product that you want to install. Each core product subfolder contains a copy of the Setup program, and running Setup from a specific folder installs that product. This method allows users to install Office without relying on a network connection.
For more information, see Run Setup from the local installation source to install the 2007 Office system.
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