Topics in this chapter   Creating an Administrative Installation Point     Customizing the Office Installation     Customizing How Setup Runs     Customizing Office Features and Shortcuts     Customizing User-defined Settings     Including Additional Packages in the Office Installation     Customizing Removal Behavior     Distributing Office to Users' Computers     Deploying a Service Release

Deploying a Service Release

Microsoft Office XP service releases are interim upgrades that are designed to improve the performance and reliability of your applications. While service releases are often developed in response to emerging issues, such as virus attacks, they may also contain bug fixes or updated features.

In considering whether to deploy a given service release, your first step should be to determine how the changes will benefit your organization. If a particular upgrade does not apply to how you use Office, you may elect to pass on that release. Deploying a service release is typically not required to maintain the functionality of your original installation.

Information on the changes and features offered by a specific service release is posted on the Microsoft Office Web site. Administrators and information technology (IT) professionals can refer to the Office Resource Kit Web site for details on administrative issues associated with a given release. If a particular service release has language dependencies, separate versions of the update will be made available for each language in which Office XP is released.

Administrative updates and standard updates

When Microsoft Office issues a service release, two separate versions of the update are made available — one for upgrading administrative installation points and the other for upgrading stand-alone computers. The administrative update is typically a larger file that provides full-file replacement for all changes contained in the update. In contrast, the standard update patches the existing files instead of replacing them. It is designed only for stand-alone computers and cannot be used to update an administrative installation point.

When you deploy an administrative update, Windows Installer performs a recache and reinstallation of the original version of Office. This process replaces the previously cached MSI file and overwrites any old files with the newer versions. By installing complete files, as opposed to patched files, the administrative update can correctly replace any files on the server that have been modified with Microsoft quick fix engineering (QFE) updates.

All updates are designed to make sure that your features retain their existing installation states, and that support files, such as transforms, continue to work as they did before. You can continue to use existing transforms (MST files) on an updated administrative image to reproduce the same customizations for new client installations.

By applying a service release to either an administrative installation point or a stand-alone version of Office XP, you create an upgraded version of the original product. The original product and the upgraded version cannot coexist as separate installations on the same computer.

Planning for a service release

For most organizations, the best way to deploy an Office service release is to create an updated image of the product on an administrative installation point. Local users can then connect to this share and update the version of Office installed on their computers.

If you are staging your upgrades over a period of time, you may need to maintain two administrative installation points during the process:

• The original share to serve as a source for clients who have not yet upgraded.

  Until they upgrade, some clients may need access to the original share for install on demand, automatic feature repair, and other services.

• An updated share from which clients can upgrade to the new service release.

If you need to create administrative installation points in multiple locations, you can copy the folder hierarchy and files from one administrative installation point to additional servers.

Upgrading an administrative installation point

While a standard update package provides a Setup program with dialog boxes and other interface support, you must install an administrative update from the command line. On the command line, you run Windows Installer along with options to specify the path to the updated MSI file and the name of the updated MSP file.

• The MSI file is the Windows Installer package file from your original administrative image.
  
  
• The MSP file is the Office administrative update file that contains information on the changes in the upgrade.

  The update instructs Windows Installer to add, update, or remove files in the administrative image.

Administrative update files for Office XP are made available on the Office Resource Kit Web site. The following procedures describe how to apply an update to an administrative installation point.

Note   Before you update an administrative installation point, make sure that no users are using the share. If a file on the share is in use during the upgrade process, a newer version of that file is not copied to the installation point.

To apply an update to an Office administrative installation point

1. Download the self-extracting executable file for the update from the Office Resource Kit Web site and double-click the file name to extract the MSP file.
   
   
2. Connect to the server share for your administrative installation point.

   You must have write access to the administrative installation point on the server and the appropriate privileges to carry out the task.

3. On the Start menu, click Run and then type the command line for Windows Installer with the appropriate options for your installation. Use the following syntax:

   [start] msiexec /p [path\name of update MSP file] /a [path\name of MSI file] 
   SHORTFILENAMES=TRUE /qb /L* [path\name of log file]

If an update contains multiple MSP files, you will need to run the command line separately for each MSP file that you apply to the administrative installation point — you cannot reference multiple MSP files on the same command line. The following table describes the command-line options.

Updating client computers from an administrative installation point

After you update your administrative installation point, you need to perform a recache and reinstallation on existing client computers that use the administrative image. Any new client installations from the administrative installation point will automatically include the updated version of Office.

To update an existing client installation from an administrative installation point, run the following command line on the client computer:

start msiexec /i [path to updated .msi file on the administrative image] 
REINSTALL=All REINSTALLMODE=vomus

You can run this command line by creating a logon script, distributing it as a batch file, deploying it via Systems Management Server, or using other means according to your practice. The options for this command line are as follows.

Note   If you originally installed Office XP on a client computer from an administrative installation point, you must follow the recache and reinstallation procedure described above to update that client. If you update the client directly by using a patch designed for stand-alone computers, the client and administrative images will become out-of-sync, which may cause future updates to fail.

Customizing Office XP while deploying a service release

If you want to modify your existing installations at the same time as you're deploying a service release, you must plan to carry out the two actions separately. For example, to make changes such as adding applications or changing the installation states of existing Office features, you should first deploy the service release, then proceed with the changes.

To make changes to an existing installation, you can run Office Setup in maintenance mode or take advantage of the Custom Maintenance Wizard to change installation states either before or after an update. For more information about the Custom Maintenance Wizard, see Changing Feature Installation States.

You cannot redeploy a transform (MST file) when you update an existing installation of Office. A transform can only be used to configure Office during the initial installation. If you try to apply a transform against existing installations, the transform is ignored and the existing settings are maintained.

Synchronizing independently updated client computers

If a client computer is upgraded independently of an administrative installation point, the computer may not recognize an administrative image after it has been updated. Further, its link to the original Office source is no longer usable. To synchronize an independently updated client computer to recognize an updated administrative image, run the following command line on the client computer:

[path to updated administrative image] setup.exe /fvm [path to new MSI]

If the client computer also independently upgraded Microsoft Internet Explorer, this update and resynchronization will not bring in any customizations from the Internet Explorer package on your administrative installation point. You must install Internet Explorer from your original image or other customized location again to update the client computer with your customizations.

Applying an administrative update under Windows 2000

If your administrative installation point and all of your client computers are running Microsoft Windows 2000, you can use IntelliMirror technology to manage the installation of an administrative update.

Note   Be sure to test all software updates in a controlled setting before modifying your administrative installation point or deploying the update throughout your organization.

To deploy a QFE fix or update under Windows 2000

1. Apply the updates (MSP files) to the original Office administrative installation point.

   You will need to run the command line separately for each MSP file that you apply to the administrative installation point; you cannot reference multiple MSP files on the same command line.

2. Open the Software Installation snap-in within the Group Policy Object (GPO) that you are using to manage the existing Office installation.
   
   
3. In the details pane, right-click the Office package, point to All Tasks, and click Redeploy application.

The next time the Group Policy Object is applied to the designated users or computers, the updated files are copied to their computers.

Note   You can redeploy a package only if it is being managed by Group Policy — that is, only if you originally installed it by using IntelliMirror software installation and maintenance or if you brought it into a managed state under Windows 2000.

Upgrading a stand-alone computer

If you need to update a stand-alone computer (one not associated with an administrative installation point), you can update the computer directly from the World Wide Web or from a CD. Updates for stand-alone computers are made available on release from the Microsoft Office Web site and through channels such as Enterprise Agreement, Select, and Microsoft Developer's Network.

When you run Setup for an Office service release, Setup first detects which Office applications and supporting components are installed on the computer, and then displays the appropriate upgrade options. As part of the Setup process, you must enter the product ID (PID) key from your original Office XP CD. Be sure to find your original CD case or product ID number before you start the upgrade.

As with all software installations and upgrades, you need to have the appropriate systems-level privileges on the computer in order to complete the upgrade.

Note   If you update a client computer independently of an administrative installation point on the same network, the client will no longer recognize the administrative image. Be sure to update client computers by using the procedures described in "Updating client computers from an administrative installation point," earlier in this topic.

To install an update on a stand-alone computer

1. Close all Windows-based applications.

   If you are installing the update from the World Wide Web, go to the appropriate download page on the Microsoft Office Web site.

   – or –

   If you are installing the update from a CD, insert the CD into the CD-ROM drive.

2. Run the Setup program for the update.

   To run the update with the default settings, double-click the Download Now link on the Web site. If you are installing from a CD, Setup will start automatically when you insert the disc into the drive.

   – or –

   To run the update with command-line options, click Run on the Start menu and type the path and update name with the appropriate options.

3. When the update starts and the license agreement dialog box is displayed, read the agreement and click Yes to continue the installation.
4. Follow the instructions on your screen to complete the upgrade.
   
   
5. Restart your computer after the installation is complete.