Customizing How Office Options Are Set

Customizing User Options

When you install Microsoft Office on users’ computers, you can use several methods to customize user options. You can use the Profile Wizard to preset Office application options, or you can customize specific registry settings on users’ computers.

If you define duplicate options by using a combination of the following methods, the user’s computer determines which settings to use according to where the method falls in the following order of precedence (a given method overrides any preceding methods):

• Settings in an OPS file included in a transform
• Registry values specified in a transform
• Settings in an OPS file included in the Profile Wizard
• Settings that migrate from a previous version of Office
• Settings modified through system policies

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Specifying settings in an OPS file included in the MST file

By using the Profile Wizard, you can customize users options and save your settings in an OPS file. By using the Customize Default Application Settings panel of the Office Custom Installation Wizard, you can include the OPS file in the Windows installer transform (MST file). The OPS file contains registry values corresponding to option settings in Office applications; these registry values are set on users’ computers by Setup during installation.

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Setting registry entries in the MST file

By using the Add Registry Entries panel of the Custom Installation Wizard, you can define registry values that are set on users’ computers by Setup during installation. These values override duplicate values in the OPS file included in the transform.

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Specifying settings in an OPS file and running the Profile Wizard

By using the Add Installations and Run Programs panel of the Custom Installation Wizard, you can create a command line for running the Profile Wizard with an OPS file to restore default Office application settings. This command line runs immediately after Office Setup is completed. Values in this OPS file override duplicate values that you added by using the Add Registry Entries panel of the Custom Installation Wizard and duplicate values in the OPS file included in the transform.

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Migrating user settings

If a previous version of Office is installed on a user’s computer, Setup copies the former application settings for that version of Office to Office 2000. Migrated settings override duplicate settings contained in any OPS file or added to the registry during installation.

Note   If you want to prevent migrated settings from overriding the OPS file, set the DONOTMIGRATEUSERSETTINGS property to TRUE, or clear the Migrate user settings check box on the Customize Default Application Settings panel of the Custom Installation Wizard.

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Modifying settings through system policies

After installation is complete, you can modify registry values by using Windows system policies. System policy settings take effect when the user logs on to the network, and they override any duplicate values you set during installation.

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See also

By using the Profile Wizard, you can create an OPS file that contains default Office application settings that you can use to configure your users' computers. For more information, see Profile Wizard.

By using the Custom Installation Wizard, you can create a transform that contains an OPS file, or you can create a transform that runs the Profile Wizard. For more information about how to create and use a transform, see Storing Values in a Windows Installer Transform.

You can use the Custom Installation Wizard to customize many aspects of your Office installation, including selecting which features are installed and customizing installation options for Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 and Microsoft Outlook. For more information, see Office Custom Installation Wizard.