I’ll assume most of the people here are techs and just looking for a quick and easy no hassles ‘get me going’ solution. I’ll do my best to deliver. Use the article at TechNet to get full details on what needs to be done if you want to go in-depth.
- Run setup /admin from the CD or local store of the Office 2010 files. This is practically the same straightforwardness found in Office 2007 admin setup. This is the Office Customization Tool (OCT)
- In OCT, be sure to set the key, accept the EULA, and have a display level of None (Suppress Modal checked).
- In OCT, for a silent activation as well (shows first time user opens Office), you can automate this through this as well. Under ‘Add Installations and Run Programs’ add a program. Have it run after Office installs. Details below:
Target: [WindowsFolder]\system32\cmd.exe
Arguments:/c cscript “C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14\OSPP.VBS” /act
*Tip* Run cscript “C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14\OSPP.VBS” to look at all the arguments of this utility.
*Note* This will have to be adjusted per O/S. Alternatively, you can create additional commands, so long as one calls the correct location it will work. Unfortunately using [ProgramFilesFolder] will not translate when the command is run! - Save the MSP file when done configuring, ideally this should go into the \Updates folder.
- To install run setup /adminfile Updates/MyFile.MSP. Voila.
IF you get a selection of items to install still, you can get around this by targeting a certain config.xml file to force starting that particular program. You can adjust the call to setup.exe like this:
setup /adminfile Updates/MyFile.MSP /config ProPlus.WW/config.xml
Keep in mind, the above will only work if you are trying to install Office Pro, if you’re attempting something else, you’ll have to point to the other folder containing the correct config.xml. Quotes can be used above, and must be used if you have spaces anywhere within the two paths.
Suppress Modal
I’ve spent too much time than I want to admit trying to get Office to activate. IF the Suppress Modal is active, it may stop other programs from running. I’ve tried different ways of running batch files and none ran, even though the log file in %temp% showed “executing command path: ‘c:\test.bat'” or whatever other batch. However using cmd /c in the fashion I have, it ran with no problems even with suppress modal being active.
Quote from Microsoft’s Article
In enterprise deployments, we recommend that you set Display level to None to ensure that Setup runs silently, to prevent prompting users to enter information, and to prevent the installation from waiting for any user interaction, including when files are being used. Setting Display level to None assumes that the Suppress modal and Completion notice options are silenced and that the license terms are accepted. Administrators must also make sure that no Office applications run during an installation of Office 2010.
Useable Variables within Install
| Folder | Description |
|---|---|
| [INSTALLLOCATION] | The folder in which Office is installed |
| [WindowsFolder] | Windows folder |
| [SystemFolder] | Windows System32 folder |
| [ProgramFilesFolder] | Program Files folder |
| [CommonFilesFolder] | Program Files\Common Files folder |
| [DesktopFolder] | Windows Desktop folder |
| [StartMenuFolder] | Windows Start menu |
| [ProgramMenuFolder] | Windows Start\Programs menu |
Troubleshooting
Not activating? OSPP Issues? You can append ‘> c:\output.txt’ to the end of your command argument and have the output from OSPP stored in a file so you can see what happened.
Be sure to check the %temp% directory (start -> run. type %temp% and hit OK) and find the installation log file there (sort by date and find latest log/txt file).
43 Comments
Mike it looks like you refer to the x86 program files folder does this mean you are installing to windows vista or windows 7? I doubt this will work on windows XP?
Also you reference the suppress model does the cscript option not work if that is selected?
I ask all these questions because like you I wasted a lot of time on this and was unable to get it to work when trying to install completely silent via group policy to windows xp and ended up just manuallying activating each install.
@NOD: Good point, that would have to modified on XP. I was in a hurry the day I wrote this so I overlooked that part. c:\Program Files can likely be substituted with a variable to get this working cross-platform. I believe I had trouble using two variables in a single command though. I will investigate when I have time.
I think the suppress modal enabled will cause the activation script to fail. I’ll try to clarify a few things in the post when I revisit this.
@NOD: I’ve updated the article adding onto making this cross platform. Basically you really just need to find out the locations where OSPP.vbs is, and add in multiple command lines. Some may fail which should still work. I only have not tested for error messages without Suppress Modal on. However for enterprise deployments, 99% of the time Suppress Modal should be on anyway.
Also I touched up on suppress modal. Having it ON will disrupt batch files and direct CMD calls I believe. However using CMD /c appears to get by it with no problem. I tested this out again to be sure.
Hi Mike,
I installed/upgraded Office2000 to Office 2003 using the MaintWiz for office2003, and the whole thing went smooth, now so many years later I am trying to create an auto-install process as I did back then, but I can’t figure out how to do it.
Back then what I had done was I run the MainWiz.exe that created a transforms set file (.mst) and with the switch /qb – and then run the maintwiz .cfw /qb – exwcutable all run automatically at user login.
Any ideas if I can repeat the process with Office2010?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
Hi Chris,
So you are just trying to upgrade 2007 to 2010 through an auto install process? Simply follow the articles instructions, and when in the Office Customization Tool (started through ‘setup /admin’) there is a page that lets you remove previous versions. This would essentially be the upgrade installation.
If you want to make a batchfile run the “setup /adminfile Updates/MyFile.MSP.” command and the installation folder is on a server, how are you supposed to code the batch-file, any ideas?
Something like this:
net use \\your-share /user:youruser your_share_passwd
\\your-share\officeinstall\setup /adminfile \\your-share\officeinstall\Updates\MyFile.MSP
I can get the install to run via a SMS program / advertisement however I am still prompted to active the software. I have tried with the “Suppress modal” checked and unchecked neither work on XP or Windows 7 Enterprise. We do not make the user a local administrator so we install using the “Software Installation Account” which should be an administrator of the workstation. The install is also set to run when no user is logged in. Here is what the two “post install” command lines look like;
[post install] [WindowsFolder]\system32\cmd.exe /c cscript “C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office14\OSPP.VBS” /act
[post install] [WindowsFolder]\system32\cmd.exe /c cscript “C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14\OSPP.VBS” /act
If you want to look further into that I would skim through the Office logs. They should be in the users temp directory after the install). It should say the command it is running and show what the variables converted to and possibly the return code. I would also try just running that command from a prompt and make sure it works.
A possible reason why this may be happening is that the post install commands *may* be running as non admin. Unless this is the Admin account originally created with windows 7 (which runs everything as admin, regardless of how its done) renamed, that may be the problem.
I would try using the /config option on top of the msp option. Find the xml file in proplus or whatever specific product you are installing and add this:
<Setting Id=”AUTO_ACTIVATE” Value=”1″>
Thanks Mike,
That worked, I set the option using the OCT tool and pushed it to a Windows XP box and Office was actived during the install.
Here are the steps to set it in OCT;
1.In the OCT, select Modify Setup properties on the left pane, and then click Add in the right pane.
2.In the Add Property Value dialog box, in the Name box, type AUTO_ACTIVATE. Note that property names must be uppercase.
3.In the Value box, type 1, and then click OK.
Thanks for the help
Good find, my way is a bit more complicated than it needs to be then, I’ll try to update this shortly.
Hi Mike –
Thanks for the tips… Hope I’m not missing something easy, but how do you get it to also automatically set which level of automatic updates are used for Office, instead of asking later after a person runs an app??
Thanks,
Howard
Hi Howard, its within the Customization Tool, I don’t have the software here with me at the moment to look for you but its fairly similar to 2007 which I found a quick link for: http://blog.coretech.dk/kea/disable-office-2007-welcome-screen/
I’ll try to get back to you soon about this.
OCT Tool
Left Side:
Features -> Modify User Settings
Right Side:
Microsoft Office 2010 -> Global Options
Settings:
Suppress Recommended Settings Dialog
Mike, thanks very much for this information. One question though.
In excel 2010, under Options > Trust Center > Macro Settings, there is a check box for “Trust Access to the VBA project object model” – is there away to have that checked upon install using OCT?
I’d imagine that’s doable. Don’t know off the back of my hand. Did you check through all the settings for such an option in OCT? If its not there, I’d dig through the registry keys and see if switching that on changes something in the HKLM Office keys — if so you could just append a REG patch to the end of the install. Sorry I can’t be of more help.
This does not work for 2010 deployment over a network.
“Network, CDROM, and RAM drives are not supported install paths. Choose a folder located on a fixed disk or removable drive”
Lol never mind. found the problem. 😉
Hi Mike, I figured out what I was missing. Thanks for your reply!
Now for one more question. Is there a way to uninstall MULTIPLE office installs? We have Office 2000 and Outlook 2003 installed….and it only uninstalls Outlook 2003.
I assume you are looking under “Remove Previous Installations”? If that is indeed set to remove earlier versions, then perhaps it doesn’t target an Office install being that old. If so, you’ll likely have to find out an uninstall command (I’m sure there would be one for a silent uninstall) and append it to the ‘Add installations and run programs’ part of the OCT (make it run prior to the installation).
Hello, I’m having some problems with my automatic installation.
I have a BATCH file assigned as a startupscript in a group policy. The BATCH file looks like this:
IF EXIST “C:\Program\Microsoft Office\Office14\WINWORD.exe” goto END ELSE goto TOP
:TOP
IF EXIST “C:\Program (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14\WINWORD.exe” goto END ELSE goto MIDDLE
:MIDDLE
c:
net use g: \\edusrv02.edu.irc.local\install$
ping localhost -n 5
g:
ping localhost -n 2
cd “Office 2010 PRO Plus KY”
ping localhost -n 2
setup/adminfile updates\IRC_anstalldopp.MSP
ping localhost -n 10
c:
ping localhost -n 2
net use /delete g: /y
ping localhost -n 2
gpupdate /force
:END
The installation file is set like this:
I’ve set a different CD-key, accepts the terms in the license agreemend and have suppress modal set to none. for the activation I’ve put AUTO_ACTIVATE with a value of 1 under Modify setup properties. Under Modify user settings > microsoft Office 2010 > Privacy > Trust center I’ve enabled the “Disable Opt-in Wizard on first run”
When I startup the computer thats in the group with the assigned BATCH it seems like it’s running, you get the MS Office install sign, then it dissapears and does nothing more.
I’m quite stumped by this and any help would be appreciated.
How long before it disappears? I’m not going to test this into detail but without a start /wait on that setup.exe it will continue and likely disconnect the drive before it even finishes (10-15seconds or so I’d think).
Thing is that I’ve run this BATCH and .msp “combo” before, only a few differances to the top part but same “install-code”, and it ran fine. Think I found the problem tho, I remade the .MSP file and now it seems to work fine, tested it on 2 computers so far and both ran successfully except for the activation. The only thing I can think of is that I changed the files name without going into the file and resave it, ofc changed the name in the BATCH file aswell.
changed a few things up in my BATCH file which I think won’t really change anything but did to be abit redundant:
IF EXIST “C:\Program\Microsoft Office\Office14\WINWORD.exe” goto END ELSE goto TOP
:TOP
IF EXIST “C:\Program (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14\WINWORD.exe” goto END ELSE goto MIDDLE
:MIDDLE
c:
net use g: \\edusrv02.edu.irc.local\install$
ping localhost -n 5
g:
ping localhost -n 2
cd “Office 2010 PRO Plus KY”
ping localhost -n 2
setup/adminfile “\\edusrv02.edu.irc.local\install$\Office 2010 PRO Plus KY\updates\IRC_anstalldopp.msp”
ping localhost -n 10
c:
ping localhost -n 2
net use /delete g: /y
ping localhost -n 2
gpupdate /force
:END
Also the activaton worked on 1 computer for some reason but not the othe. Again in oreder to be redundant I added the
Target: [WindowsFolder]\system32\cmd.exe
Arguments:/c cscript “C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14\OSPP.VBS” /act
Under “Add Installations and Run Programs” otherwise the .MSP file looks the same
I still recommend you put a start /wait on that setup 🙂 As for the activation. On the ones its not activating on, I would check the installer log file within the %temp% dir. It will log whether or not it ran the OSPP file (and should indicate there success or not). If it ran the file but was not activated. Try manually running it and see if it has an issue that it tells you in the console.
Hi Mike,
My goal today is to get to the OCT for 64 bit Office 2010 Pro and all of the above is great stuff, but I have two variables; I installed Office 2010 Pro from a d/l’ed file from Microsoft store and I am doing single user, single install and I have already installed it!
My goal in using the OCT is attach my old “My Documents” file to my new install so I can get to it quickly and easily from the start menu. The existing My Documents folder is located on the same drive as Office 2010 – “C” drive.
Any thoughts? I am a 60 year-old noob, BTW, and having searched Google and Microsoft for answers, they keep referring to running a command line for the root install of Office 2010 on a network which I don’t have.
Thank you,
Steve in Colorado.
OCT might not be part of the package you have. Even if you already installed it, it should still come up.
I’ve tried everything and nothing seems to work when trying to use the OCT .msp file. I was able to deploy a silent install using the Config.xml method but now even this doesn’t work. My problem may be related to the tool I’m using to deploy this package.
I’m using the Dell KACE 1000 appliance and as I’ve said I was able to deploy Office 2010 with the Config.xml method but I was hoping I could get the OCT method to work.
I continue to get the error message “Windows XP Setup – Please go to the Control Panel to install and configure system components”
Any ideas?
Hi Angel Castillo, I can’t offer any ideas. I would look into this though: http://forums.techarena.in/office-setup/902467.htm
Mike,
No problem, I found the solution. I had to include the full path in the command line parameters because using “setup.exe” by itself wouldn’t work when using a .msp option.
So here is my problem.
I have to install Office 2010 on several machines but we do not have a domain.
We are all standalone machines. I would prefer to do it through a batch file.
I have used the OCT to make a custom installation.
My goal is for the batch file to execute the setup file from a network shared folder. I have tried several options.
What should my batch commands be??
Hi Wilson,
A single line will do it. I’m guessing the following would work:
\\server\shared_folder\setup.exe /adminfile \\server\shared_folder\Updates\MyFile.MSP
Wilson;
setup.exe /adminfile Office_Standard.MSP
cd \Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office14
cscript OSPP.vbs /act
@ECHO off
echo Script completed
exit
3.In OCT, for a silent activation as well (shows first time user opens Office), you can automate this through this as well. Under ‘Add Installations and Run Programs’ add a program. Have it run after Office installs. Details below:
Target: [WindowsFolder]\system32\cmd.exe
Arguments:/c cscript “C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14\OSPP.VBS” /act
Office has been installed correctly, but OCT doesn’t start the OSPP.VBS script.
Has someone a solution for this ?
I’ve updated this, please check the code again. WordPress was using left-quote/right-quote which would not register as a normal quote normally if you copied/pasted. I’ve also added a quick troubleshooting tip if this still does not work.
Does anyone know of a way to supress or automatically choose the “Upgrade” option when the setup is first launched as I get prompted to “Upgrade or Customize” every time? Thanks!
Microsoft just provided the Valparaiso Public Library with Office Pro Plux 2010 via tech soup — but I need a way to install it on D:, not on C:, because our drives are segmented (because of the special protective software we run, which wipes out changes to C:\ on reboots unless bypassed). C:\ is only for the operating system; D:\ is for major software; E:\ is for data files.
Setup doesn’t provide the browse to install to location option which we’re used to seeing. Can you tell me how to force the installation to D:? Or if it simply is not possible? Or if there would be a way to just move the files to D and then edit the registry listings?
If we can’t do this, we have a HUGE job on our hands, reconfiguring all the library’s hard drives. We haven’t the time, staff, or budget for such a project. Will really appreciate your help.
Hi Maria,
Using the setup /admin I see the very first thing under setup being Install location and Organization Name, this sounds like it would work for you. Its default is [ProgramFilesFolder]\Microsoft Office, you could try d:\Microsoft Office
i avoided the selection of items selecting above the Supress Modal there is a list of what type of installation do you want, select “Basic” and will supress any dialogue without the need to modify any .xml
And thank you for the tutorial!
Thanks Miquel I will check that out!
I have almost the complete silent install however struggling with activation. Tried the above command in OCT± with the cmd.exe -c etc switch but nothing happens because after starting a office programm activation requered coms in. It could be do that the installation is in a batchfile and runs in a computer GPO maybe the system user has no rights to activate….
I cannot find a log file in %temp% to see what errors are…
I have also tried to set a batchfile at computer startup the runonce and even force in the OCT to start the machine up after Office 2010 is installed but then i need to restart the machine again because the runonce batchfile is put there after a restart is taken place i guess so the machine needs to reboot the second time for the activation batchfile runs.
I am now seeking a easy way to activate silently and automatically without user intervention.
This is the batchfile which i run the installation of office and the msp file is configured in OCT. any idea to startup twice of something like that to activate the activation batchfile which runs OSPP -act.
setlocal
REM *********************************************************************
REM Environment customization begins here. Modify variables below.
REM *********************************************************************
REM Get ProductName from the Office product’s core Setup.xml file, and then add “office14.” as a prefix.
set ProductName=Office14.ProPlus
REM Set DeployServer to a network-accessible location containing the Office source files.
set DeployServer=\\server\share\office2010\install
REM Set ConfigFile to the configuration file to be used for deployment (required)
set ConfigFile=\\server\share\office2010\install\Standard.WW\config.xml
REM Set LogLocation to a central directory to collect log files. (the user doing the install needs write access)
set LogLocation=c:\temp\log
REM *********************************************************************
REM Deployment code begins here. Do not modify anything below this line.
REM *********************************************************************
REM IF NOT “%ProgramFiles(x86)%”==”” (goto ARP64) else (goto ARP86)
REM Operating system is X64. Check for 32 bit Office in emulated Wow6432 uninstall key
REM :ARP64
REM reg query HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432NODE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\%ProductName%
REM if NOT %errorlevel%==1 (goto End)
REM Check for 32 and 64 bit versions of Office 2010. (Office 64bit would also appear here on a 64bit OS)
REM :ARP86
reg query HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\%ProductName%
if %errorlevel%==1 (goto DeployOffice) else (goto End)
REM If 1 returned, the product was not found. Run setup here.
:DeployOffice
call cscript \\server\share\office2010\Offscrub03.vbs ALL /bypass 1 /q /s /NoCancel
start /wait %DeployServer%\setup.exe /adminfile %DeployServer%\officeconfig.msp
echo %date% %time% Setup ended with error code %errorlevel%. >> %LogLocation%\%computername%.txt
REM If 0 or other was returned, the product was found or another error occurred. Do nothing.
:End
Endlocal
Hi, and thanks for the article.
I came by looking for the MS uninstall tool, which seems to have disappeared since they stopped support for Office 2010 in Oct 2020.
It’s kind of curious that after all these years no one has noticed that where you wrote “Updates/MyFile.MSP” it should have been with a back slash, “\”, instead of a forward slash, “/”, therefore making it “Updates\MyFile.MSP”.
Thanks again. Cheers
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