Deploying Office 2003

[Bob Buckland ?:-\)]

If you're installing from an Office Admin Point
then generally the Office Volume License key was
used to setup the Admin Point. Keep in mind that
if this is a corporate purchase the that license
accountability is still at the corporate level,
regardless of a specific deparment placing a P.O. for it.
Also note that to write the key to the registry or
acceptance of the End User License Agreement for
individual users would require admin rights and
trying to track individual license keys in a large
organization with your scenario can be a bit of nightmare,
especially if you're now using retail keys so that
activation of each workstation would be required.

You may want to look at using the OEM System Builder
imaging tools for your scenario http://microsoft.com/oem
if activation is going to be part of the process on
an individual basis.

If you're not going to create the Office Admin Point
then, for example a CD image from that Admin Point
(http://microsoft.com/office/ork/2003 then you may
want to look at the Local Install Source method, but
the compressed CD image approach, which would allow you to
use Wayne's suggestion of creating an MST that embed's
the product key would let you create a physical'package'
you could distribute to different departments.

======
Thanks for responding Wayne. I appreciate the input on saving multiple mst.
That would work, but what I really want to do is your second suggestion and
nothing I've tried will work. If I don't add the key to either the mst or
the command line, a silent install will fail with an "invalid product key"
error. I want to be able to build one package and let any user install, but
thne require them to input the license key before they can use the
application. >>
--
Let us know if this helped you,

Bob Buckland ?
MS Office System Products MVP

*Courtesy is not expensive and can pay big dividends*

Office 2003 Editions explained
http://www.microsoft.com/uk/office/editions.mspx

 

[Bob Buckland ?:-\)]

If you're installing from an Office Admin Point
then generally the Office Volume License key was
used to setup the Admin Point. Keep in mind that
if this is a corporate purchase the that license
accountability is still at the corporate level,
regardless of a specific deparment placing a P.O. for it.
Also note that to write the key to the registry or
acceptance of the End User License Agreement for
individual users would require admin rights and
trying to track individual license keys in a large
organization with your scenario can be a bit of nightmare,
especially if you're now using retail keys so that
activation of each workstation would be required.

You may want to look at using the OEM System Builder
imaging tools for your scenario http://microsoft.com/oem
if activation is going to be part of the process on
an individual basis.

If you're not going to create the Office Admin Point
then, for example a CD image from that Admin Point
(http://microsoft.com/office/ork/2003 then you may
want to look at the Local Install Source method, but
the compressed CD image approach, which would allow you to
use Wayne's suggestion of creating an MST that embed's
the product key would let you create a physical'package'
you could distribute to different departments.

======
Thanks for responding Wayne. I appreciate the input on saving multiple mst.
That would work, but what I really want to do is your second suggestion and
nothing I've tried will work. If I don't add the key to either the mst or
the command line, a silent install will fail with an "invalid product key"
error. I want to be able to build one package and let any user install, but
thne require them to input the license key before they can use the
application. >>
--
Let us know if this helped you,

Bob Buckland ?
MS Office System Products MVP

*Courtesy is not expensive and can pay big dividends*

Office 2003 Editions explained
http://www.microsoft.com/uk/office/editions.mspx

 

[Bob Buckland ?:-\)]

If you're installing from an Office Admin Point
then generally the Office Volume License key was
used to setup the Admin Point. Keep in mind that
if this is a corporate purchase the that license
accountability is still at the corporate level,
regardless of a specific deparment placing a P.O. for it.
Also note that to write the key to the registry or
acceptance of the End User License Agreement for
individual users would require admin rights and
trying to track individual license keys in a large
organization with your scenario can be a bit of nightmare,
especially if you're now using retail keys so that
activation of each workstation would be required.

You may want to look at using the OEM System Builder
imaging tools for your scenario http://microsoft.com/oem
if activation is going to be part of the process on
an individual basis.

If you're not going to create the Office Admin Point
then, for example a CD image from that Admin Point
(http://microsoft.com/office/ork/2003 then you may
want to look at the Local Install Source method, but
the compressed CD image approach, which would allow you to
use Wayne's suggestion of creating an MST that embed's
the product key would let you create a physical'package'
you could distribute to different departments.

======
Thanks for responding Wayne. I appreciate the input on saving multiple mst.
That would work, but what I really want to do is your second suggestion and
nothing I've tried will work. If I don't add the key to either the mst or
the command line, a silent install will fail with an "invalid product key"
error. I want to be able to build one package and let any user install, but
thne require them to input the license key before they can use the
application. >>
--
Let us know if this helped you,

Bob Buckland ?
MS Office System Products MVP

*Courtesy is not expensive and can pay big dividends*

Office 2003 Editions explained
http://www.microsoft.com/uk/office/editions.mspx

 

[Bob Buckland ?:-\)]

If you're installing from an Office Admin Point
then generally the Office Volume License key was
used to setup the Admin Point. Keep in mind that
if this is a corporate purchase the that license
accountability is still at the corporate level,
regardless of a specific deparment placing a P.O. for it.
Also note that to write the key to the registry or
acceptance of the End User License Agreement for
individual users would require admin rights and
trying to track individual license keys in a large
organization with your scenario can be a bit of nightmare,
especially if you're now using retail keys so that
activation of each workstation would be required.

You may want to look at using the OEM System Builder
imaging tools for your scenario http://microsoft.com/oem
if activation is going to be part of the process on
an individual basis.

If you're not going to create the Office Admin Point
then, for example a CD image from that Admin Point
(http://microsoft.com/office/ork/2003 then you may
want to look at the Local Install Source method, but
the compressed CD image approach, which would allow you to
use Wayne's suggestion of creating an MST that embed's
the product key would let you create a physical'package'
you could distribute to different departments.

======
Thanks for responding Wayne. I appreciate the input on saving multiple mst.
That would work, but what I really want to do is your second suggestion and
nothing I've tried will work. If I don't add the key to either the mst or
the command line, a silent install will fail with an "invalid product key"
error. I want to be able to build one package and let any user install, but
thne require them to input the license key before they can use the
application. >>
--
Let us know if this helped you,

Bob Buckland ?
MS Office System Products MVP

*Courtesy is not expensive and can pay big dividends*

Office 2003 Editions explained
http://www.microsoft.com/uk/office/editions.mspx

 

[Bob Buckland ?:-\)]

If you're installing from an Office Admin Point
then generally the Office Volume License key was
used to setup the Admin Point. Keep in mind that
if this is a corporate purchase the that license
accountability is still at the corporate level,
regardless of a specific deparment placing a P.O. for it.
Also note that to write the key to the registry or
acceptance of the End User License Agreement for
individual users would require admin rights and
trying to track individual license keys in a large
organization with your scenario can be a bit of nightmare,
especially if you're now using retail keys so that
activation of each workstation would be required.

You may want to look at using the OEM System Builder
imaging tools for your scenario http://microsoft.com/oem
if activation is going to be part of the process on
an individual basis.

If you're not going to create the Office Admin Point
then, for example a CD image from that Admin Point
(http://microsoft.com/office/ork/2003 then you may
want to look at the Local Install Source method, but
the compressed CD image approach, which would allow you to
use Wayne's suggestion of creating an MST that embed's
the product key would let you create a physical'package'
you could distribute to different departments.

======
Thanks for responding Wayne. I appreciate the input on saving multiple mst.
That would work, but what I really want to do is your second suggestion and
nothing I've tried will work. If I don't add the key to either the mst or
the command line, a silent install will fail with an "invalid product key"
error. I want to be able to build one package and let any user install, but
thne require them to input the license key before they can use the
application. >>
--
Let us know if this helped you,

Bob Buckland ?
MS Office System Products MVP

*Courtesy is not expensive and can pay big dividends*

Office 2003 Editions explained
http://www.microsoft.com/uk/office/editions.mspx

 

[Bob Buckland ?:-\)]

If you're installing from an Office Admin Point
then generally the Office Volume License key was
used to setup the Admin Point. Keep in mind that
if this is a corporate purchase the that license
accountability is still at the corporate level,
regardless of a specific deparment placing a P.O. for it.
Also note that to write the key to the registry or
acceptance of the End User License Agreement for
individual users would require admin rights and
trying to track individual license keys in a large
organization with your scenario can be a bit of nightmare,
especially if you're now using retail keys so that
activation of each workstation would be required.

You may want to look at using the OEM System Builder
imaging tools for your scenario http://microsoft.com/oem
if activation is going to be part of the process on
an individual basis.

If you're not going to create the Office Admin Point
then, for example a CD image from that Admin Point
(http://microsoft.com/office/ork/2003 then you may
want to look at the Local Install Source method, but
the compressed CD image approach, which would allow you to
use Wayne's suggestion of creating an MST that embed's
the product key would let you create a physical'package'
you could distribute to different departments.

======
Thanks for responding Wayne. I appreciate the input on saving multiple mst.
That would work, but what I really want to do is your second suggestion and
nothing I've tried will work. If I don't add the key to either the mst or
the command line, a silent install will fail with an "invalid product key"
error. I want to be able to build one package and let any user install, but
thne require them to input the license key before they can use the
application. >>
--
Let us know if this helped you,

Bob Buckland ?
MS Office System Products MVP

*Courtesy is not expensive and can pay big dividends*

Office 2003 Editions explained
http://www.microsoft.com/uk/office/editions.mspx

 

[Bob Buckland ?:-\)]

If you're installing from an Office Admin Point
then generally the Office Volume License key was
used to setup the Admin Point. Keep in mind that
if this is a corporate purchase the that license
accountability is still at the corporate level,
regardless of a specific deparment placing a P.O. for it.
Also note that to write the key to the registry or
acceptance of the End User License Agreement for
individual users would require admin rights and
trying to track individual license keys in a large
organization with your scenario can be a bit of nightmare,
especially if you're now using retail keys so that
activation of each workstation would be required.

You may want to look at using the OEM System Builder
imaging tools for your scenario http://microsoft.com/oem
if activation is going to be part of the process on
an individual basis.

If you're not going to create the Office Admin Point
then, for example a CD image from that Admin Point
(http://microsoft.com/office/ork/2003 then you may
want to look at the Local Install Source method, but
the compressed CD image approach, which would allow you to
use Wayne's suggestion of creating an MST that embed's
the product key would let you create a physical'package'
you could distribute to different departments.

======
Thanks for responding Wayne. I appreciate the input on saving multiple mst.
That would work, but what I really want to do is your second suggestion and
nothing I've tried will work. If I don't add the key to either the mst or
the command line, a silent install will fail with an "invalid product key"
error. I want to be able to build one package and let any user install, but
thne require them to input the license key before they can use the
application. >>
--
Let us know if this helped you,

Bob Buckland ?
MS Office System Products MVP

*Courtesy is not expensive and can pay big dividends*

Office 2003 Editions explained
http://www.microsoft.com/uk/office/editions.mspx

 

[Bob Buckland ?:-\)]

If you're installing from an Office Admin Point
then generally the Office Volume License key was
used to setup the Admin Point. Keep in mind that
if this is a corporate purchase the that license
accountability is still at the corporate level,
regardless of a specific deparment placing a P.O. for it.
Also note that to write the key to the registry or
acceptance of the End User License Agreement for
individual users would require admin rights and
trying to track individual license keys in a large
organization with your scenario can be a bit of nightmare,
especially if you're now using retail keys so that
activation of each workstation would be required.

You may want to look at using the OEM System Builder
imaging tools for your scenario http://microsoft.com/oem
if activation is going to be part of the process on
an individual basis.

If you're not going to create the Office Admin Point
then, for example a CD image from that Admin Point
(http://microsoft.com/office/ork/2003 then you may
want to look at the Local Install Source method, but
the compressed CD image approach, which would allow you to
use Wayne's suggestion of creating an MST that embed's
the product key would let you create a physical'package'
you could distribute to different departments.

======
Thanks for responding Wayne. I appreciate the input on saving multiple mst.
That would work, but what I really want to do is your second suggestion and
nothing I've tried will work. If I don't add the key to either the mst or
the command line, a silent install will fail with an "invalid product key"
error. I want to be able to build one package and let any user install, but
thne require them to input the license key before they can use the
application. >>
--
Let us know if this helped you,

Bob Buckland ?
MS Office System Products MVP

*Courtesy is not expensive and can pay big dividends*

Office 2003 Editions explained
http://www.microsoft.com/uk/office/editions.mspx

 

[pcdrobbie]

In response to your last paragraph, I'm trying to do just the opposite. I
want to have one installation point, whether it is Admin or local set up, for
all our office to use, but I want the user to input the key that way they are
using their departments key, not one that is in the MST. I'm not sure If I
am being clear as to what I am looking for. With Office XP, my predessor
created one deployment package that any depart could use. Office would be
deployed to the machine and install with only a progress indicator. When the
installation was complete and the machine rebooted, the user would click on
Any of the applications, say Word. When they did, the Product Key dialog box
would open and the user would not be able to continue without inserting a
valid license key. My predessor is gone and I don't know how he did it and
there is no documentation. It would seem that I should be able to do the
same thing with Office 2k3. However, no matter how I create the deployment,
whether from CD image, or Administrative Installation point, the install will
not complete if I do not insert the product key in either of the MST's. It
will fail with the error "invalid key." If I do input the key, the app
installs and never asks for the key, so I would definitely be out of
compliace the application installed with only the key that was in the MST.
Barring any other way to complete this, I will end up creating a large
number of MST's for each department and each configuration, which is not
necessarily a big deal, just time consuming in the beginning and we run the
risk of users or technicians selecting the wrong MST for the wrong department
user, making determining compliance more difficult.

Thanks again Gentlemen.

Rob

 

[pcdrobbie]

In response to your last paragraph, I'm trying to do just the opposite. I
want to have one installation point, whether it is Admin or local set up, for
all our office to use, but I want the user to input the key that way they are
using their departments key, not one that is in the MST. I'm not sure If I
am being clear as to what I am looking for. With Office XP, my predessor
created one deployment package that any depart could use. Office would be
deployed to the machine and install with only a progress indicator. When the
installation was complete and the machine rebooted, the user would click on
Any of the applications, say Word. When they did, the Product Key dialog box
would open and the user would not be able to continue without inserting a
valid license key. My predessor is gone and I don't know how he did it and
there is no documentation. It would seem that I should be able to do the
same thing with Office 2k3. However, no matter how I create the deployment,
whether from CD image, or Administrative Installation point, the install will
not complete if I do not insert the product key in either of the MST's. It
will fail with the error "invalid key." If I do input the key, the app
installs and never asks for the key, so I would definitely be out of
compliace the application installed with only the key that was in the MST.
Barring any other way to complete this, I will end up creating a large
number of MST's for each department and each configuration, which is not
necessarily a big deal, just time consuming in the beginning and we run the
risk of users or technicians selecting the wrong MST for the wrong department
user, making determining compliance more difficult.

Thanks again Gentlemen.

Rob

 

[pcdrobbie]

In response to your last paragraph, I'm trying to do just the opposite. I
want to have one installation point, whether it is Admin or local set up, for
all our office to use, but I want the user to input the key that way they are
using their departments key, not one that is in the MST. I'm not sure If I
am being clear as to what I am looking for. With Office XP, my predessor
created one deployment package that any depart could use. Office would be
deployed to the machine and install with only a progress indicator. When the
installation was complete and the machine rebooted, the user would click on
Any of the applications, say Word. When they did, the Product Key dialog box
would open and the user would not be able to continue without inserting a
valid license key. My predessor is gone and I don't know how he did it and
there is no documentation. It would seem that I should be able to do the
same thing with Office 2k3. However, no matter how I create the deployment,
whether from CD image, or Administrative Installation point, the install will
not complete if I do not insert the product key in either of the MST's. It
will fail with the error "invalid key." If I do input the key, the app
installs and never asks for the key, so I would definitely be out of
compliace the application installed with only the key that was in the MST.
Barring any other way to complete this, I will end up creating a large
number of MST's for each department and each configuration, which is not
necessarily a big deal, just time consuming in the beginning and we run the
risk of users or technicians selecting the wrong MST for the wrong department
user, making determining compliance more difficult.

Thanks again Gentlemen.

Rob

 

[pcdrobbie]

In response to your last paragraph, I'm trying to do just the opposite. I
want to have one installation point, whether it is Admin or local set up, for
all our office to use, but I want the user to input the key that way they are
using their departments key, not one that is in the MST. I'm not sure If I
am being clear as to what I am looking for. With Office XP, my predessor
created one deployment package that any depart could use. Office would be
deployed to the machine and install with only a progress indicator. When the
installation was complete and the machine rebooted, the user would click on
Any of the applications, say Word. When they did, the Product Key dialog box
would open and the user would not be able to continue without inserting a
valid license key. My predessor is gone and I don't know how he did it and
there is no documentation. It would seem that I should be able to do the
same thing with Office 2k3. However, no matter how I create the deployment,
whether from CD image, or Administrative Installation point, the install will
not complete if I do not insert the product key in either of the MST's. It
will fail with the error "invalid key." If I do input the key, the app
installs and never asks for the key, so I would definitely be out of
compliace the application installed with only the key that was in the MST.
Barring any other way to complete this, I will end up creating a large
number of MST's for each department and each configuration, which is not
necessarily a big deal, just time consuming in the beginning and we run the
risk of users or technicians selecting the wrong MST for the wrong department
user, making determining compliance more difficult.

Thanks again Gentlemen.

Rob

 

[pcdrobbie]

In response to your last paragraph, I'm trying to do just the opposite. I
want to have one installation point, whether it is Admin or local set up, for
all our office to use, but I want the user to input the key that way they are
using their departments key, not one that is in the MST. I'm not sure If I
am being clear as to what I am looking for. With Office XP, my predessor
created one deployment package that any depart could use. Office would be
deployed to the machine and install with only a progress indicator. When the
installation was complete and the machine rebooted, the user would click on
Any of the applications, say Word. When they did, the Product Key dialog box
would open and the user would not be able to continue without inserting a
valid license key. My predessor is gone and I don't know how he did it and
there is no documentation. It would seem that I should be able to do the
same thing with Office 2k3. However, no matter how I create the deployment,
whether from CD image, or Administrative Installation point, the install will
not complete if I do not insert the product key in either of the MST's. It
will fail with the error "invalid key." If I do input the key, the app
installs and never asks for the key, so I would definitely be out of
compliace the application installed with only the key that was in the MST.
Barring any other way to complete this, I will end up creating a large
number of MST's for each department and each configuration, which is not
necessarily a big deal, just time consuming in the beginning and we run the
risk of users or technicians selecting the wrong MST for the wrong department
user, making determining compliance more difficult.

Thanks again Gentlemen.

Rob

 

[pcdrobbie]

In response to your last paragraph, I'm trying to do just the opposite. I
want to have one installation point, whether it is Admin or local set up, for
all our office to use, but I want the user to input the key that way they are
using their departments key, not one that is in the MST. I'm not sure If I
am being clear as to what I am looking for. With Office XP, my predessor
created one deployment package that any depart could use. Office would be
deployed to the machine and install with only a progress indicator. When the
installation was complete and the machine rebooted, the user would click on
Any of the applications, say Word. When they did, the Product Key dialog box
would open and the user would not be able to continue without inserting a
valid license key. My predessor is gone and I don't know how he did it and
there is no documentation. It would seem that I should be able to do the
same thing with Office 2k3. However, no matter how I create the deployment,
whether from CD image, or Administrative Installation point, the install will
not complete if I do not insert the product key in either of the MST's. It
will fail with the error "invalid key." If I do input the key, the app
installs and never asks for the key, so I would definitely be out of
compliace the application installed with only the key that was in the MST.
Barring any other way to complete this, I will end up creating a large
number of MST's for each department and each configuration, which is not
necessarily a big deal, just time consuming in the beginning and we run the
risk of users or technicians selecting the wrong MST for the wrong department
user, making determining compliance more difficult.

Thanks again Gentlemen.

Rob

 

[pcdrobbie]

In response to your last paragraph, I'm trying to do just the opposite. I
want to have one installation point, whether it is Admin or local set up, for
all our office to use, but I want the user to input the key that way they are
using their departments key, not one that is in the MST. I'm not sure If I
am being clear as to what I am looking for. With Office XP, my predessor
created one deployment package that any depart could use. Office would be
deployed to the machine and install with only a progress indicator. When the
installation was complete and the machine rebooted, the user would click on
Any of the applications, say Word. When they did, the Product Key dialog box
would open and the user would not be able to continue without inserting a
valid license key. My predessor is gone and I don't know how he did it and
there is no documentation. It would seem that I should be able to do the
same thing with Office 2k3. However, no matter how I create the deployment,
whether from CD image, or Administrative Installation point, the install will
not complete if I do not insert the product key in either of the MST's. It
will fail with the error "invalid key." If I do input the key, the app
installs and never asks for the key, so I would definitely be out of
compliace the application installed with only the key that was in the MST.
Barring any other way to complete this, I will end up creating a large
number of MST's for each department and each configuration, which is not
necessarily a big deal, just time consuming in the beginning and we run the
risk of users or technicians selecting the wrong MST for the wrong department
user, making determining compliance more difficult.

Thanks again Gentlemen.

Rob

 

[pcdrobbie]

In response to your last paragraph, I'm trying to do just the opposite. I
want to have one installation point, whether it is Admin or local set up, for
all our office to use, but I want the user to input the key that way they are
using their departments key, not one that is in the MST. I'm not sure If I
am being clear as to what I am looking for. With Office XP, my predessor
created one deployment package that any depart could use. Office would be
deployed to the machine and install with only a progress indicator. When the
installation was complete and the machine rebooted, the user would click on
Any of the applications, say Word. When they did, the Product Key dialog box
would open and the user would not be able to continue without inserting a
valid license key. My predessor is gone and I don't know how he did it and
there is no documentation. It would seem that I should be able to do the
same thing with Office 2k3. However, no matter how I create the deployment,
whether from CD image, or Administrative Installation point, the install will
not complete if I do not insert the product key in either of the MST's. It
will fail with the error "invalid key." If I do input the key, the app
installs and never asks for the key, so I would definitely be out of
compliace the application installed with only the key that was in the MST.
Barring any other way to complete this, I will end up creating a large
number of MST's for each department and each configuration, which is not
necessarily a big deal, just time consuming in the beginning and we run the
risk of users or technicians selecting the wrong MST for the wrong department
user, making determining compliance more difficult.

Thanks again Gentlemen.

Rob

 

[pcdrobbie]

In response to your last paragraph, I'm trying to do just the opposite. I
want to have one installation point, whether it is Admin or local set up, for
all our office to use, but I want the user to input the key that way they are
using their departments key, not one that is in the MST. I'm not sure If I
am being clear as to what I am looking for. With Office XP, my predessor
created one deployment package that any depart could use. Office would be
deployed to the machine and install with only a progress indicator. When the
installation was complete and the machine rebooted, the user would click on
Any of the applications, say Word. When they did, the Product Key dialog box
would open and the user would not be able to continue without inserting a
valid license key. My predessor is gone and I don't know how he did it and
there is no documentation. It would seem that I should be able to do the
same thing with Office 2k3. However, no matter how I create the deployment,
whether from CD image, or Administrative Installation point, the install will
not complete if I do not insert the product key in either of the MST's. It
will fail with the error "invalid key." If I do input the key, the app
installs and never asks for the key, so I would definitely be out of
compliace the application installed with only the key that was in the MST.
Barring any other way to complete this, I will end up creating a large
number of MST's for each department and each configuration, which is not
necessarily a big deal, just time consuming in the beginning and we run the
risk of users or technicians selecting the wrong MST for the wrong department
user, making determining compliance more difficult.

Thanks again Gentlemen.

Rob

 

[Bob Buckland ?:-\)]

Hi Rob,

In earlier versions of Office there was a method for
doing that, but for Office 2003 you'll need to use
the System Builder (OEM) tools, Office Preinstall kit
from the website I mentioned previously,
http://microsoft.com/oem

========
In response to your last paragraph, I'm trying to do just the opposite. I
want to have one installation point, whether it is Admin or local set up, for
all our office to use, but I want the user to input the key that way they are
using their departments key, not one that is in the MST. I'm not sure If I
am being clear as to what I am looking for. With Office XP, my predessor
created one deployment package that any depart could use. Office would be
deployed to the machine and install with only a progress indicator. When the
installation was complete and the machine rebooted, the user would click on
Any of the applications, say Word. When they did, the Product Key dialog box
would open and the user would not be able to continue without inserting a
valid license key. My predessor is gone and I don't know how he did it and
there is no documentation. It would seem that I should be able to do the
same thing with Office 2k3. However, no matter how I create the deployment,
whether from CD image, or Administrative Installation point, the install will
not complete if I do not insert the product key in either of the MST's. It
will fail with the error "invalid key." If I do input the key, the app
installs and never asks for the key, so I would definitely be out of
compliace the application installed with only the key that was in the MST.
Barring any other way to complete this, I will end up creating a large
number of MST's for each department and each configuration, which is not
necessarily a big deal, just time consuming in the beginning and we run the
risk of users or technicians selecting the wrong MST for the wrong department
user, making determining compliance more difficult.

Thanks again Gentlemen.

Rob >>
--
Let us know if this helped you,

Bob Buckland ?
MS Office System Products MVP

*Courtesy is not expensive and can pay big dividends*

Office 2003 Editions explained
http://www.microsoft.com/uk/office/editions.mspx

 

[Bob Buckland ?:-\)]

Hi Rob,

In earlier versions of Office there was a method for
doing that, but for Office 2003 you'll need to use
the System Builder (OEM) tools, Office Preinstall kit
from the website I mentioned previously,
http://microsoft.com/oem

========
In response to your last paragraph, I'm trying to do just the opposite. I
want to have one installation point, whether it is Admin or local set up, for
all our office to use, but I want the user to input the key that way they are
using their departments key, not one that is in the MST. I'm not sure If I
am being clear as to what I am looking for. With Office XP, my predessor
created one deployment package that any depart could use. Office would be
deployed to the machine and install with only a progress indicator. When the
installation was complete and the machine rebooted, the user would click on
Any of the applications, say Word. When they did, the Product Key dialog box
would open and the user would not be able to continue without inserting a
valid license key. My predessor is gone and I don't know how he did it and
there is no documentation. It would seem that I should be able to do the
same thing with Office 2k3. However, no matter how I create the deployment,
whether from CD image, or Administrative Installation point, the install will
not complete if I do not insert the product key in either of the MST's. It
will fail with the error "invalid key." If I do input the key, the app
installs and never asks for the key, so I would definitely be out of
compliace the application installed with only the key that was in the MST.
Barring any other way to complete this, I will end up creating a large
number of MST's for each department and each configuration, which is not
necessarily a big deal, just time consuming in the beginning and we run the
risk of users or technicians selecting the wrong MST for the wrong department
user, making determining compliance more difficult.

Thanks again Gentlemen.

Rob >>
--
Let us know if this helped you,

Bob Buckland ?
MS Office System Products MVP

*Courtesy is not expensive and can pay big dividends*

Office 2003 Editions explained
http://www.microsoft.com/uk/office/editions.mspx

 

[Bob Buckland ?:-\)]

Hi Rob,

In earlier versions of Office there was a method for
doing that, but for Office 2003 you'll need to use
the System Builder (OEM) tools, Office Preinstall kit
from the website I mentioned previously,
http://microsoft.com/oem

========
In response to your last paragraph, I'm trying to do just the opposite. I
want to have one installation point, whether it is Admin or local set up, for
all our office to use, but I want the user to input the key that way they are
using their departments key, not one that is in the MST. I'm not sure If I
am being clear as to what I am looking for. With Office XP, my predessor
created one deployment package that any depart could use. Office would be
deployed to the machine and install with only a progress indicator. When the
installation was complete and the machine rebooted, the user would click on
Any of the applications, say Word. When they did, the Product Key dialog box
would open and the user would not be able to continue without inserting a
valid license key. My predessor is gone and I don't know how he did it and
there is no documentation. It would seem that I should be able to do the
same thing with Office 2k3. However, no matter how I create the deployment,
whether from CD image, or Administrative Installation point, the install will
not complete if I do not insert the product key in either of the MST's. It
will fail with the error "invalid key." If I do input the key, the app
installs and never asks for the key, so I would definitely be out of
compliace the application installed with only the key that was in the MST.
Barring any other way to complete this, I will end up creating a large
number of MST's for each department and each configuration, which is not
necessarily a big deal, just time consuming in the beginning and we run the
risk of users or technicians selecting the wrong MST for the wrong department
user, making determining compliance more difficult.

Thanks again Gentlemen.

Rob >>
--
Let us know if this helped you,

Bob Buckland ?
MS Office System Products MVP

*Courtesy is not expensive and can pay big dividends*

Office 2003 Editions explained
http://www.microsoft.com/uk/office/editions.mspx