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Deploying Office 2003 Guide & FAQ



Microsoft has created an online site specifically related to deployment of the client and server products. It's called the Deployment Center (http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011353441033.aspx) and from there, you can get information about deploying the various versions of Office. The navigation is so-so and searching is not great but it's a good start for detailed information about the technologies that support Office deployment.



Ways to deploy Microsoft Office

1. Group Policy Software Distribution (GPO)
2. Administrative Installation Image
3. Compressed Source (Local Install Source)
4. SMS
5. Imaging & Third Party

Microsoft Office 2003 Deployment Tools

1. Microsoft Office Access 2003 Conversion Toolkit (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=2E861E76-5D89-450A-B977-980A9841111E&displaylang=en). This is a tool that helps you analyze Access 97 databases for upgrade and conversion to Access 2003. It does not however do the conversion.
2. Windows User State Migration Tool (USMT) version 2.6 (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=4af2d2c9-f16c-4c52-a203-8daf944dd555&DisplayLang=en). A Microsoft tool used to migrate user data and application configurations for a user's current client computer to a new client computer.

What's Changed in Office 2003

Microsoft has created an official list of differences between older versions of Office and Office 2003. These can be found in the Deployment Center referenced above. The three documents are:
Remember, this is a Wiki and you can edit this page as well. If you are familiar with any other undocumented changes, please list them here!

Deployment Howto Guides

There are many situations you could find yourself in when starting an Office installation. You might be migrating from one version of Office to another, or perhaps you're using a specific software deployment package to deploy Office. If you've found a particularly nice link, website or guide, please post it here.
1. How to create a custom Office 2003 install, using an Office 2003 custom transform (MST) Answer - Excellent Video Tutorial (http://myitforum.techtarget.com/blog/btucker/archive/2005/03/19/4092.aspx)

Misc Installation Problems & Solutions

1. I am trying to re-install office 2003. My original plan was to uninstall, then reinstall but I keep getting the following message:
"This patch package could not be opened. Verify that the patch package exists and that you cn access it, or contact the application vendor to verify that this is a valid Windows Installer patch package." http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=295823

2. Where can I find the Office 2003 viewers in the MSI format? OfficeDeployment.O2003ViewersInMSI
3. How do I force the location of the offline folders .ost file that Outlook 2003 uses in Cached Exchange mode? OfficeDeployment.O2003ForceOutlookOstLocation
4. What files extensions are blocked from being opened in Outlook 2003? http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/assistance/HP030850041033.aspx
5. A while back AccessAdvisor said that SP1 for Office 2003 would include a Conversion Toolkit for Microsoft Office Access 2003... but http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=842532 does not mention it. What happened? Anyone know when it will be made available? OfficeDeployment.O2003AccessConversionToolkit
6. The Office Shortcut Bar (OSB) was removed from Office 2003. How can I get it back? http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/Pub0009/LPMArticle.asp?ID=327


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