Using the Windows Installer Install on Demand Feature

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Windows Installer Install on Demand allows Office XP features to be installed when the user selects them. Install on Demand is configured in the Custom Installation Wizard by selecting the Install on first use option for the specific applications.

The following are advantages of using Install on Demand:

  • Less disk space is required initially on the client computer.

  • Peak network bandwidth utilization is potentially decreased because Windows Installer components are copied over a longer period of time instead of simultaneously.

A disadvantage of using Install on Demand is that the original Windows Installer source must be accessible at the time that the Office XP feature is selected. Install on Demand is not a good choice for laptop computers when the Windows Installer source is not stored locally on the computer.

Important

  • Install on Demand applications generate status messages when SMS runs the Office XP installation for the first time. However, SMS does not generate status messages when the user initiates the Install on Demand installation (after the initial installation) because later Office XP component installations are not initiated via the SMS client.

To create desktop icons, the Install on Demand method requires Active Desktop to be installed on the client; however, it is not mandatory that Active Desktop be turned on. If Active Desktop is not installed, the Windows Installer shortcuts might not be installed, and install-on-demand functionality is not available. Also, all clients must be running Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.01 or later. Clients running Windows 98, Windows 2000 Server, Windows 2000 Professional, or Windows XP have this functionality built in.

You can customize and extend the basic methods of installing Office XP on clients to help support your specific deployment needs. After you run Install on Demand Setup, you can send additional Office XP Setup command lines to clients to trigger the installation of a specific Office XP program. This can be helpful if you want to stage your Office XP deployment.

For example, you might want to install the full version of Word and Excel on clients, but make PowerPoint and Access available for installation on first use. By setting some of the programs to install on first use, the network bandwidth required at initial deployment time is reduced, and setup time for users is faster. Later, if you want complete versions of PowerPoint and Access installed on all clients, you can send an additional setup command line program to accomplish this using SMS.

For additional information about Office XP features and Install on Demand, see the Microsoft Office XP Resource Kit athttps://www.microsoft.com/office/ork/xp/default.htm.

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