Using MS Systems Management Server to Install Office 97

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Installing Office Locally
Installing Office Remotely

Microsoft Systems Management Server is a network administration tool that can help you deploy and maintain Office 97 in your organization. This document supplements the Microsoft Systems Management Server documentation by providing additional procedure information for installing Office. However, there are many tools and capabilities available in Microsoft Systems Management Server that are not covered here. For complete information on using Microsoft Systems Management Server, see the Microsoft Systems Management Server Administrator's Guide.

The Microsoft Office 97 Resource Kit Tools and Utilities include Package Definition Files (PDF) that allow you to create packages for installing Office 97 on user computers throughout your organization using Microsoft Systems Management Server. These PDF files replace the standard PDF file included on the Office 97 CD.

The standard PDF file included with Office 97 is designed to help you install Office locally on user computers with a Typical, Custom, or Complete installation, but it does not support Run from Network Server installation. Chapter 6, "Customizing Client Installations," of the Office 97 Resource Kit describes how to use the standard PDF.

The PDF files included in the Microsoft Office 97 Resource Kit Tools and Utilities support local Typical, Custom, and Complete installations as well as remote Run from Network Server installations. This document describes how to use these PDF files. This document also discusses how you can install Office locally while sharing Office shared components on the network.

Tools and Utilities The Office 97 PDF files are included in the Microsoft Office 97 Resource Kit Tools and Utilities. See "Package Definition Files" in Appendix A, "Microsoft Office 97 Resource Kit Tools and Utilities."

There are eight PDF files included in the Microsoft Office 97 Resource Kit Tools and Utilities:

This PDF file

Is used for installing

Off97pro.pdf

Office 97 Professional Edition

Off97std.pdf

Office 97 Standard Edition

MSAPPS97.pdf

Office 97 shared components

Excel97.pdf

Microsoft Excel 97 standalone

Outl97.pdf

Microsoft Outlook 97 standalone

Pptsms.pdf

Microsoft PowerPoint 97 standalone

Word97.pdf

Microsoft Word 97 standalone

Clipart.pdf

Microsoft Office 97 Clip Gallery

The first three PDF files in the table are discussed in detail in this document. You can install Office standalone products with the standalone PDF files using the same procedures discussed here for installing Office with the Office PDF files (Off97pro.pdf or Off97std.pdf). The Clip Gallery PDF file (Clipart.pdf) allows you to distribute and install the extra Office Clip Art files using the separate Clip Gallery Setup program - use it in the same way as the Office PDF files.

The procedures you use to install Office locally with a Typical or Custom installation are very different from the procedures you use to install Office remotely with a Run from Network Server installation. These procedures are discussed separately in the following sections.

Installing Office Locally

The simplest way for you to use Microsoft Systems Management Server to install Office is to install Office locally on users' computers using a Typical or Custom installation, or by using a customized Setup command that you create. If you want to share Office components such as proofing tools on the network, you need to take extra steps as described in the section "How to Share Components on the Network" below.

How to Install All Office Components Locally

To use Microsoft Systems Management Server to distribute Office and install it locally on user computers, perform the following steps:

  1. Create a package for Office. A package consists of a folder (the package source folder) that contains all the Office installation files, and also a Package Definition File (PDF). The PDF describes the Setup commands that can be used to install Office on client computers.

  2. Create and run a job to distribute the package. A job consists of a package and a list of destination client computers. Systems Management Server copies the package to distribution servers servicing the client computers and executes the jobs on the client computers.

Note: Before you use Systems Management Server to install Office, you must first create an administrative installation point on a server. Systems Management Server uses the administrative installation point as the package source folder. For more information about creating the administrative installation point, see Chapter 4, "Installing Microsoft Office," in the Office 97 Resource Kit.

Create a Package for Office

You create a package for Office by using the Systems Management Server Administrator program and importing the Office PDF. The PDF file you use for installing Office locally is Off97std.pdf (for Office Standard Edition) or Off97pro.pdf (for Office Professional Edition).

The Office PDF file contains the following package commands:

  • Typical Setup runs in batch mode, installing Office with a Typical installation.

    The Setup command line used is "setup.exe /Q1 /B1".

  • Custom Setup runs in batch mode, installing Office with a Custom installation. Use this command if you have modified the STF file (if you do not modify the STF file, a Custom installation, run in batch mode, is identical to a Typical installation).

    The Setup command line used is "setup.exe /Q1 /B2".

  • Uninstall Setup runs in batch mode, removing Office from the user's computer.

    The Setup command line used is "setup.exe /Q1 /U".

  • Manual Setup runs interactively.

    The Setup command line used is "setup.exe".

Warning: If you use the Manual package command to run Setup interactively, then a user will be able to select a Run from Network Server installation. If you want users to run Setup with a Run from Network Server installation, see the section, "Installing Office Remotely," later in this document. If you want users to run Setup interactively, modify the Manual package command to add a "/B1" or "/B2" command line option to select a Typical or Custom installation by default. You can modify the Manual command from the Systems Management Server Administrator program after you have created the Office package (described below): In the Package Properties dialog box for the Office package, click Workstations, select the Manual command, click Properties, and modify the Command Line.

Each of these command definitions contains a Setup command line that directs Setup to run in batch mode with the specific installation type (except for Manual, which always runs interactively).

For example, the command line for a Typical installation is:

CommandLine = setup.exe /Q1 /B1

The /Q1 command line option directs Setup to run with no user interaction, and the /B1 option directs Setup to use the Typical installation type. When this command is run from the Systems Management Server package, Setup automatically installs Office using the predefined options for the Typical installation type. For an explanation of all the available Setup command line options, see Appendix B, "Setup Command Line Options and File Formats."

To install Office on your client computers using one of these package commands, create a package using the Office PDF.

To create an Office Setup package

  1. Start the Systems Management Server Administrator program and switch to the Packages window.

  2. On the File menu, click New.

  3. In the Package Properties dialog box, click Import.

  4. In the File Browser dialog box, select the appropriate PDF file: Off97std.pdf or Off97pro.pdf; and then click OK.

  5. In the Package Properties dialog box, click Workstations.

  6. In the Source Directory box, enter the location of the administrative installation point for Office.

  7. In the Workstation Command Lines box, click the Office installation type you want, and then click Close.

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If you want to run Setup with a different set of command-line options, then you need to add a new command in the Office package to run Setup using your set of options. You do this with the Systems Management Server Administrator program.

To add a new command to the Office package

  1. Start the Systems Management Server Administrator program, switch to the Packages window, and select the package you created for Office.

  2. On the File menu, click Properties.

  3. In the Package Properties dialog box, click Workstations.

  4. In the Source Directory box, enter the location of the administrative installation point for Office, and then click New.

  5. In the Command Name box, type a name for the new command.

    For example, type Install Office

  6. In the Command Line box, type the command to run your custom Setup.

    For example, to run Setup from the administrative installation point in batch mode, creating a log file, type setup.exe /qt /g "setuplog.txt"

  7. To indicate that no user input is required to run the package, select the Automated Command Line check box.

  8. In the Supported Platforms box, select the appropriate operating systems: Windows 95, Windows NT, or both; and then click OK.

  9. In the Workstation Command Lines box, select the command you created, and then click Close.

Note: For more information about creating, modifying, or distributing packages, or for information about other package options available in Systems Management Server, see the Microsoft Systems Management Server Administrator's Guide.

Create a Job for the Office Package

Once you have created the Systems Management Server package for Office, you create a Run On Workstation job to distribute the package.

To create a Run On Workstation job

  1. Start the Systems Management Server Administrator program, and switch to the Jobs window.

  2. On the File menu, click New.

  3. In the Job Properties dialog box, click Details.

  4. In the Package box, click the Office package you created.

  5. Under Run Phase, select the Run Workstation Command check box, select one of the Setup commands in the package, and then click OK.

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Important: The previous procedure describes how to create a simple job for the Office package and how to select the appropriate Office Setup command line. To finish creating the job, you can define jobtargets (user computers) on which to install Office, and set the job schedule. For more information about creating and scheduling the job, see the Microsoft Systems Management Server Administrator's Guide.

When the job is executed, Systems Management Server copies all the files from the main Office folder on the administrative installation point to a folder on one or more Systems Management Server distribution servers that service the users on your network. When a user runs the package, Setup is run from within this copy of the administrative installation point.

Tip Systems Management Server compresses the Office files before copying the package to distribution servers. While compression significantly reduces the size of the files being copied through the network, Systems Management Server requires approximately three times the disk space of the Office folder in order to compress the files. For example, the administrative installation point for Office 97 Professional uses approximately 325 MB, so Systems Management Server requires approximately 1,000MB (1GB) additional free disk space to perform the compression. This space is only required while Systems Management Server prepares the package for distribution. For more information, see the Microsoft Systems Management Server Administrator's Guide.

Note: It may take a long time for the package to be distributed, depending on the number of servers and the speed of your network. It is possible for it to take from 4 hours to a few days if there is a large number of servers or if the packages have to be moved over a slow network link.

How to Share Office Components on the Network

When you create an administrative installation point, Setup puts all the shared Office components, such as proofing tools, in a separate folder (the default folder name is MSAPPS), and Setup writes the location of this folder into the STF file. When a user runs client Setup with this STF file, and chooses to share Office components on the network, Setup configures the user's computer to access the shared components from the MSAPPS folder on the administrative installation point.

When you create a package as described in the previous section, Microsoft Systems Management Server distributes the Office files, including the STF file, to distribution servers across the network for users to install Office. When a user installs Office from the package, the Office files will be copied to the user's local computer from the distribution server. However, the STF file still refers back to the original MSAPPS folder on the administrative installation point. This means that users installing Office with this package will all share components from the same MSAPPS folder on the original administrative installation point, even though they have installed Office from different distribution servers.

For a small number of users, this may be acceptable. But for a large number of users, you may prefer to create multiple MSAPPS folders on different servers for different groups of users. One way to do this is to place an MSAPPS folder on each distribution server, and then have users who install from that server use the MSAPPS folder there.

To do this requires two steps:

  1. Copy the MSAPPS folder, along with the other Office files, to the distribution servers. You do this by distributing a package containing the MSAPPS folder created with the MSAPPS97.pdf file.

  2. Modify the STF on each distribution server so that it references the MSAPPS folder on the distribution server rather than on the original administrative installation point. You do this with the Network Installation Wizard.

Note: This section discusses how to share Office components on the network when the main Office files are installed locally (with a Typical or Custom installation). To install Office with a Run from Network Server installation, see the section, "Installing Office Remotely," later in this document.

Copy MSAPPS to the Distribution Servers

To put a copy of the MSAPPS folder on each distribution server, you need to create a package using the MSAPPS97.pdf file. This requires two steps:

  1. Create a package for the shared Office components using the MSAPPS97.pdf file.

  2. Create a Share Package On Server job for the package.

These two steps are described in more detail in the following procedures.

Create the shared components package

  1. Start the Systems Management Server Administrator program and open the Packages window.

  2. From the File menu, click New.

  3. In the Package Properties dialog box, click Import and enter the MSAPPS97.pdf file from the Microsoft Office 97 Resource Kit Tools and Utilities.

  4. Click Sharing. In the Source Directory box, enter the location of the shared Office components. For example, type, "\\System1\Install\MSAPPS." Then click Close.

  5. Click OK to create the package.

The package now appears in the Packages window.

Create a job to distribute the package

  1. In the Systems Management Server Administrator program, open the Jobs window.

  2. From the File menu, click New.

  3. In the Job Properties dialog box, in the Job Type box, select Share Package on Server.

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  4. Click Details.

  5. In the Job Details dialog box, select the main Office package in the Package box. For example, select "MSAPPS97."

  6. Under Job Target, select a site or site group which includes the users you want to receive this job.

  7. Click OK.

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Systems Management Server will use this job to distribute the shared components package to the distribution servers. On each distribution server, Systems Management Server will create a network share for the folder containing the shared components. This share name is defined in the MSAPPS97.pdf file and defaults to "msap97sh". For example, if the distribution server is named "DServe1", then the share name created by Systems Management Server is "\\DServe1\msap97sh."

You can now create the Office package and distribute it with a Run On Workstation job as described earlier in the section, "How to Install All Office Components Locally." Wait for both the Office and MSAPPS jobs to complete. In the Jobs window, the status for both jobs will change to "Complete" when the jobs have finished.

Tip To ensure that users do not install Office using the Office package before you have finished modifying the STF file (described in the next section), create the job with the Distribution Phase enabled but the Run Phase disabled. After the package has been distributed and you have modified the STF file, disable the Distribution Phase and enable the Run Phase. Users will then be able to run the Office package and install Office with the modified STF file.

The STF file included in the Office package you created still refers to the original shared components folder on the administrative installation point. For example, the shared components folder location in the STF may be \\System1\MSAPPS. The next step is to modify the STF file on each distribution server to reference the shared components folder that you distributed to that server.

Modify the STF File to Change the MSAPPS Location

To modify the STF file on a specific distribution server, you need to find the folder containing the Office package on the server. You then use the Network Installation Wizard to modify the STF file in the Office folder to reference the shared components folder on that server. For more information on using the Network Installation Wizard, see Chapter 6, "Customizing Client Installations," in the Office 97 Resource Kit.

To modify the STF file to change the MSAPPS location

  1. From the Systems Management Server Administrator program, perform a query for package locations. The query will identify the folder on the distribution server which contains the Office package.

    For information on how to perform a query for package locations, see the Microsoft Systems Management Server Administrator's Guide.

  2. Run the Network Installation Wizard and open the STF file in the folder containing the Office package.

  3. In the Shared Files panel, select Server.

  4. In the Shared Location panel, specify the the share containing the MSAPPS package.

    For example, if the distribution server is named "DServe1," then specify \\DServe1\msap97sh.

  5. Finish the Network Installation Wizard, saving the modified STF file.

Repeat this procedure for each distribution server containing the Office package.

Tip If you disabled the Run Phase of the Office job until you were finished modifying the STF files, disable Distribution Phase now and enable Run Phase so users can begin to install Office.

When users install Office using the Systems Management Server Office package, their systems will be configured to access shared Office components on the distribution server from which they installed Office.

Tip As an alternative to modifying the STF file, you can instead specify, when you create the administrative installation point, that the shared components are accessed by the user with a drive letter. You can then map this drive letter on users' computers to the MSAPPS folder on the appropriate distribution server. This requires that you modify user login scripts or use some other mechanism to ensure that each user has the correct drive letter mapped to the appropriate distribution server for that user. Depending on your network environment, you may find this easier than modifying the STF file as described in the above procedure.

Caution: Because users will continue to access the MSAPPS folder after Office is installed, it is important that you do not delete the MSAPPS package on the Systems Management Server distribution servers.

Installing Office Remotely

The previous section, "Installing Office Locally," described how to install Office with a Typical or Custom installation, using a package and a Run On Workstation job to run the package on users' computers. To install Office remotely, with a Run from Network Server installation, a completely different technique must be used.

The Off97pro.pdf and Off97std.pdf files, along with the MSAPPS97.pdf file, allow you to use a program group to create a special installation of Office on the user's computer.

How does Systems Management Server do load-balancing?

Normally, when you install Office with a Run from Network Server installation, Setup creates icons on your computer that are shortcuts to the Office applications on the server from which you installed Office.

When you use Systems Management Server to install Office as described in this section, Systems Management Server creates icons on your computer that link to a Systems Management Server process rather than directly to the Office applications. When you click an Office icon, the Systems Management Server process finds a distribution server containing the appropriate Office application and runs it from the server.

If you are running under Windows 95, the Systems Management Server process picks at random any available distribution server for you to use, thereby spreading the load among servers. (If you are running under Windows NT Workstation, the Systems Management Server process always picks the distribution server from which you installed Office.)

How to Install Office With a Run From Network Server Installation

To use Systems Management Server to distribute Office for users to install using a Run from Network Server installation requires four steps:

  1. Create two Office packages, one for the main Office files using the Off97pro.pdf or Off97std.pdf file and one for the shared Office components using the MSAPPS97.pdf file.

  2. Create two Share Package On Server jobs, one for each package.

  3. After the jobs complete, create a program group containing the two packages and assign it to users.

  4. Users install Office using the Office Setup command you created on the users' computers.

These four steps are described in more detail in the following procedures.

Create the main Office and shared components packages

  1. Start the Systems Management Server Administrator program and open the Packages window.

  2. From the File menu, click New to create the main Office package.

  3. In the Package Properties dialog box, click Import and enter the Off97pro.pdf or Off97stf.pdf file from the Microsoft Office 97 Resource Kit Tools and Utilities.

  4. Click Sharing. In the Source Directory box, enter the location of the main Office files. For example, type, "\\System1\Install\MSOffice." Then click Close.

  5. Click OK to create the package.

  6. From the File menu in the Packages window, click New to create the shared components package.

  7. In the Package Properties dialog box, click Import and enter the MSAPPS97.pdf file from the Microsoft Office 97 Resource Kit Tools and Utilities.

  8. Click Sharing. In the Source Directory box, enter the location of the shared Office components. For example, type, "\\System1\Install\MSAPPS." Then click Close.

  9. Click OK to create the package.

Both packages now appear in the Packages window.

Create two jobs to distribute the packages

  1. In the Systems Management Server Administrator program, open the Jobs window.

  2. From the File menu, click New.

  3. In the Job Properties dialog box, in the Job Type box, select Share Package on Server.

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  4. Click Details.

  5. In the Job Details dialog box, select the main Office package in the Package box. For example, select "Microsoft Office 97 Professional 8.0."

  6. Under Job Target, select a site or site group which includes the users you want to receive this job.

  7. Click OK.

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  8. Repeat steps 2 through 7 with the shared components package. For example, select the package "MSAPPS97."

Systems Management Server will use these two jobs to distribute the two Office packages to the distribution servers. Wait for these jobs to complete. In the Jobs window, the status for both jobs will change to "Complete" when the jobs have finished.

Note: It may take a long time for the jobs to complete, depending on the number of servers and the speed of your network. It is possible for the jobs to take from 4 hours to a few days if there is a large number of servers or if the packages have to be moved over a slow network link.

Once the jobs have completed, you need to create a program group for users to install Office.

Create a program group for Office install

  1. In the Systems Management Server Administrator program, open the Program Groups window.

  2. From the File menu, click New.

  3. In the Program Group Properties dialog box, type a name for the program group in the Name box. For example, type "Office Install."

  4. Click Packages. From the Available Packages list, select both the main and shared components Office packages, and click Add to add both packages to the Member Packages list. Then click OK.

  5. Click User Groups. From the Don't Share with these Groups list, select one or more groups and click Add to move the groups to the Share with these Groups list. Then click OK.

  6. Click OK to create the program group.

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Once you have completed the previous three steps, the new program group you created is now available for users to install Office.

To install Office using the program group

  1. On the user's computer, click Start, point to Programs, then SMS Client, then click Program Group Control. For Windows NT Workstation 3.51, double-click Program Group Control from the Program Manager. The Systems Management Server Program Group Control will add a folder with the name of the program group (for example, "Office Install") to the Programs folder in the Start menu. In Windows NT Workstation 3.51, the Program Group Control will add a program icon to the Program Manager. The Setup command defined in the program group (for example, "MS Office 97 Pro Installation") will be added to this folder.

  2. Click Start, then point to Programs, then the program group name (for example, Office Install), then click the Setup command name (for example, MS Office 97 Pro Installation). For Windows NT Workstation 3.51, double-click the program group name (for example, Office Install), then double-click the Setup command name (for example, MS Office 97 Pro Installation).

  3. In the Program Group Control Start dialog box, click Yes to start Office Setup.

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Office Setup will run and install Office with a Run from Network Server installation.

For more information…

For more information about the many additional options, tools, and capabilities available in Microsoft Systems Management Server, see the Microsoft Systems Management Server Administrator's Guide.