Customizing How Setup Runs

When you run Setup, you can use command-line options to change some of the parameters that Setup uses to install Office. By using command-line options, you can do the following:

• Identify the MSI and MST files to use
• Direct Setup to run in quiet mode
• Initialize Windows installer logging
• Alter Setup property values

For example, you can enter the following options on the command line:

setup.exe /qb+ /l*+ c:\office9.txt companyname="Northwind Traders"

This command line customizes Setup in the following ways:

• Setup does not prompt the user for information, but it displays progress indicators and a completion message as it installs Office. Setup installs the same Office features as it would if the user ran Setup and clicked Install Now.
• The Windows installer logs all information and any error messages, appending this information to the file C:\Office9.txt on the user’s computer.
• Setup sets the default organization name to Northwind Traders.

Toolbox   You can find detailed information about Setup command-line options in a worksheet in the Setup Reference workbook (SetupRef.xls). See the Office Information section in the Toolbox and download the file Offinfo.exe. You can find this downloadable file on the Office 2000 Resource Kit Downloads page.

How to distribute Setup command-line options

If users double-click Setup.exe, Setup runs with no command-line options. To use your custom command-line options, users must click Run on the Windows Start menu and enter the path to Setup.exe, along with your command-line options.

To simplify this process for your users, you can create in MS-DOS® a batch file that runs Setup.exe with your command-line options. Or you can create a Windows shortcut and add your custom options to the command-line box. Users double-click the batch file or shortcut to run the Setup command line that you have defined. You can store the batch file or shortcut in the main folder of the administrative installation point.

If you run Setup from a network logon script or through a systems management tool (such as Microsoft Systems Management Server), you can add your custom options to the Setup command line in the script or deployment package.

When to use Setup command-line options

The Setup command line is most useful when you have few customizations to make or when you want to create several different installations quickly. You do not need to edit any Office files (such as the Setup settings file) or run any special tools (such as the Office Custom Installation Wizard).

You can create multiple custom installations by defining different command lines for different users or by creating multiple batch files or shortcuts. This method is especially useful if you need to create multiple deployment packages by using a systems management tool — and each package requires a different command line.

For example, you can have your Engineering and Accounting departments install the same version of Office but use unique organization names. In the administrative installation point, you create two shortcuts that have the following command lines:

setup.exe /q companyname="Engineering Department"
setup.exe /q companyname="Accounting Department"

See also

For a complete description of the features available in the Office Setup program, including information about how to perform administrative and client installations, see Office Setup Program.