March 22, 1999

The Setup program for Microsoft Office 2000 provides a lot of flexibility right out of the box. Users running Setup can choose exactly how to install each feature. In addition to installing features on their local hard drive, users can:

• Set a feature to be installed later, the first time the user activates that feature.
• Install a feature to run over the network or from theOffice CD-ROM, to save hard disk space.
• Not install a feature at all.

As an administrator, you can use command-line options or the Setup settings file to further customize the installation process for users. But the heart and soul of a comprehensive Office 2000 custom installation plan is the Custom Installation Wizard.

Working with the new Windows® Installer, the Custom Installation Wizard allows you to customize almost every detail of the installation process. If you want, you can use the wizard to create a unique installation of Office 2000 for each department in your organization.

By using the Custom Installation Wizard, you can:

• Set installation options for individual Office features, rather than having to set one option for the entire product.
• Hide selected options from users during Setup.
• Add custom files and Windows registry settings to the installation.
• Customize desktop shortcuts for each Office application.
• Set default user options.

Although the Custom Installation Wizard is designed especially for customizing Office 2000 Setup, it can also be used with the broader family of Office-compatible applications — any product that uses the Windows Installer.

For example, you can use the Custom Installation Wizard to perform any of the following tasks:

• Customize installation of the Microsoft Office 2000 MultiLanguage Pack.
• Customize installation of Microsoft Publisher 2000.
• Specify other applications to run on the user’s computer after Office Setup is completed.

The Custom Installation Wizard takes advantage of other Office customization tools as well. For example, you can include an Office profile settings (OPS) file that you create with the Profile Wizard for Office 2000 to preset user options in Office applications.

You can also run the Microsoft Internet Explorer Administration Kit from within the Custom Installation Wizard to customize the way that Office Setup installs Internet Explorer 5.

Related Links

For a thorough discussion of all the tools and methods available for customizing Office 2000, see the topics Customizing How Setup Runs, Customizing How Office Features Are Installed, and Customizing How Office Options Are Set .

For a detailed discussion of how the Custom Installation Wizard works, see Office Custom Installation Wizard in the Microsoft Office 2000 Resource Kit.