While the Web-access and connectivity features built into Microsoft® Office 2003 offer a wealth of services, some organizations may need to limit the access of Office applications to the Web. An organization's policies may restrict Web access for certain workgroups, for example, or confidential projects may drive a strict security policy.
At the highest level, Web access can be managed through the proxy servers that control the Web gateway to your organization. Within Office 2003, however, you can also help to control the Web access capabilities of individual applications or features.
The following list provides a survey of many of the features you can configure to enable or take advantage of Web access in Office 2003 applications. The settings are listed as they appear in the Custom Installation Wizard and Custom Maintenance Wizard. Although the list does not represent a comprehensive view of Web connectivity or security, it does offer a guide to the range of control you can enforce in your installations.
Note An Office Resource Kit Journal article may also provide information for specific customization of Internet access for Office aplications. See Allowing Internet Access from Office Applications for more information.
Settings on the Change Office User Settings page
The largest collection of Web access settings is coordinated through the Microsoft Office 2003 (user) node of the Change Office User Settings page of the Custom Installation Wizard or the Custom Maintenance Wizard. Individual applications may also provide settings that can affect Web interaction with the product.
Microsoft Office Access 2003
No explicit Web access control is offered through this node.
Microsoft Office Excel 2003
Microsoft Office FrontPage 2003
No explicit Web access control is offered through this node.
Microsoft Office Outlook 2003
- Tools | Options
- Preferences
- Mail Format
- Internet Formatting
HTML Options
- Security
The Security node also provides a number of settings related to cryptography and other security options. For detailed information about configuring Microsoft Office Outlook® 2003 security, see Configuring Outlook Security Features to Help Prevent Viruses.
Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003
- Slide Show | Online Broadcast | Set Up and Schedule
- Broadcast Settings
Other Broadcast Settings
Settings related to Web access for chat services, media downloads, and event URL listing.
- Server Options
Other NetShow Settings
Settings related to admin URL's and the location of audio/video ASD files.
Microsoft Office Word 2003
- Tools | Options
- General
E-mail Options
Filter HTML before sending
Save smart tags in e-mail
- Spelling & Grammar
Ignore Internet and file addresses
Microsoft Office 2003 (machine)
- Security Settings
While no explicit Web access control is offered through this node, the section does provide a collected view of security settings available through the individual application settings. Examples include macro security level, trust access to Microsoft Visual Basic® development system projects, and trust relationships with installed add-ins and templates.
- Help | Check for Updates
Check for Updates
Microsoft Office 2003 (user)
- Tools | AutoCorrect Options (Excel, PowerPoint, and Access)
- Smart Tags
More Smart Tags URL
Check for new actions URL
Recognize smart tags in Word
Recognize smart tags in Excel
- Tools | Options | General | Web Options
- Files
Check if Office is the default editor for Web pages created in Office
- Browsers
Rely on VML for displaying graphics in browsers
Allow PNG as an output format
Target monitor
- Encoding
Default or specific encoding
- Tools | Options | General | Service Options
Completely disable Template Taskpane
- Online Content
- Online content options
Never show online content or entry points
Use only offline content whenever available
Use online content whenever available
- Help
Microsoft Office Online
- Security Settings
- Specify Trusted Alert Sources
Check to enable all sites as safe subscription sources
Check to enable all intranet sites as safe subscription sources
Check for trusted zone sites to be safe for subscription sources
- Collaboration Settings
- Web Archives
Allow Web Archives to be saved in HTML encoding
Web Archive encoding
Save new Web pages as Web archives
Default format for Publish
PowerPoint: Web page format compatibility
- Smart Documents (Word, Excel)
Disable Smart Document's use of manifests
Completely disable the Smart Documents feature in Word and Excel
- Services
Disable Fax over Internet feature
- Instant Messaging Integration
A collection of settings related to the configuration of and user information contained in instant messages.
- Manage Restricted Permissions
Disable Information Rights Management User Interface
Additional permissions request URL
Make documents with restricted documents viewable in trusted browsers
Always require users to connect to verify permission
Disable Microsoft Windows Live ID service for content with restricted permission
- Miscellaneous
Prevent access to Web-based file storage
Disable hyperlinks to web templates in File | New and task panes
Do not up load media files
Do not display paths in alerts
Web Folders: Managing pairs of Web pages and folders
Disable Web view in the Office file dialogs
Block updates from the Office Update Site from applying
Microsoft Clip Organizer
No explicit Web access control is offered through this node.
Microsoft Office InfoPath 2003
Microsoft Office Publisher 2003
Microsoft Office OneNote 2003
No explicit Web access control is offered through this node.
Microsoft Office Project 2003
Project 2003 also includes Web access and connectivity features. To manage Web access in Project 2003, however, you must use Group Policy and the Project 2003 policy template (Proj11.adm) to set policies. The Change Office User Settings page is not available when you run the Custom Installation Wizard or Custom Maintenance Wizard with Project 2003.
Settings on the Set Feature Installation States page
You can control the installation of some Web-related services through the following settings on the Set Feature Installation States page of the Custom Installation Wizard or Custom Maintenance Wizard.
Office Shared Features
- Office 2003 Web Components
- Microsoft Office Download Control
- Office SOAP Toolkit
Office Tools
- Smart Tag .NET Programmability Support
- HTML Source Editing
- Windows® SharePoint™ Services Support
- Save My Settings Wizard
- Smart Tag Plugins
- Hosted Web