Installing Office 365 vs. Visio/Project 2016

[Gongalong]

Hi folks,

 

I want to be able to use the monthly channel version of Office, but also be able to use Visio and Project 2016.

 

When I try to install the Office 365 version I am unable, because of this incompatibility between the Click to Run and standard Office installer.

 

Anyone know if it's possible to get a monthly channel version of Office 2016, or a standard install version of Office 365?

 

Thanks

[Arthur]

When I try to install the Office 365 version I am unable, because of this incompatibility between the Click to Run and standard Office installer.

I would add Visio and Project to your Office 365 C2R deployment and use the new 'RemoveMSI' feature to uninstall the old MSI-based Office 2016 apps.

 

Remove existing MSI versions of Office when upgrading to Office 365 ProPlus

 

We recommend that you uninstall any previous versions of Office before installing Office 365 ProPlus. To help you uninstall versions of Office that use Windows Installer (MSI) as the installation technology, you can use the Office Deployment Tool and specify the RemoveMSI element in your configuration.xml file.

 

There are several ways that you can use the RemoveMSI element when installing Office 365 ProPlus.

 

• Uninstall all Office products on the computer.
  
• Identify any existing language resources, like language packs, and install the same languages.
  
• Keep some Office products and uninstall all other Office products on the computer.
  

RemoveMSI can be used to uninstall 2010, 2013, or 2016 versions of Office, Visio, or Project that were installed using Windows Installer (MSI).

[Gongalong]

Thanks. I was just doing some research on it and found this article about downloading click-to-run versions of Visio and Project https://docs.microsoft.com/en-gb/DeployOffice/use-the-office-deployment-tool-to-install-volume-licensed-editions-of-visio-2016

 

I've then used a combination of the information and that article and this to generate a download configuration XML and an install configuration XML https://docs.microsoft.com/en-gb/DeployOffice/overview-of-the-office-2016-deployment-tool

 

I'm trying to install now, so will see if it's worked...

 

(Seems bizarrely complicated to just get the versions to install side-by-side! Although I guess it helps to have these saved as an offline install)

[Gongalong]

I noticed the RemoveMSI article talks about using 64 bit versions, although previously MS tended to shy away from using those. Is this not the case any more? https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/DeployOffice/upgrade-from-msi-version

 

I guess I will find out in a minute, but I can't spot where a product key is entered...

[Arthur]

I've then used a combination of the information and that article and this to generate a download configuration XML and an install configuration XML[/url]

Microsoft also have a web-based tool that helps you generate the C2R XML files. You might have sussed out all of the settings however.

 

https://officedev.github.io/Office-IT-Pro-Deployment-Scripts/XmlEditor.html

 

Seems bizarrely complicated to just get the versions to install side-by-side!

That's Microsoft for you!

 

I noticed the RemoveMSI article talks about using 64 bit versions, although previously MS tended to shy away from using those. Is this not the case any more?

I guess it depends on what other third-party software or Office add-ins you have and whether they are compatible with the 64-bit versions.

 

The only problem I have come across so far with the 64-bit version of Office was that ancient third-party software like Capita's FMS is unable to send order e-mails via MAPI. I even tried adding the 'Outlook64Bridge' registry key, but FMS still crashes. I had to resort to deploying the 32-bit version of Office for our finance dept.

[Gongalong]

Thanks, the XML generator is very useful. Does that just generate download config files? There are bits about the EULA in there, but not sure if that applies to download or install.

 

I'm guessing there isn't a product key for Office itself, does it have to be licensed via the user's Office 365 account? (Trying to think how that would work where you've got multiple students using a PC, if we deploy this to students)