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Office 2007 deployment made complicated. Why?
Can someone please enlighten me as to why MS has changed the deployment methods with 2007? What was so wrong with MSI and MST files? I understand the central install and update concept and the multi language/core component concepts but now to deploy using group policies I have to manual edit some XML file instead of using the customization tool to create a simple MST. I'm a programmer and I don't want to mess around with some cryptic XML file which is limited to begin with. Group Policy deployment with MSI and MST files was extremely eloquent and easy to configure. It seems we've now taken a huge step backwards into writing script or batch files all over again. Please some one educate me as to why MS has made this change. Was it so hard to have the new customization tool create MST files? I need to deploy Office in a very specific way with certain components and icons in specific places set by default for all users, and I'll be damned if I'm going to go out to every PC in my network just to kick off a setup.exe so it can read the MSP file to do it all because MS broke the GP deployment. Write a log on script you say? I don't have time to mess with that; write, test, debug, repeat. I have important work to do and more then one network and user set to manage. Have the user run the setup at their whim? LOL... It will never happen and I'll spend more time on the phone trying to talk people though it then it's worth. I know I might be coming late to the 2007 party but I can't believe I'm the only one who's just a tad miffed about this. /RANT Now that I got that off my chest...... If anyone has any tips or advice on making this deployment less painful I'd be greatly appetitive if you could share. Thanks -- Rob Don't ever argue with an idiot.... They'll drag you down to their level and beat you with experience |
#2
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Office 2007 deployment made complicated. Why?
Read for yourself:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/o...p/default.aspx -- Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook] Post all replies to the group to keep the discussion intact. All unsolicited mail sent to my personal account will be deleted without reading. After furious head scratching, Robert R Kircher, Jr. asked: | Can someone please enlighten me as to why MS has changed the | deployment methods with 2007? What was so wrong with MSI and MST | files? I understand the central install and update concept and the | multi language/core component concepts but now to deploy using group | policies I have to manual edit some XML file instead of using the | customization tool to create a simple MST. I'm a programmer and I | don't want to mess around with some cryptic XML file which is limited | to begin with. | | Group Policy deployment with MSI and MST files was extremely eloquent | and easy to configure. It seems we've now taken a huge step | backwards into writing script or batch files all over again. | | Please some one educate me as to why MS has made this change. Was | it so hard to have the new customization tool create MST files? | | | I need to deploy Office in a very specific way with certain | components and icons in specific places set by default for all users, | and I'll be damned if I'm going to go out to every PC in my network | just to kick off a setup.exe so it can read the MSP file to do it all | because MS broke the GP deployment. Write a log on script you say? I | don't have time to mess with that; write, test, debug, repeat. I | have important work to do and more then one network and user set to | manage. Have the user run the setup at their whim? LOL... It will | never happen and I'll spend more time on the phone trying to talk | people though it then it's worth. | | I know I might be coming late to the 2007 party but I can't believe | I'm the only one who's just a tad miffed about this. | /RANT | | Now that I got that off my chest...... | | If anyone has any tips or advice on making this deployment less | painful I'd be greatly appetitive if you could share. | | Thanks |
#3
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Office 2007 deployment made complicated. Why?
"Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]" What@ever wrote in message
... Read for yourself: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/o...p/default.aspx Thanks you, I have read just about all of that. As a mater of fact, I've spent the last two days working out a startup script and testing it in my environment. I've wasted just about two weeks worth of my time investigating the entire mess. I posted my first question on this forum, which went unanswered, well over a month ago, yet I still haven't found the answer to my first and most basic question. WHY, has MS changes something that worked so well and that so many small time operations depend on? Add to that my second question: How do I Publish through GP and still keep all my customizations created in my MSP file? Publish mind you. I need Office published and made available based on the users NOT the machine. Understand, I have many separate installations (clients) under my management all of whom depend very heavily on GP/MSI/MST installations. None of whom can or will afford SMS and a server to run it. GP/MSI/MST deployment is the perfect solution. Its beyond me why MS would define a standard with one version and then support that standard in the next version with at best a kluged workaround. Its no wonder MS has such a bad reputation in the IT/Development community. These decisions COST MONEY; lots of money to the small time operators which can't just absorbed the cost like larger clients. So I apologies if I'm just a bit miffed over this but I know for a fact I'm not alone. I suspect from your short and seemingly snotty reply, that you MVPs are quite tired of fielding questions on the subject as well; mostly because their aren't any good responses to the complaints. Just realize that changes like this cost money. Money that many don't have making it all that much harder for operators like me to actually sell my clients on upgrading. The MS development folks and even you MVPs and need to understand that Accounting firms, for example, don't give a damn about how cool and flexible XML and fancy scripts files are, they just want Excel on their desktop and to get there as cheaply as possible. If it's going to cost them extra money because of some change that serves no benefit to them they just won't upgrade. Its really as simple as that. I have one client right now, a 50 seat installation, who will not upgrade based solely on the increased cost of deployment and because of the operational changes forced by that deployment. -- Rob Don't ever argue with an idiot.... They'll drag you down to their level and beat you with experience |
#4
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Office 2007 deployment made complicated. Why?
Robert,
I ask myself the very same question, I've been experiementing with Office 2007 deployment (unsuccessfully) and just wonder "why...oh why!!!" I posted a question here today and someone replied most unhelpfully saying I need to contact "My IT company" as I am using "Enterprise" version and things seem to be moving away from the "technical" in this forum to the "legal". I think that maybe one reason why microsoft has moved away from the "per user" install for office 2007 is that most new machine now come "office ready" - so unless you are a big company with a big IT budget and big license agreements, you won't need to deploy office because all your newly purchased machines will come with a version of office on them (set by your purchasing of MLKs). Anyway there's my humble opinion. Ian "Robert R Kircher, Jr." wrote: "Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]" What@ever wrote in message ... Read for yourself: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/o...p/default.aspx Thanks you, I have read just about all of that. As a mater of fact, I've spent the last two days working out a startup script and testing it in my environment. I've wasted just about two weeks worth of my time investigating the entire mess. I posted my first question on this forum, which went unanswered, well over a month ago, yet I still haven't found the answer to my first and most basic question. WHY, has MS changes something that worked so well and that so many small time operations depend on? Add to that my second question: How do I Publish through GP and still keep all my customizations created in my MSP file? Publish mind you. I need Office published and made available based on the users NOT the machine. Understand, I have many separate installations (clients) under my management all of whom depend very heavily on GP/MSI/MST installations. None of whom can or will afford SMS and a server to run it. GP/MSI/MST deployment is the perfect solution. Its beyond me why MS would define a standard with one version and then support that standard in the next version with at best a kluged workaround. Its no wonder MS has such a bad reputation in the IT/Development community. These decisions COST MONEY; lots of money to the small time operators which can't just absorbed the cost like larger clients. So I apologies if I'm just a bit miffed over this but I know for a fact I'm not alone. I suspect from your short and seemingly snotty reply, that you MVPs are quite tired of fielding questions on the subject as well; mostly because their aren't any good responses to the complaints. Just realize that changes like this cost money. Money that many don't have making it all that much harder for operators like me to actually sell my clients on upgrading. The MS development folks and even you MVPs and need to understand that Accounting firms, for example, don't give a damn about how cool and flexible XML and fancy scripts files are, they just want Excel on their desktop and to get there as cheaply as possible. If it's going to cost them extra money because of some change that serves no benefit to them they just won't upgrade. Its really as simple as that. I have one client right now, a 50 seat installation, who will not upgrade based solely on the increased cost of deployment and because of the operational changes forced by that deployment. -- Rob Don't ever argue with an idiot.... They'll drag you down to their level and beat you with experience |
#5
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Office 2007 deployment made complicated. Why?
On Nov 26, 9:23 am, Ian Robert wrote:
Robert, I ask myself the very same question, I've been experiementing with Office 2007 deployment (unsuccessfully) and just wonder "why...oh why!!!" I posted a question here today and someone replied most unhelpfully saying I need to contact "My IT company" as I am using "Enterprise" version and things seem to be moving away from the "technical" in this forum to the "legal". I think that maybe one reason why microsoft has moved away from the "per user" install for office 2007 is that most new machine now come "office ready" - so unless you are a big company with a big IT budget and big license agreements, you won't need to deploy office because all your newly purchased machines will come with a version of office on them (set by your purchasing of MLKs). Anyway there's my humble opinion. Ian "Robert R Kircher, Jr." wrote: "Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]" What@ever wrote in message ... Read for yourself: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/o...p/default.aspx Thanks you, I have read just about all of that. As a mater of fact, I've spent the last two days working out a startup script and testing it in my environment. I've wasted just about two weeks worth of my time investigating the entire mess. I posted my first question on this forum, which went unanswered, well over a month ago, yet I still haven't found the answer to my first and most basic question. WHY, has MS changes something that worked so well and that so many small time operations depend on? Add to that my second question: How do I Publish through GP and still keep all my customizations created in my MSP file? Publish mind you. I need Office published and made available based on the users NOT the machine. Understand, I have many separate installations (clients) under my management all of whom depend very heavily on GP/MSI/MST installations. None of whom can or will afford SMS and a server to run it. GP/MSI/MST deployment is the perfect solution. Its beyond me why MS would define a standard with one version and then support that standard in the next version with at best a kluged workaround. Its no wonder MS has such a bad reputation in the IT/Development community. These decisions COST MONEY; lots of money to the small time operators which can't just absorbed the cost like larger clients. So I apologies if I'm just a bit miffed over this but I know for a fact I'm not alone. I suspect from your short and seemingly snotty reply, that you MVPs are quite tired of fielding questions on the subject as well; mostly because their aren't any good responses to the complaints. Just realize that changes like this cost money. Money that many don't have making it all that much harder for operators like me to actually sell my clients on upgrading. The MS development folks and even you MVPs and need to understand that Accounting firms, for example, don't give a damn about how cool and flexible XML and fancy scripts files are, they just want Excel on their desktop and to get there as cheaply as possible. If it's going to cost them extra money because of some change that serves no benefit to them they just won't upgrade. Its really as simple as that. I have one client right now, a 50 seat installation, who will not upgrade based solely on the increased cost of deployment and because of the operational changes forced by that deployment. -- Rob Don't ever argue with an idiot.... They'll drag you down to their level and beat you with experience Rob, If you are having troubles then I see that I am completely screwed. Upgraded office to 2007 and Excel locks up within minutes. Getting "Data file couldn't be closed..." error in Outlook and so on. Having issues now with ADOBE too not present prior to the upgrade...have pro version 8.1.1. I'm a one-man-show, no IT department and can't afford the IT consulting services of the variety you apparently offer. So now I uninstall and go back? I've lost now 7 days of productivity and while MS doesn't care about that it really hurts me. Best of luck and hope you can flush out answers. Dave |
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