Chapter 13: Preparing for an Office Multilingual Deployment

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You can install, customize, and maintain a single version of Microsoft Office 2003 that meets your organization’s multilingual needs. The plug-in language features in Office 2003 and Office multilingual resources (such as the Multilingual User Interface Pack) allow users in international locales to work in their own languages. Users can also use a localized version of Office for the language needs of a select locale.

Overview of Office 2003 Multilingual Resources

Microsoft Office 2003 provides tools that simplify deploying and supporting Office across language boundaries—including the Microsoft Office 2003 Multilingual User Interface Pack (MUI Pack), which gives organizations the option to configure the Office user interface in multiple languages.

You have several options for installing Office language versions and language-specific tools, based on your organization’s needs. These options include:

• Microsoft Office 2003 Multilingual User Interface Pack, which enables you to view the Office 2003 user interface and Help in a variety of languages.

• Microsoft Office 2003 Proofing Tools, which enables you to create and edit Office documents in other languages.

• Microsoft Office 2003 in a localized version.

For information on deploying a combination of these resources, see the sections “Combinations of multilingual options” and “Typical multilingual configurations” in this chapter.

Multilingual User Interface Pack

The Multilingual User Interface Pack (MUI Pack) includes files for displaying the Office user interface and Help in several languages. With MUI Packs, users worldwide can run the Office user interface and online Help in one or more languages, or create and edit documents in other languages. For administrators, the core functionality of Office 2003 allows them to deploy a single version of Office—regardless of what language is primarily used at their users’ location—along with the necessary language resources.

Although Office is localized into specific language versions, Office with the MUI Pack provides combined support for those languages in a single product because it is built on core code that you can run internationally. (Localized versions provide additional language-specific functionality in minor areas such as right-click menus.) Language-specific user interface and Help text are stored separately. These language features “plug in” to the core Office 2003 code, and your users can install and run these features when they need them.

The plug-in language capabilities of the MUI Pack allow you to install English Office 2003 on your computer and view the Office 2003 user interface and Help in another language—for example, German. You can even view Help in one language and the user interface in another.

Note

Although the MUI Pack lets you change the user interface and Help to any of dozens of languages, and provides proofing tools for more than 50 languages, using Office 2003 with the MUI Pack is not the same as using a localized version of Office 2003. For more information on localized versions, see “Localized versions of Office 2003” later in this chapter.

You can customize your Office installation to add MUI Pack files for several languages. You can then specify different user interface and Help text languages for different groups of users in your organization, or allow users to set their own language.

The MUI Pack is designed to enhance the English version of Office 2003; it is not supported with localized versions of Office. (The Multilingual User Interface Pack Setup program is available in English only; it is not localized into other languages.) In addition, the MUI Pack works only with editions Office obtained through a Volume License agreement or similar channel; it does not work with retail editions of Office.

Hard disk space requirements for the MUI Packs vary per MUI Pack language. For example, the German MUI Pack requires 231 megabytes (MB) of hard disk space. In addition, if users install from a compressed image and choose to keep the local installation source, the German MUI Pack requires an additional 91 MB of hard disk space for the local installation source. By contrast, the Chinese (Simplified) MUI Pack requires 578 MB of hard disk space plus an additional 320 MB for the local installation source.

Advantages to deploying the MUI Pack with a standard Office configuration

Deploying Office 2003 together with multilingual resources such as MUI Packs or Proofing Tools has several advantages. The main advantage is that you can customize a standard configuration of Office for your whole organization—by using the Custom Installation Wizard, for example—and then allow individual sites to include language features appropriate for their areas. For more information on strategies to use in deploying language resources, see “Office 2003 Multilingual Deployment Strategies” later in this chapter.

If you choose to use the Custom Installation Wizard to modify the Office package (MSI file) when you configure Office for an international deployment, you would set language settings such as the default Help language and the languages enabled for editing. During installation, these settings will be applied to Office applications by means of a transform. In contrast, if you modify the MSI file for a MUI Pack with the Custom Installation Wizard, these language configuration options are not available.

To effectively install a MUI Pack with Office, the MUI Pack installation should be chained to the Office installation. By chaining the MUI Pack installation, you can ensure that the Office settings will be applied first, and that the MUI Pack will be installed before Office is started for the first time. (Starting Office without a MUI Pack installed will cause the language settings to revert to their default state.) For information on chaining installations through Setup, see “Deploying Office and Other Products Together” in Chapter 5, “Installing Office 2003.”

Proofing Tools

Office 2003 Proofing Tools includes spelling and grammar checkers, thesauruses, AutoCorrect lists, and Input Method Editors—all the tools users need to create and edit Office documents in more than 50 languages. You install Proofing Tools when your users need to work in other languages but use a standard language for the user interface and Help in Office applications.

While some proofing tools are included in the MUI Pack, Office 2003 Proofing Tools is a separate product. Unlike the MUI Pack, Office 2003 Proofing Tools works with localized versions of Office 2003.

You can install Proofing Tools for one or more languages on users’ computers. Each language set that you install allows a user to create and edit documents in that language.

After you have installed Office, you can install Proofing Tools separately. By developing an integrated deployment plan, however, you can install Proofing Tools (together with MUI Packs, if you choose) at the same time that you install Office 2003—by chaining Proofing Tools to the Office installation.

Note

The Setup program for Office 2003 Proofing Tools is available in these languages: Dutch, Swedish, Brazilian Portuguese, English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish. (The MUI Pack Setup program is available in English only.)

Hard disk space requirements for Office 2003 Proofing Tools vary by language. For instance, Proofing Tools for German requires 48 MB of hard disk space; Proofing Tools for Chinese (Simplified) requires 365 MB. Asian languages require as much as 120 MB of hard disk space to include the necessary fonts and Input Method Editors (IMEs).

Localized versions of Office 2003

Localized versions of Office 2003 are available for users who want all Office features in their own language. Although deploying Office with the MUI Pack gives you the advantage of having a single installation of Office for your entire international organization, there are limitations to some plug-in language features in the MUI Pack. As a result, these features are only offered in localized versions.

Although MUI Packs are used only with the English version of Office 2003 and not with localized versions, users of a localized version of Office can easily share documents created by users running Office with a MUI Pack. In this way, localized versions of Office 2003 are compatible with Office 2003 with the MUI Pack.

To install a localized version of Office 2003, you follow the same procedures as when you install the English version. For example, you can customize your installation by creating a transform with the Custom Installation Wizard.

There are some advantages, and some disadvantages, to installing a localized version.

Advantages to installing a localized version of Office

Installing a localized version of Office 2003 has its advantages. For instance, the user interface of some of the features in Office 2003 with the Multilingual User Interface Pack cannot be changed. If it is important that users run these features in the users’ own language, you can deploy a localized version of Office to these users. Localized versions of Office 2003 are based on the same international core as Office 2003 with the Multilingual User Interface Pack, so users can exchange documents between language versions of Office 2003 with no loss of data.

There are some differences between running Office 2003 with the Multilingual User Interface Pack and running a localized version of Office. For example:

• Office 2003 with the MUI Pack cannot switch the user interface language of Microsoft Office Excel 2003 add-ins and some ActiveX controls.

• In Office 2003 with the MUI Pack, shortcuts on the Start menu are not localized.

• Localized versions of Office include localized right-click menus.

Note

Although the Multilingual User Interface Pack lets you change the user interface and Help to any of dozens of languages, and provides proofing tools for more than 50 languages, using Office with the MUI Pack is not the same as using a localized version of Office 2003. For more information on localized versions, see “Localized versions of Office 2003” earlier in this chapter.

Disadvantages to installing a localized version of Office

There are some drawbacks to deploying localized versions of Office rather than building around a standard version. With separate versions, you need to customize and manage each localized version separately, including developing separate procedures for deployment, support, and administration. Also, localized versions do not usually support the ability to switch the language of the user interface.

However, some localized versions of Office 2003 provide limited ability to switch the language of the user interface to English as follows:

• Arabic

• Hebrew

• Hindi

• Japanese

• Korean

• Pan-Chinese

• Simplified Chinese

• Thai

• Traditional Chinese

In the Arabic version of Office 2003, you can also switch the user interface to French. In the Pan-Chinese (Hong Kong) version, you can switch most Office 2003 applications to Simplified Chinese (except for Microsoft Office Outlook 2003 and Microsoft Office FrontPage 2003).

Depending on your needs, you can deploy a localized version of Office 2003 in selected geographical areas. For example, you might deploy Office 2003 with the Multilingual User Interface Pack everywhere except Japan, where you deploy the Japanese version of Office 2003.

Combinations of multilingual options

You can install different combinations of Microsoft Office 2003 and language offerings, based on your organization’s requirements. Some of these combinations are described in the following table.

If you want to…	Install the following language version and tools
Deploy a single version of Office internationally for your organization and allow users to work with a user interface and Help in one non-English language (regardless of the language used in their documents).	English Office 2003 with one MUI Pack
Deploy a single version of Office and allow users in different parts of your organization (perhaps in different countries) to work in different user interface and Help languages.	English Office 2003 with several MUI Packs
Standardize on an English user interface for your organization, and allow users to view documents in other languages.	English Office 2003 only
Standardize on an English user interface, and enable users to create and edit documents in other languages.	English Office 2003 and Office 2003 Proofing Tools
Provide users with fully localized functionality and content (such as templates and add-ins) in all Office applications in a single language, and allow them to view documents in other languages.	Localized versions of Office 2003 for one language
Provide users with fully localized functionality in all Office applications in a single language, and allow them to create and edit documents in other languages.	Localized versions of Office 2003 for one language and Office 2003 Proofing Tools

Typical multilingual configurations

Some common scenarios for deploying multilingual configurations for Office 2003 include the following:

• Mimic a localized version.

  Deploy English Office 2003 along with a MUI Pack MSI file for an additional language.

• Use English as a standard user interface, but provide Help text in native languages.

  Deploy English Office 2003 along with the MUI Pack that adds additional Help files in another language.

• Provide a multilingual version of Office on one computer.

  For example, set up a computer to be used by traveling users from different countries. Deploy English Office 2003 along with MUI Packs for each required language.

• Allow users to read and edit text in another language.

  Deploy Office 2003 (an English or localized version) along with the proofing tools for the required language or languages.

• Use a fully localized version of Office with no English text.

  Install a localized version of Office 2003. Localized versions provide a limited number of additional localized features, such as language-specific right-click menus.

Resources and related information

There are issues and limitations to be aware of when configuring users’ computers. You may also want to set up browsers, fonts, and printers to take better advantage of international features. For more information about these options, see “Preparing Users’ Computers for Multilingual Capabilities in Office” later in this chapter.

You can provide multilingual user interface and Help text to Office users by installing one or more MUI Packs. For more information about configuring an Office 2003 Multilingual User Interface Pack to meet the needs of your organization, see “Customizing and Installing Office 2003 MUI Packs” in Chapter 14, “Deploying Office 2003 Multilingual Resources.”

You can allow users to edit and proof documents by installing Office 2003 Proofing Tools. For more information about making Proofing Tools available to users in your organization, see “Installing Proofing Tools,” also in Chapter 14.