Chapter 16: Maintaining an Office 2003 Multilingual Installation | Microsoft Office 2003 Editions Resource Kit (Pro-Resource Kit)

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Once you have deployed Microsoft Office 2003 multilingual resources in your organization, Office 2003 allows you to further customize and maintain that installation.

Updating Language Settings in Office

After you have deployed Microsoft Office 2003 to users, you can modify many language settings without reinstalling the product. For example, if you install Microsoft Office 2003 Multilingual User Packs (MUI Packs) after your initial Office deployment, you can enable those languages. You can modify users’ language settings by using one of the following methods:

Use the Custom Maintenance Wizard to create a configuration maintenance file (CMW file) containing new language settings.

For more information about using the Custom Maintenance Wizard to modify user-defined settings after Office is installed, see “Updating Feature Installation States and Application Settings” in Chapter 18, “Updating Users’ Office 2003 Configurations.”
Set policies using the Group Policy snap-in. Settings enforced by policy cannot be altered by users.

For more information about using the Group Policy snap-in to set Office-related policies, see “Managing Users’ Configurations by Policy,” in Chapter 18, “Updating Users’ Office 2003 Configurations.”

Changing the installation language

All Microsoft Office 2003 applications use the default installation language to determine language-related default behavior. The installation language is determined by the locale ID (LCID) assigned to the InstallLanguage value entry in the Microsoft Windows registry.

For example, if the value of InstallLanguage is 1041 (Japanese), then Microsoft Office Word 2003 creates its initial Normal.dot file based on Japanese settings and automatically enables commands for Asian text layout.

By default, Office creates the InstallLanguage value entry in the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\11.0\Common\LanguageResources subkey and sets its value to match the system locale of the operating system.

You can change the default Office installation language for your organization’s needs. However, you do not need to switch installation languages merely to enable other languages for editing in Office applications. In fact, some custom settings are lost when you switch installation languages after Office is installed. For example, users’ Normal.dot file is replaced and any customizations saved in the template are lost.

Other language-specific settings are also affected when you switch the installation language. For example, Word, Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003, and Microsoft Office Outlook 2003 automatically update default settings (such as the default paper size) to correspond with the new installation language.

All of the language settings that you can set in a transform (MST file) using the Custom Installation Wizard can also be set in a configuration maintenance file (CMW file) using the Custom Maintenance Wizard. The Change Office User Settings page is identical in both wizards; and in both cases, the options in the tree correspond to options that you can set by policy in the Office policy templates.

To specify a new default installation language in a CMW file

Start the Custom Maintenance Wizard.
On the Change Office User Settings page, expand the tree under Microsoft Office (user).
Under Language Settings, click Enabled Languages, double-click Installed version of Microsoft Office, and select a new language from the list.
Save the CMW file.

You can also use the Group Policy snap-in to specify a new default installation language by policy. Unlike default settings distributed in a transform, Office profile settings file (OPS file), or CMW file, users cannot modify settings enforced by policy. When you load the Office 2003 policy templates (ADM files) into the Group Policy Editor, policies related to language settings are located under User Configuration\Administrative Templates\Microsoft Office 2003\Language Settings.

To specify a default installation language policy

Open the Group Policy Object (GPO) for which you want to set policy.
Double-click User Configuration and then expand the tree to the Administrative Templates\Microsoft Office 2003\Language Settings\Enabled Languages folder.
Double-click Installed version of Microsoft Office.
Click Enabled and then select the language you want.
Save the Group Policy Object.

Note

If you change any language setting, including the installation language, you must restart your applications before the updated language is available.

Enabling additional editing languages

Rather than changing the default installation language of Office, you can modify language-specific features in Office 2003 applications by enabling additional languages for editing.

For example, Word automatically detects the language a user is typing based on the languages that are enabled for editing. If proofing tools are installed, Word uses the spelling checker, AutoCorrect list, and other editing tools for the languages it detects.

Note

Before East Asian, right-to-left, or complex script languages can be enabled for editing, support for these languages must be enabled in the operating system. You can enable support for languages in the appropriate Control Panel dialog box (Regional and Language Options in Windows XP, or Regional Options in Windows 2000).

Some Office 2003 applications also display commands and dialog box options based on enabled languages. For example, if you enable an Asian language in Word, you can configure Asian text layout in the Format menu.

To enable additional editing languages in a CMW file

Start the Custom Maintenance Wizard.
On the Change Office User Settings page, expand the tree under Microsoft Office (user).
Under Language Settings, click Enabled Languages, and then click Show controls and enable editing for.
Double-click the languages you want to enable for editing.
Save the CMW file.

In the Group Policy Editor, the corresponding policies are located in the following location:

User Configuration\Administrative Templates\Microsoft Office 2003\Language Settings\Enabled Languages\Show controls and enable editing for

Resources and related information

For more information about configuring language-related settings for your international deployment, see “Customizing Language Settings” in Chapter 13, “Preparing for an Office Multilingual Deployment.”

You can deploy Office 2003 so that its default settings are based on a particular language. For more information about customizing language features when deploying Office 2003 with the Multilingual User Interface Pack, see “Customizing Language Settings” in Chapter 13, “Preparing for an Office Multilingual Deployment.”

For a complete list of how language settings are used by Office applications, see “Effects of Customizing Language Settings on Office Applications” in Chapter 13, “Preparing for an Office Multilingual Deployment.”