The Office 2003 Installation Process

Let's take a look at how the installation process will work on a single machine running the default installation configuration. By reviewing this information, you'll be better prepared when it comes time to choose the products and options available in Office 2003, and you'll be aware of the options that you can set if you create a custom administrative install as described later in the chapter.

This scenario assumes you're starting an installation from the Office 2003 CD-ROM or from the default installer from a network share. After you enter your product key and accept the end-user license agreement, you'll see a setup page similar to the one in Figure 7-2, on the next page.

Tip 

Make sure your user name and initials are entered properly when you first install Office 2003, because these items are used when you collaborate with others on Office documents.

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Figure 7-2: Choosing the type of upgrade installation you want to perform.

This is where the branching begins, so you'll need to make some decisions about what you want installed. If you have an earlier version of Office installed on the machine, the default selection is Upgrade. Upgrade will remove your older Office products and replace them with the Office 2003 versions. This is the easiest way to get Office 2003 on your machine, but with that ease you give up some control over what you keep on your machine. The other options include Complete Install, Minimal Install, Typical Install, and Custom Install.

Note 

Keep in mind that the Office 2003 installer is a tool that you can use to modify your Office 2003 installation. You can add tools and products later that you omitted during your initial installation. It's much more difficult to reinstall an older Office product once you uninstall it, so take extra care when selecting which legacy products you remove during your Office 2003 installation.

These days, disk space is less of a concern than it has been in the past, but users on laptop computers and those using older hardware sometimes need to keep tabs on how much space a product installation takes. Table 7-1 contains the estimated disk space required for each of the available installation types for Office 2003. Remember that these numbers are only an estimate.

Table 7-1: Disk Space Required for Office 2003

Install Type

Disk Space Required

Complete

458 MB

Minimal

234 MB

Typical

307 MB

Custom

307 MB

You'll notice that the Typical and Custom installation types take the same initial size. This means that the Custom type starts with the same options selected as the Typical installation type, but you have the opportunity to customize what gets installed. The major difference between the Typical installation and the Minimal installation is that Microsoft Office Access 2003 is installed on first use in the Minimal installation rather than with the other products.

Note 

Install on first use is an option that adds a feature to the list of what's available to a user, but doesn't actually perform the installation until the user invokes the feature.

The installation type that you choose determines what you see next in the installation process. If you're upgrading, you'll get the Previous Version of Office page like the one in Figure 7-3, on the next page. This page lets you choose which legacy products you want to remove or keep on your machine. You can choose to remove all the previous versions of Office applications, or you can choose only those specific versions that you want to remove. Notice the emphasis on remove. If you want to keep a particular product, make sure that the checkbox for that product is not checked.

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Figure 7-3: Choosing which legacy products to keep or remove.

If you choose the Custom Install path, you're given the opportunity to choose which Office 2003 products you want to install on your machine. If you want to keep your earlier version of Outlook, select the Custom option. Figure 7-4 shows the Custom Setup page. Here you can choose the particular Office 2003 products you want to install.

Tip 

If you want to keep running a legacy version of Outlook, clear the Microsoft Outlook box on the Custom Setup page.

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Figure 7-4: Choosing which Office 2003 products you want to install.

The Choose Advanced Customization of Applications checkbox gives you more options for installation, as shown in Figure 7-5, on the next page. You'll use a page much like this one to add and remove features from your Office installation as you need them throughout the life of the product. The Custom Setup page lets you specify which products to install, and the Advanced Customization page gives you control over both the products and the product features that get installed. For example, using this page you can choose to install the Speech or Handwriting user input methods.

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Figure 7-5: The Advanced Customization page lets you specify which features of each product you want to install.

Tip 

You can change the type of installation that you want to perform at any time by clicking the Back button.

When you get to the Summary page, you'll see an Install button in place of the Next button in the Setup wizard. This is the point at which your installation will begin. If you chose to remove your legacy Office applications, a utility will run to remove those first. The appropriate Office 2003 files will then be copied locally, and shortcuts will be placed in a Microsoft Office folder item in your All Programs menu.

When your installation completes, you'll see a page like the one shown in Figure 7-6. The page contains two checkboxes that you should consider carefully. The first checkbox is Check The Web For Updates And Additional Downloads. You should check this box if you're connected to the Internet and if you have time to update your machine. The Office page that's opened will give you information about available resources and, more importantly, updates that can help you keep your machine and data secure.

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Figure 7-6: The Setup Completed page presents you with post installation options.

The second option on the Setup Completed page is Delete Installation Files. If you have plenty of drive space, you'll want to keep this checkbox cleared so that any updates to your installation take place locally. This is especially important for laptop users who spend a lot of time off the corporate network. You don't want to be prompted for a CD while you're working away on an airplane at 40,000 feet!

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So Which Install Should I Use?

With all these options, you might find yourself confused about what to install. What we've found is that if you do a standard install and keep the installation files on your machine after your install is complete, you'll be prepared for almost anything.

If security is a concern, consider removing features that you don't need or that you don't use. To remove an installed feature, just open Add Or Remove Programs in Control Panel, choose Microsoft Office Professional 2003 (or the version of Office 2003 that you have installed), and click Change. This will reopen the Office Setup Wizard and give you the opportunity to customize your installation. You can always add features back when you need them.

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First Look Microsoft Office 2003
First Look Microsoft Office 2003
ISBN: 0735619514
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 101

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