Microsoft Office 2013 shows the following screens when an application is launched for the first time:
Both the Office Customization Tool (OCT) and Group Policy Management Editor provide a way to disable these First Run screens
Office Customization Tool (OCT)
Note: The OCT can only be used with Windows Installer based source files for Microsoft Office 2013.
STEP ONE: Using the OCT (setup.exe /admin), go to the Features section and select Modify user settings | Microsoft Office 2013 | First Run | Disable First Run Movie
STEP TWO: Set the Disable First Run Movie to Enabled
STEP THREE:Select the Disable First Run on application boot and set it to Enabled as well
STEP FOUR: Save the resulting MSP file and use it as part of the Microsoft Office 2013 deployment
Group Policy Management Editor
STEP ONE: If you have not already, download the Office 2013 Administrative Template files. These can be downloaded from http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=35554
STEP TWO: Copy the ADMX files to %systemroot%\PolicyDefinitions and the ADML files to the language specific folder (such as en-us) under %systemroot%\PolicyDefinitions.
STEP THREE: Using the Group Policy Management Editor go to User Configuration | Policies | Administrative Templates: Policy definitions | Microsoft Office 2013 | First Run
STEP FOUR: Set the Disable First Run Movie to Enabled and the Disable Office First Run on application boot to Enabled
Note: If you would like to manage the Opt-in or First things first prompt, please see my other blog post.
Like the Office 2010 Welcome screen, Office 2013 shows the following First things first prompt, when a user launches an application for the first time:
Administrators can manage this prompt either via the Office Customization Tool or via Group Policy as follows:
Office Customization Tool (OCT):
STEP ONE: Using the OCT (setup.exe /admin), go to the Features section and select Modify user settings | Microsoft Office 2013 | Privacy | Trust Center
STEP TWO: Configure each setting under Trust Center that best suits your needs. If you wish to disable all of these settings, set the first one to Enabled and all the rest to Disabled as shown below
STEP THREE: Save the MSP file and place it in the Updates folder of your source files prior to deploying Microsoft Office 2013
Group Policy:
STEP THREE: Using the Group Policy Management Editor go to User Configuration | Policies | Administrative Templates: Policy definitions | Microsoft Office 2013 | Privacy | Trust Center
STEP FOUR: Configure each setting under Trust Center that best suits your needs. If you wish to disable all of these settings, set the first one to Enabled and all the rest to Disabled as shown below
Note: If you would like to manage the First Run screens, please see my other blog post on this topic.
Active Directory-Based activation uses your existing Active Directory infrastructure to host activation for Microsoft Office 2013 Volume-Licensed (VL) clients, through their connection to the domain.
Both on the host as well as client side, the Active Directory-Based activation requires either a Windows 8 VL computer or a WindowsServer 2012 computer. It uses the same GVLK/KMS host key (CSVLK) pair that KMS activation uses. It also requires the installation of Microsoft Office 2013 Volume License Pack.
STEP 1: Download the Microsoft Office 2013 Volume License Pack from the Microsoft Download Center (MSDL) site.
STEP 2: Double-click the downloaded EXE to run it:
STEP 3: Once the EXE finishes running, you will see theVolume Activation Tools wizard pop-up:
STEP 4: On the next screen, choose Active Directory-Based Activation:
STEP 5: Next enter the KMS host (CSVLK) key and optionally give it a name:
STEP 6:Choose activation method, online or phone:
STEP 7: Activation Succeeded:
The KMS activation process for Microsoft Office 2013 is the same as what it was for Microsoft Office 2010. However, the interface to setup the KMS host for Microsoft Office 2013 on a Windows Server 2012 has been updated to use the Volume Activation Tools.
Microsoft Office 2013 running on both Windows 7 and Windows 8 client computers can be activated by installing the Microsoft Office 2013 Volume License Pack on a Windows Server 2012, or on one of the other supported host systems including Windows 7 VL edition, Windows 8 VL edition and Windows Server 2008 R2.
STEP 1: Download the Microsoft Office 2013 Volume License Pack from the Microsoft Download Center (MSDL) site:
STEP 3: Once the EXE finishes running, the Volume Activation Tools wizard will appear:
STEP 4: On the next screen, choose Key Management Service (KMS) and browse to, or specify the name of, the system running Key Management Service. Typically, this would be the system you are running the Volume Activation Tools on:
STEP 5: Next, enter the KMS host (CSVLK) key:
STEP 6: Choose activation method, online or phone:
If you are attempting to set up an Office 2010 or Office 2013 KMS host by using the slmgr.vbs script, the "/ipk" switch, and a valid Office KMS host product key, the following error will occur:
Error: 0xC004F050 The software licensing service reported that the product key is invalid
Unlike Windows KMS host setup, Office KMS host setup involves installing a separate “KMS host license pack”, entering a related product key, and activating online or via phone. See the following articles for additional information, to download the KMS host license packs, and step-by-step instructions for setting up Office KMS hosts:
Deploy volume activation of Office 2010 / Prepare and configure the KMS hosthttp://technet.microsoft.com/library/ee624357(office.14).aspx#section2
Download: Microsoft Office 2010 KMS Host License Packhttp://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=25095
Deploy volume activation of Office 2013 / Prepare and configure the Office KMS hosthttp://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee624357(v=office.15).aspx#section2
Download: Microsoft Office 2013 Volume License Packhttp://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=35584
Unlike earlier versions of Microsoft Office, the Microsoft Office 2013 applications, when started, show a Start screen similar to the following, rather than opening the default blank template:
You can use the Office Customization Tool (OCT) or the Group Policy Management Editor to manage this Start screen.
STEP ONE: Using the OCT (setup.exe /admin), locate the "Disable the Office Start screen for all Office applications" under Features | Modify user settings | Microsoft Office 2013 | Miscellaneous:
STEP TWO: Enable the "Disable the Office Start screen for all Office applications" setting:
STEP THREE: Using the Group Policy Management Editor, locate the "Disable the Office Start screen for all Office applications" under User Configuration | Policies | Administrative Templates: Policy definitions | Microsoft Office 2013 | Miscellaneous:
STEP FOUR: Enable the "Disable the Office Start screen for all Office applications" setting:
The installation of the Office 2013 Click-to-Run version may appear to hang at "10% - Configuring..." when installing from a network share.
The Click-to-Run installation uses a service to manage the virtual file system during the intial portion of the setup process (up to 10% in the installation user interface progress screen), and the remainder of the process involves tasks required to integrate with Windows and cache the files onto the local hard drive. At 10%, because Windows Installer hands off additional task to the service, the System account (interactive Session 0) manages the remaining processes to install Office. This means that the System account needs access to the share or location where Office installation files are contained.
You will need to add the "Domain Computers" group to the network share to successfully install. To do so:
An example of the added group is Domain Computers (CORP\Domain Computers); where "CORP" should reflect the name of your domain. If you have multiple domains in your environment, you will need to add each one.
By default, the group has the following permissions: Read & execute, List folder contents and Read.
We recommend running the Office 2013 troubleshooter to clean up the failed installation, prior to attempting the network installation again.
For Microsoft Office 2010, the MSDN/TechNet site provided a special key called the "Terminal Service enablement for Office 2010", to install Microsoft Office 2010 on a Windows Server running Terminal Service:
Micorosoft Office 2013 does not require a special key for this enablement, but rather uses the same key as the one used for a standalone installation.
To install the MSDN/TechNet copy of Microsoft Office 2013 on a Windows Server running Remote Desktop, please follow these steps:
STEP ONE: From Control Panel | Programs, click on Install Application on Remote Desktop:
STEP TWO: Click Next on the Install Program From Floppy or CD-ROM:
STEP THREE: Browse to the location of the Microsoft Office 2013 setup.exe and click Next:
STEP FOUR: Once the Office setup starts, you will immediately see the following message. Click OK to the message:
STEP FIVE: You will be presented the Enter your Product Key dialog. Enter the Microsoft Office 2013 Professional Plus key from the MSDN/TechNet site and click Continue:
STEP SIX: Read and accept the Microsoft Software License Terms:
STEP SEVEN: Choose the installation type and complete the installation:
STEP EIGHT: Click Finish on the Finish Admin Install dialog (this would be in the background during the installation of Office):
STEP NINE: Launch an Office application and choose File | Account to confirm that the product is activated: