01

First, your installation medium for Office 2016 (ISO file or DVD) must be transferred one-to-one to a server in an installation share accessible to all users. In our example we work with the 64-bit version of Office Professional Plus 2016 and assume that the server on which these files are located is called "Server". In our example, the installation release can then be reached under the following path:

\\Server\Office2016

02

Microsoft supplies the tool for adapting the Office 2016 configuration. With Office 2016, the result of the configuration is always saved in two files: an XML file and an MSP file. Both files can then be found in the same directory as "setup.exe" (see below).

When creating these files, it is important to note that the Office Customization Tool is invoked directly from the share.

To start the Office Customization Tool, go to the command prompt and use the "/admin" parameter of "setup.exe" as in the example below:

An Office Customization Tool window appears. The Office product detected from the installation files is displayed there. In our example here it is "MS Office Professional Plus 2016 (64-bit)".

03

In the next step, the settings file (*.MSP) must be generated. We have summarized the most important settings that you should make for an unattended installation of Office 2016 in this chapter.

First you have to choose whether you want to use Office 2016 in Open XML or in Open Document Format. If you are not sure about this, leave this setting at "Keep current settings":

Now enter the name of your organization/company in the next dialog:

Now switch to the menu item "Licensing and user interface" and enter your product key here if you do not use a Key Management Service (KMS) internally.

In addition, check the boxes "I agree to the terms of the license agreement", "Stop modal dialog" and "Do not cancel". Also change the "Display Level" to "None" as shown in the screenshot below:

Finally, go to "Change setup properties" under "Setup" and add the following two new properties:

SETUP_REBOOT = never

HIDEUPDATEUI = true

Now save your result in the same directory where the "setup.exe" file is located. In our example here, this is again the following release on the server:

\\Server\Office2016

We name our new MSP file “OfficeProfPlus2016_x64.MSP” :

You should now see the following two new files on the server:

04

The /adminfile parameter and the .msp file are required for installation on the client. The following command with "setup.exe" now runs the previously configured Office 2016 installation:

05

Now define one Job in Install Desk for the distribution and installation of your Office 2016 configuration.

The following command must be mapped in the job:

\\Server\Office2016\setup.exe /adminfile \\Server\Office2016\OfficeProfPlus2016_x64.MSP

In the job dialog, enter the job name, eg "Office2016". Enter the Office deployment tool “setup.exe” as the file. The path corresponds to the shared folder "\\Server\Office2016\" you specified. Enter the part of the command starting with "/adminfile" as the parameter.

You can now roll out the job to the distribution groups, individual devices or Active Directory groups in Install.Desk and start the installation immediately, after the next restart or according to a schedule.

Please note that you must enter a user with sufficient authorization (administrator) on the client for access to the network path (shared folder) and for the installation in Install.Desk.