How To Use The Office DEPLOYMENT TOOL

The video begins with a brief introduction to the Office Deployment Tool, acknowledging its complexity and the lack of comprehensive documentation. The speaker shares their recent experience assisting a coworker with the tool, which inspired the video's topic. They guide the audience through the process of locating and downloading the Microsoft Office Deployment Tool, emphasizing the importance of running it as an administrator. The speaker also discusses the extraction of files and the creation of a dedicated folder on the C Drive for organizational purposes. A potential issue with the tool's prompt is mentioned, but the speaker reassures viewers that the tool usually works despite this. The setup file is highlighted as a command line-based application, requiring a configuration file for execution. The speaker introduces a new Microsoft website that simplifies the configuration process by allowing users to customize and export an XML file, which will be used in the demonstration.

In this paragraph, the speaker takes the audience through the process of using Microsoft's dedicated website to customize the configuration for their Office Deployment. They explain how to sign in with Office 365 admin portal credentials and create a new configuration. The speaker details the selection of architecture (32-bit or 64-bit), choice of Office suites (with a focus on Business as the default), and the option to disable unnecessary applications like Access, Publisher, Teams, and Skype for Business. The importance of selecting a primary language and the option to include additional languages and proofing tools are also discussed. The speaker then moves on to the installation options, explaining the choice between deploying from an existing path or downloading from the Office Content Delivery Network. They demonstrate how to specify a local source for the installation files and discuss the options for handling updates, including automatic updates from Microsoft, a local source, or SCCM management. The paragraph concludes with the configuration of uninstalling pre-existing Office versions and the selection of product activation methods, with a focus on the default setting for most users.

The speaker continues by guiding the audience through the final steps of configuring the Office Deployment Tool. They explain how to provide an organization name, which will be displayed in the properties of Office documents. The absence of special characters in the organization name is noted, and the speaker proceeds to the next step. Additional application preferences are briefly mentioned, highlighting the level of customization possible. The speaker then moves on to exporting the configuration as an XML file, which will be used as a reference during the setup process. They demonstrate how to save this file in the designated folder and overwrite any existing configuration. The paragraph concludes with the speaker minimizing the configuration tool and transitioning to PowerShell or command prompt to execute the silent installation. The speaker provides instructions on running the setup with the download option and referencing the configuration file. They also share a tip on monitoring the download progress through the task manager and reassure viewers of the tool's effectiveness by demonstrating the download speed.

The paragraph starts with the speaker resuming the video after the installation files have been downloaded. They guide the audience through the final steps of the installation process, which involves running the setup.exe with the configure switch and referencing the XML configuration file. The speaker emphasizes the silent nature of the installation, noting that it will proceed without any user input. The option to hide the installation entirely is also discussed. After the installation is completed, the speaker demonstrates how to open Word and sign in with an Office 365 account. They verify the product activation by navigating to the account settings and confirming the subscription product. The speaker concludes the video by advising viewers on the importance of not opening Office on a base image if they intend to use it for cloning purposes. They also remind viewers to snapshot the base image before opening Office to ensure they can revert to the original state. The video ends with a call to action, encouraging viewers to leave comments, like, and subscribe.