OFF2000: How to Configure the Location of Workgroup Templates During Installation

When you click New on the File menu in one of the Office programs listed at the beginning of this article, the New dialog box displays several different tabs that contain the default templates that are installed with Office. If you do not want to display the default templates, you can customize the New dialog box to display only the custom tabs and custom templates that you want.

This article explains how to perform a custom installation of Microsoft Office so that custom templates are available from a shared network location when you first start Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Word, or Microsoft PowerPoint.

To customize an Office installation, create an administrative installation and use the Custom Installation Wizard in the Microsoft Office 2000 Resource Kit to create a custom transform (.mst file). Then you can run Setup with the transform to customize the installation of Office.

Before you follow these steps, verify that you created the custom templates, and that the templates are located in the appropriate folders. For additional information about how templates are managed in Microsoft Office, click the article numbers below to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Create the Administrative Installation Point

To create an administrative installation for Office, use a command line similar to the following where CD-ROM is the drive letter of your CD-ROM drive.

For additional information about how to create administrative installations, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: The following steps vary, depending on how you want to implement the necessary changes. Use one of the following four methods, and then continue with the "Create a Custom Transform to Not Install Default Templates" section.

Method 1: Apply a System Policy

Using a system policy is the easiest way to configure the location of the workgroup templates for all users. The system policy templates for Office 2000 are available as a download from the Office Resource Kit. Download and install the Office Core Tools, Orktools.exe, which includes the system policy templates, from the following Microsoft Web site:

1. After you add the Office policy templates into the System Policy Editor, double-click Default User.
2. Expand the Microsoft Office 2000 node, and then expand the Shared paths node.
3. Select the Shared templates path check box to enable the policy, and then specify the path in which your workgroup templates will be located.
   
   NOTE: When this policy is applied, it places the specified path as the data value for the SharedTemplates string value under the following registry key:
   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Office\9.0\Common\General
4. Save and apply your policy to the appropriate network users.
5. If you want to prevent the default Office templates from being installed with Office, follow the steps in the "Create a Custom Transform to Not Install Default Templates" section later in this article. If not, just install Office.

For more information about applying system policies, browse to the following Microsoft Web page in the Office Resource Kit:

Method 2: Use a Transform That Contains an .Ops File

If you do not want to apply system policies, you can create an .ops file with the Office Profile Wizard and then apply this file with a transform during the Office installation.

1. Install Office 2000 on a computer where Office 2000 has never been installed.
2. On the computer that has Office installed, download and install the Office Core Tools, Orktools.exe, which includes the Office Profile Wizard. To do this, browse to the following Microsoft Web site:
   http://www.microsoft.com/office/ork/2000/appndx/toolbox.htm#orktools (http://www.microsoft.com/office/ork/2000/appndx/toolbox.htm#orktools)
3. Start Microsoft Word.
4. On the Tools menu, click Options.
5. Click the File Locations tab.
6. Select Workgroup Templates, and then click Modify.
7. Specify the folder name in the Modify Location dialog box, and then click OK. Click OK in the Options dialog box.
8. Quit Microsoft Word.NOTE: If you configure other settings in Word or in any of the Office programs, the settings will be captured in the .ops file that you create in subsequent steps.
   
   
9. Click Start, point to Microsoft Office Tools, point to Microsoft Office 2000 Resource Kit Tools, and then click Profile Wizard to start the Microsoft Office Profile Wizard.
10. Click Next in the wizard.
11. In the Save or Restore Settings dialog box, select Save the settings from this machine, and then specify a path to the .ops file. Click Finish.
12. Click Start, point to Microsoft Office Tools, point to Microsoft Office 2000 Resource Kit Tools, and then click Custom Installation Wizard to start the Custom Installation Wizard (CIW).
13. In the Customize Default Application Settings dialog box, select Get values from an existing settings profile, and then click Browse.
14. Locate and select the .ops file that you created earlier. Click Open.
15. Complete the remaining steps in the CIW.
16. If you want to prevent the default Office templates from being installed with Office, modify your transform by using the steps in the "Create a Custom Transform to Not Install Default Templates" section later in this article. If not, install Office with the transform that you just created.

For more information about the Office Profile Wizard, browse to the following Microsoft Web page in the Office Resource Kit: For more information about how to use the Custom Installation Wizard to create a transform, browse to the following Microsoft Web site:

Method 3: Include Registry Settings in a Transform

Another way to configure the location of the workgroup templates during the Office installation is to include specific registry keys with a transform file. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Start the Custom Installation Wizard (CIW).
2. In the Add Registry Entries dialog box, click Add.
3. In the Root box, click HKEY_CURRENT_USER.
4. In the Data type box, click REG_SZ.
5. Type the following line in the Key box:
   Software\Microsoft\Office\9.0\Common\General
6. In the Value name box, type SharedTemplates.
7. In the Value Data box, specify the location for the workgroup templates, and then click OK.
8. Complete the remaining steps in the CIW.
9. If you want to prevent the default Office templates from being installed with Office, modify your transform by using the steps in the "Create a Custom Transform to Not Install Default Templates" section later in this article. If not, install Office with the transform that you just created.

Method 4: Manually Configure the Workgroup Templates Location

The easiest way to configure the location of the workgroup templates is to have each user manually specify the location the first time that they start Microsoft Word. To do this, follow these steps:

1. If you want to prevent the default Office templates from being installed with Office, follow the steps in the "Create a Custom Transform to Not Install Default Templates" section later in this article. If not, just install Office. After you install Office by using either method, continue with step 2.
2. Start Microsoft Word.
3. On the Tools menu, click Options.
4. Click the File Locations tab.
5. Click Workgroup Templates, and then click Modify.
6. Specify the folder name in the Modify Location dialog box, and then click OK. Click OK in the Options dialog box.

Create a Custom Transform to Not Install Default Templates

In this section, you create a transform by using the Custom Installation Wizard. When you install Office with this transform, the default Office program templates will not be installed.

1. Start the Custom Installation Wizard (CIW).
2. On the Set Feature Installation States screen, click the plus sign (+) next to Microsoft Word for Windows to expand this feature.
3. Click the icon next to the Wizards and Templates feature, and then change the installation state to Not Available.
4. Under the Microsoft Excel for Windows feature, set the Spreadsheet Templates installation state to Not Available.
5. Under the Microsoft PowerPoint for Windows feature, set the installation state for Content Templates and Design Templates to Not Available.
6. Click Next and then set the options that you want in the remaining screens of the CIW.
7. Click Finish. Note the sample command line that is provided, and then click Exit.
8. Install Office with the transform.

For more information about how to use the Custom Installation Wizard to create a transform, browse to the following Microsoft Web site:

For complete information about how to customize your Office installation and deploy Office in a network environment, refer to the Microsoft Office 2000 Resource Kit at the following Microsoft Web site: