How to disable Microsoft Office Online featured links in Office 2003

This article describes how to disable Microsoft Office Online featured links in Microsoft Office 2003.

Microsoft Office Online featured links let you view new and updated information about Office 2003 from your Office 2003 programs.

You can use one of the following methods to disable Microsoft Office Online featured links.

Method 1: Use Registry Editor

Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Administrators of local computers can use this method for a user in a network by setting the local policy for the computer or for the user.

The user's connectivity preference for Microsoft Office Online featured links is controlled by the UseOnlineContent value that is shared by all Office 2003 programs. You can change the DWORD value to set the user's preference. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, click Run, type regedit in the Open box, and then click OK.
2. Locate and then click the following subkey:
   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\11.0\Common\Internet\
   Note If you cannot find the
   Internet
   subkey, you must create it. To create the
   Internet
   subkey, click New on the Edit menu, click Key, and then type Internet.
3. Locate and then click the following value:
   UseOnlineContent
   Note If you cannot find the UseOnlineContent value, you must create it. To create the UseOnlineContent value, click New on the Edit menu, click DWORD Value, and then type UseOnlineContent.
4. Double-click the
   UseOnlineContent
   value.
5. In the Value data box, type the appropriate value. The following list contains the possible values:
   • 0 - Never show Office Online content or entry points
   • 1 - Use only offline content whenever available, for example, .chm Help files
   • 2 - Use Office Online content whenever available
6. Click OK, and then quit Registry Editor.

Method 2: Use Group Policy

You can set a user's connectivity preference by using Group Policy.

The Office11.adm policy template file describes the connectivity preference policy settings that you can set for Office 2003 users. The Office11.adm file is used with the Group Policy snap-in that is included in Microsoft Windows operating systems to apply policies to users' computers.

Note The policy template files are included in the Office 2003 Editions Resource Kit toolset. For more information about the Office 2003 Editions Resource Kit toolset and to download the Office11.adm file, visit the following Microsoft Web site:To use Group Policy to set a user's connectivity preference, follow these steps:

1. Download and install the Office11.adm policy template file (Ork.exe).
   
   Note The Office 2003 Editions Resource Kit Setup program installs the Office11.adm policy template in the \Windows\INF folder on your computer.
2. To start Group Policy, click Start, click Run, type MMC in the Open box, and then click OK.
3. On the File menu, click Add/Remove Snap-in, click Add, and then click Group Policy under Available Standalone Snap-ins.
4. Click Add, make sure that Local computer appears in the Group Policy Object box, and then click Finish.
5. Click Close to close the Add Standalone Snap-in dialog box, and then click OK.
6. Double-click to expand Administrative Templates under User configuration, and then double-click Microsoft Office 2003.
7. Double-click Tools | Options | General | Service Options, and then click Online Content.
8. In the right pane, double-click Online Content Options under Settings.
9. Click Enabled, and then click one of the following options in the Online content options list:
   • Never show online content or entry points.
   • Search only offline content whenever available.
   • Search online content whenever available.
10. On the File menu, click Save As, specify a file name and path for the MMC console, and then click Save.

Method 3: Use Office Help

Users of local computers can use the following method to enable or disable Microsoft Office Online featured links:

1. On the Help menu, click Microsoft Program Name Help to display the Program Name Help task pane.
2. Under See also, click Online Content Settings.
3. In the Service Options dialog box, click to select or click to clear the Show Microsoft Office Online featured links check box depending on whether you want to enable or disable Microsoft Office Online featured links.
   
   Note The Show content and links from Microsoft Office Online check box must be selected before you can click to select the Show Microsoft Office Online featured links check box.

Notes

This setting applies to all Office 2003 programs.

The display of Microsoft Office Online featured links will not change in any Office 2003 program that is open until you close the program and then restart it.