Description of the new naming schema for Office software update packages

Microsoft has adopted a standardized naming schema for all software update packages for Microsoft Office that are created and distributed by Microsoft. The new naming schema goes into effect for all software update packages in May, 2003.

For additional information about the standard terminology that Microsoft is adopting to describe software updates, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Microsoft has adopted the new naming schema for Office software update packages for the following reasons:

• It creates consistency across Microsoft software update packages.
• It improves the ability to search for software update packages and Microsoft Knowledge Base articles.
• It clearly notes the language of a software update package and the intended Office program when applicable.

This article contains additional information about the new standardized naming schema for Office software update packages.

New Schema for Naming Office Software Update Packages

Office software update packages are named by using the following schema:
The following list provides information about each attribute in the new naming schema:

• ProductName
  The full product name, including the product version information. For Office software updates, this attribute is one of the following:
  • OfficeXP
  • Office2000
  • Visio2002
  • Visio2000
  • Project2002
  • Project2000
  • FrontPage-Server-Extensions2002
  • FrontPage-Server-Extensions2000
  • OfficeXP-MUI
  • Office2000-LPK
  Notes about the ProductName attribute:
  • If the software update package meets any of the following conditions, the product name will be “OfficeXP” or “Office2000”, depending on the version or versions of the products that the software update package applies to.
    • The software update package applies to one program or to multiple programs released inside the Microsoft Office XP or Microsoft Office 2000 suite.
    • The software update package applies to a combination of Office suite programs and programs that can be installed independently of the Office suite, or applies to a combination of programs that can be installed independently of the Office suite (for example: Microsoft Visio, or Microsoft Project.)
  • If the software update package applies exclusively to a program that can be installed independently of the Office suite, the product name will be that of the program (for example, Visio2000, Project2002, FrontPage-Server-Extensions2002, FrontPage-Server-Extensions2000.)
  • If the software update package applies exclusively to the Microsoft Office XP Multi User Interface or the Microsoft Office 2000 MultiLanguage Packs, the product name will be that of the program (for example: OfficeXP-MUI, or Office2000-LPK).
• KB
  This attribute indicates that an article exists in the Microsoft Knowledge Base that is associated with the software update.
• ArticleNumber
  The ID number of the Microsoft Knowledge Base article that is associated with the software update.
• Option (Optional attribute)
  This optional attribute is used to differentiate between Client software update packages and full-file software update packages that address the same issue. The abbreviations include, Client and FullFile.
  
  Client Hotfix Packages
  Client patches are intended to be applied to client computers that have the latest service pack installed. Client patches require the original source files used to install the Office program to be present.
  
  Full-File Hotfix Packages
  Full-file (administrative) patches can be applied directly to an administrative image of Office and do not require the original source files that were used to install Office to be present. Full-file patches can also be applied to client computers at various stages in the update process.
  
  For additional information about client and full-file patches, visit the following Microsoft Web sites:
  http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/orkXP/HA011525711033.aspx (http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/orkXP/HA011525711033.aspx)
• Language
  The standard language name abbreviation that represents the language the software update package is intended for. For example, ENU (for English), RUS (for Russian), JPN (for Japanese).
  
  Note The abbreviation INTL is used in cases where the software update package applies to multiple languages. In cases where the software update package applies to all languages, no standard language name abbreviation is used.
  
  For a complete list of standard language name abbreviations, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
  http://www.microsoft.com/globaldev/nlsweb/default.mspx (http://www.microsoft.com/globaldev/nlsweb/default.mspx)