Customizing Office 365 ProPlus using the Office Customization Tool for Click-to-Run
Published Jan 09 2018 02:49 PM 35.6K Views

Today we are announcing a preview of the Office Customization Tool for Click-to-Run, a simple to use web application that enables desktop administrators to customize Office 365 clients.

 

Until today, Windows desktop administrators would use notepad or an equivalent text editor to compile various XML statements to define the Office edition, feature update frequency, version, language and other number of available settings. This somewhat tedious task, in most cases, would result in installation errors from fouled up manual entries or copy-and-paste actions into the text editor.

 

With the new Office Customization Tool, desktop admins can leverage the rich user interface that intuitively shows all available options to build the desired Office configurations. The configuration tool groups the commonly used settings in the following categories:

  • software & language
  • installation & update
  • licensing & display

 

Each of these areas provide admins with options to help meet their security and regulatory needs.

 

One of our favorite additions, is the configuration builder. Desktop admins can quickly see a list of all configuration settings being chosen on the right-hand side of the screen, giving the desktop admin a quick and easy way to see the result of their selections without jumping through multiple screens.

 

When all the desired settings have been selected, desktop admins are provided with the option to download the resulting configuration.xml file which is to be used in conjunction with the Office Deployment Tool for the settings to take affect during installation time of the Office 365 client.

 

Desktop Admin also have an option to upload any previously configured XML files to the configuration tool and modify them with new or existing settings.

 

For those of you who are familiar with the old Win32 Office Customization Tool which came with your perpetual (MS Installer) bits, you’ll notice the new customization tool has a lack of install-time user preferences. Over the next several months we will be enhancing the tool to enable desktop admins to select many configurable user preferences that are currently being offered with the perpetual counterpart. We encourage you to try out the new Office Customization Tool which is available in preview today, by clicking on the link or typing http://config.office.com in your browser. Send us feedback and let us know what you think by using the send a smile feature, located on the top right of the web application.

 

Amesh Mansukhani

Senior Program Manager - Office Engineering

24 Comments
Silver Contributor

This is great! I like the simplicity and ease of use, even better that there will be additional configuration options later in the year.

 

There was the Office 365 ProPlus Configuration XML Editor, is this an eventual replacement for this or are they completely separate if I may ask?

 Nice tool, however is says that 1705 is the latest release for the semi-annual channel, which is no longer correct as 1708 came out yesterday.

Bronze Contributor
nice one for all the newcomers and returning administrators. Wish this was available when I first started deploy ProPlus 365 :P Where this will really come in handy is with all those recent updates to the deployment tool itself, because those ring, branch, name changes really messed up my deployment a few months ago :p

Amesh Mansukhani,

 

Nice tool! I'll try it.

PS: Is there a way to find out if Office (configured by the ODT) is still checking for updates on the local path instead of Internet? I've checked in the Regedit but it seems that the Policies key for Office are only created when set using GPO.

Copper Contributor

Hi, Vandrey.

You can check register under key:

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\ClickToRun\Configuration]

"UpdateUrl"

You can also configure it in xml file:

<Updates Enabled="TRUE" UpdatePath="\\server\share\Office_update\" />

 

Otherwise, very nice tool.

Gregor

Copper Contributor

Hi, Vandrey.

You can check applied settings : check register under a second key:

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\ClickToRun\Configuration]

 

"UpdateChannel"  : must refer your updatepath if you refered  <Updates Enabled="TRUE" UpdatePath="\\server\share\Office_update\" />

like Gregor Malnarič explained.

 

Nice tool in preview, however i can't select a language from languages list, list closes when i try to check a language square and stays grey like the "Add" button, so i can't export config.... IE 11 + Win7Pro 64b FR

perhaps an IE security setting....

Updates\ Check Box : Same as installation settings  : Cool option :)

Congrats, very good tool !
Iron Contributor

Does anyone else notice that have the stuff you selected is not in the XML file

 

Like if you turn on Shared Computer Activation, EULA, and a few other things. When you export, its only the basic XML file. That other stuff is not inside it.

Copper Contributor

Am I going crazy but I've tried three different browsers and I can't see where you actually download the XML once it's been configured. 

Iron Contributor

Ivan

You are not going crazy. I just did a test config and you are correct,  I see no way to get the Config file. You only have options to "Import"< "Submit" or "Reset".....

 

I think there use to be an export button somewhere or something,but yea, not sure what is going on but something is broke

Iron Contributor

IVan, I had to go do some digging and find a screenshot, but I found one. Yea, so up at the top you should have "Import" "Export" and "reset"

 

I am not sure what 'Submit" does, but when i clicked it, the only thing i seen it do was reset the "Windows Update Channel". It took it back to "Not configured"

 

So, I don't know... Hopefully someone from Microsoft will see this soon and get someone to look into it

 

like @Amesh Mansukhani

Microsoft

We are looking at this issue and hope to have it resolved soon.

Iron Contributor

Thanks @Chris Hopkins

 

@Ivan Corbett - I just tested again and it looks like the "Export" button is back. Not sure how "export" got replaced by "Submit" , but "Submit" has now changed back to "Export" and I just tested it and it does work now

Microsoft

Thank you for verifying.

Copper Contributor

I like the new tool, as I just upgraded SCCM to SCCM CB 1806.  I was walking through the O365 Installer Wizard and brought me to the OCT.  I don't see a "submit button" anywhere for me to continue.  All I see is import, export, and reset.  It also says that it's a preview.  What am I missing here?

Microsoft

Hi Shannon,

 

When used directly in SCCM 1806, instead of Export you should see Submit as shown here:

 

snip_20180806090123.png

 

 

Can you provide me with the version of Internet Explorer that is installed on the machine that you are running the SCCM console on as well as the version of Windows?

 

Cheers,
Chris

Copper Contributor

Hi Chris,

Internet Explorer version 11.2007.14393.0 on Server 2016 build 14393.

Copper Contributor

Hi Chris,

It's all of a sudden working and I see the "submit button" now.

Microsoft

Thank you Shannon.  Let me know if you see any issues with this in the future.

 

Cheers,
Chris

Deleted
Not applicable

Hi there, I am on the https://config.office.com page through IE11 version 11.0.9600.19080 but dont see any option to save or submit. Every times i moved to the next step, the previous settings dont stick because they havent been saved. Is the best way to customize the Office 365 client is through SCCM? I am on SCCM 1802.

---Please disregard, i got it this time---

Copper Contributor

Hi

 

What is the difference to https://officedev.github.io/Office-IT-Pro-Deployment-Scripts/XmlEditor.html, we've had this for a long time.

 

It seems that there are possibility to set some settings to the client, but not ALL? Why not include all of them here?

Setting Office 365 settings with group policy, is not productive since all the settings are enforced...

 

Just wondering....

Microsoft

The tool on the github site was not built or supported by Microsoft and has not been maintained for some time now.  The Office Customization Tool for Click-to-Run was created by the Office engineering team and is fully supported by Microsoft.  The Application Settings feature is one of the newest capabilities we have added to http://config.office.com/ and for this initial release, which is still in preview, we have a limited set of application settings but as we work toward the release of this tool later this year you will see an extensive set of application settings supported by the Office Customization Tool for Click-to-Run.

 

Cheers,
Chris

Copper Contributor

What is the time frame for supporting Office 2019 in the "Office Customization Tool for Click-to-Run"? Right now I have to manually create an XML file based on the Microsoft documentation.

 

Also, the smile and frown feedback buttons don't appear to do anything in the tool right now.

Microsoft

We are currently working on the changes needed to support Office 2019 and the new channel which we have planned for 2018 Q4.

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