Windows 10, Windows Server

Deploying Microsoft 365 Apps | MDT & RMM

INTRO

Deploying Microsoft 365 applications is easy to do with a little knowledge and testing. Hopefully this post will help you accomplish this task with ease.

OFFICE DEPLOYMENT TOOL

We’re going to need the Office Deployment Tool, please refer to Microsoft’s documentation here and also for download links. When extracted you will be presented with some files which I will list below:

  • configuration-Office365-x64.xml
  • configuration-Office365-x86.xml
  • configuration-Office2019Enterprise.xml
  • configuration-Office2021Enterprise.xml
  • EULA
  • setup.exe

The .xml files are included templates and I found these didn’t really work for me. So I headed over to Microsoft’s Office Customization Tool to create my own configuration .xml file. There are many options available to suite your deployment needs and requirements, be very careful with any upgrade, migration, and licensing options.

DOWNLOAD YOUR CONFIGURATION

Once you have your configuration file for your needs you’re going need to download the source files needed for deployment based on your configuration file options.

Run the following command replacing my .xml filename:

BAT (Batchfile)
setup.exe /download configuration-Office365-x64-Custom.xml

You will notice an Office folder in the same directory where setup.exe is located. In the Office folder will be another folder called Data, this folder will contain the source files needed for install. This process takes a little bit so give it some time to complete.

INSTALL YOUR CONFIGURATION

Run the following command replacing my .xml filename:

BAT (Batchfile)
setup.exe /configure configuration-Office365-x64-Custom.xml

DEPLOY WITH MDT

In regards to MDT, you’re going to want to create an application instead of adding it into a Task Sequence. I prefer this route since I can just select the application if desired or not during deployment of an OS. You need to copy your source files downloaded to your deployment share. My folder structure for this application will be as follows:

  • Applications
    • Windows x64
      • Microsoft
        • Microsoft Office 365 – Apps for Business

General (Tab):

  • Name: Microsoft Office 365 – Apps for Business
  • Short name: Microsoft Office 365 – Apps for Business
  • Source directory: \Applications\Microsoft Office 365 – Apps for Business
    • Note: This will be the directory in your deployment share where you will copy the downloaded source files.
  • Enable the application: Checked

Details (Tab):

  • Standard application:
    • Quiet install command: setup.exe /configure configuration-Office365-x64-Custom.xml
    • Working directory: \Applications\Microsoft Office 365 – Apps for Business
      • Note: This will be the directory in your deployment share where you will copy the downloaded source files.
    • This can run on any platform: Selected

Now keep in-mind your install configuration file for MDT is going to be different and modified. In my case I don’t want to download Microsoft 365 every time an OS is deployed so I copied my downloaded source files to my deployment share and referenced the location via the SourcePath parameter, see below.

XML
<Configuration ID="a342b785-7561-44c6-85ee-798e2ff94359">
<Add OfficeClientEdition="64" Channel="Current" SourcePath="Z:\v8456\Build-Lab\Applications\Microsoft Office 365 - Apps for Business" AllowCdnFallback="TRUE" MigrateArch="TRUE">
<Product ID="O365BusinessRetail">
<Language ID="en-us"/>
<ExcludeApp ID="Groove"/>
<ExcludeApp ID="Lync"/>
<ExcludeApp ID="OneDrive"/>
</Product>
</Add>
<Updates Enabled="TRUE"/>
<RemoveMSI/>
<Display Level="Full" AcceptEULA="TRUE"/>
</Configuration>

As you can see I referenced the Z: drive that is mapped automatically by MDT during deployment and the location of the directory in the deployment share to pull files from. This greatly reduces deployment time.

DEPLOY MICROSOFT 365 DESKTOP SHORTCUTS

Also consider deploying the shortcuts for the applications.

My folder structure is as follows:

  • Applications
    • Windows x64
      • Microsoft
        • Microsoft 365 – Desktop Shortcuts

General (Tab):

  • Name: Microsoft 365 – Desktop Shortcuts
  • Short name: Microsoft Office 365 – Desktop Shortcuts
  • Source directory: \Applications\Microsoft 365 – Desktop Shortcuts
    • Note: This will be the directory in your deployment share where you will copy the .ps1 PowerShell script.
  • Enable the application: Checked

Details (Tab):

  • Standard application:
    • Quiet install command: PowerShell.exe -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -NoProfile -NonInteractive -File “./Install-Microsoft-365-Desktop-Shortcuts.ps1”
    • Working directory: \Applications\Microsoft 365 – Desktop Shortcuts
      • Note: This will be the directory in your deployment share where you will copy the .ps1 PowerShell script.
    • This can run on any platform: Selected

Here is the code inside the PowerShell script:

PowerShell
# Copy and Paste Microsoft Office Shortcuts from ProgramData Directory
               Copy-Item -Path "C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Access.lnk" -Destination 'C:\Users\Public\Desktop' -Force
               Copy-Item -Path "C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Excel.lnk" -Destination 'C:\Users\Public\Desktop' -Force
               Copy-Item -Path "C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Outlook.lnk" -Destination 'C:\Users\Public\Desktop' -Force
               Copy-Item -Path "C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\PowerPoint.lnk" -Destination 'C:\Users\Public\Desktop' -Force
               Copy-Item -Path "C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Publisher.lnk" -Destination 'C:\Users\Public\Desktop' -Force
               Copy-Item -Path "C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Word.lnk" -Destination 'C:\Users\Public\Desktop' -Force

All the script does is copy the shortcuts to the Public Desktop after Microsoft 365 applications are installed. You want to make sure this runs after the install of the applications.

DEPLOY WITH RMM

When using an RMM solution you’re going to want to pull your source files from the internet so your configuration will be different, see mine below:

XML
<Configuration ID="a342b785-7561-44c6-85ee-798e2ff94359">
<Add OfficeClientEdition="64" Channel="Current" MigrateArch="TRUE">
<Product ID="O365BusinessRetail">
<Language ID="en-us"/>
<ExcludeApp ID="Groove"/>
<ExcludeApp ID="Lync"/>
<ExcludeApp ID="OneDrive"/>
</Product>
</Add>
<Updates Enabled="TRUE"/>
<RemoveMSI/>
<Display Level="Full" AcceptEULA="TRUE"/>
</Configuration>

Here is the current one that I use with ConnectWise Automate for Apps for Business. This one I considered every option from the Office Deployment Tool to avoid as many trouble ticket calls as possible.

XML
<Configuration ID="f6b85911-c117-49d7-b60c-8522bb9b048f">
<Add OfficeClientEdition="64" Channel="Current" MigrateArch="TRUE">
<Product ID="O365BusinessRetail">
<Language ID="en-us"/>
<ExcludeApp ID="Groove"/>
<ExcludeApp ID="Lync"/>
<ExcludeApp ID="OneDrive"/>
</Product>
</Add>
<Property Name="SharedComputerLicensing" Value="0"/>
<Property Name="FORCEAPPSHUTDOWN" Value="TRUE"/>
<Property Name="DeviceBasedLicensing" Value="0"/>
<Property Name="SCLCacheOverride" Value="0"/>
<Updates Enabled="TRUE"/>
<RemoveMSI>
<IgnoreProduct ID="InfoPath"/>
<IgnoreProduct ID="InfoPathR"/>
<IgnoreProduct ID="PrjPro"/>
<IgnoreProduct ID="PrjStd"/>
<IgnoreProduct ID="SharePointDesigner"/>
<IgnoreProduct ID="VisPro"/>
<IgnoreProduct ID="VisStd"/>
</RemoveMSI>
<Display Level="None" AcceptEULA="TRUE"/>
</Configuration>

CONCLUSION

Well that sure was some fun in the sun, hopefully this helped your day. Please comment about any issues or questions. Thanks!

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