Office 2016 Volume Installer findings

[blackholemac]

See my reply to my own post below...I was interested in seeing the difference between the volume license build and the Office 365 build of MS Office 2016. Was referred to Rich's post. Had read it it and was insightful, but wanted to understand Microsoft's logic in creating this weird installer. I think I get it now and posted my findings below. Basically, I figured out how the com.microsoft.office.licensingV2.plist file is generated during installation in the GUI.

[itupshot]

@tcandela: I'm just catching up again with this discussion as I've been busy with my employer's Office 365 migration, and a few other projects.

I got the Volume Serializer pkg ahead of time from Microsoft as my company had an immediate need to deploy the applications. We're using the Office 15.17 installer already available from the Office 365 web portal. Since we are a Volume Licensing customer, I made a case of getting the serializer ahead of final release. We didn't want to use just the Office 365 installer because it would count as one install per user.

I run them paired in a Self Service policy. As I detailed in my previous posts, my only exclusion in the choices.xml is AutoUpdate. So far, so good.

[tcandela]

@itupshot are you finding it necessary to install both the installer.pkg and the serializer.pkg for v15.17 ?

in previous posts it was said that only the installer.pkg in v15.17 will take care of Volume licensing office2016 correctly. No need to run the serializer.pkg

[AVmcclint]

I'm getting really tired of all the mystery and guesswork surrounding the supposed-to-be-straight-forward process of deploying MS Office. Has the Microsoft engineer said if there is going to be official, publicly available documentation to cover the proper and approved methods? If I could point to a MS web page and show my boss how much of a C#!*@& F(#&(@! it is, I can get some relief from the pressure to get this deployed to all our Macs. As of now, all the tricks suggested to get it properly deployed and updated have been found on message boards that don't really hold a lot of authority. Everything I've read here about what is supposed to come in the future is just unverifiable rumor. If MS would step up to the mic and state "here's how it's done", that would be a wonderful thing.

[CGundersen]

@tcaldana

From a solid source:

"Yes, you only need to run the VL Serializer if you a) need to repair the license b) want to use an Office 365 package for VL. The standard VL suite package has a built-in serializer."

edit: I'm referring to 15.17 release.

I think it's awesome that someone from MS is representing and working with the community. Honestly, I don't see the same level of collaboration from Apple these days.

[blackholemac]

I had kinda given up on this thread as things had been working for me....BUT...do checkout the MacAdmins Slack page as I have learned a lot and have been helped a lot on this installer.

Some facts I know from Microsoft Sources:

1. The Volume License Serializer is just that...a serialization package which serializes the product the right way. My source has told me that it will both correct the misdeployed .plist AND Volume Serialize a product with no serialization.

2. The same source told me that MS's goal is to move toward a SKU-less download of the MS Office 2016 for Mac package over time. This way, you are not "gated" by the VLSC necessarily, but you do need to have a source to get the serializer.

3. The Volume License Serializer will re-serialize any shipping build (didn't ask about beta builds, but didn't care) properly and set up a proper om.microsoft.office.LicenseV2.plist

4. I can confirm what @talkingmoose said about "fixing the licensing bug" in 15.20.x, but the source says that MS will get the word out to the community heavily AND announce early when they plan to squash the bug.

5. As others have discussed, my "source" gave me the serializer package ahead of time and my workflows have been redesigned around it.

I can try to help more, but my advice is to reach out to your MS reps and discuss this and maybe get early access to the package if desperate. It is my hope that MS will do a Office 2016 for Mac Resource Kit like they have done with previous versions.

[tcandela]

hopefully there will be an uninstaller for Office 2016 for mac

[talkingmoose]

@AVmcclint, nothing has been released yet. We're simply getting a heads up on what's to come.

[5Y54DMIN]

@blackholemac @CGundersen

So what happens to the macs that have been deployed that using the same Plist Do those have the be serialized by using the serializer package, or would those be fixed through office updates? If they are not re serialized does office just stop working. Will Microsoft kill office on those Macs so to speak?

The only way i got office to actually work in el capitain is to build it into the image. Then deploy that image with capser. It does not work correctly if installing during imaging or post. The program would not open.

@AVmcclint

I agree i wish there was more documentation of this process.

[CGundersen]

@pgh

If you have deployed using the same plist, yes, the "Microsoft_Office_2016_VL_Serializer.pkg" will need to be used to repair/correct licensing issue. I'm not sure what happens when you reach deadline later in Q1 2016 (if you haven't run serializer). Your Office install turns into a pumpkin? Sorry.

[talkingmoose]

@pgh, there's no process to document yet. Nothing has been released yet. Things are still a work in progress.

To answer your question about serialization...

If you copied the com.microsoft.office.LicenseV2.plist license file from one Mac to another then come v15.20 that license file will break and Office applications will stop working. You'll have about three months to correct this in your environment once the new software releases in January.

[tcandela]

anybody see the Office 2016 15.17 VL installer yet ?

[jacopo_pulici]

Hi do, @tcandela .
Just downloaded from VLSC, now I have to package the installer together with the updaters (Outlook and Word) and I'm good to go.

[tcandela]

Hi @Jachk so you have the 15.17 VL installer.pkg did it also come with the serializer.pkg ?

updaters.pkg for each Office 2016 application are individual updater downloads for each (word excel pppoint etc..) ?

to get it from VLSC do i need login credentials ?

[jacopo_pulici]

Yes, this is what you you'd find in the DMG.

And yes, you need credentials to log in the VLSC.

[benbass]

I found that the VL serializer is still the old "launch an app and then delete it." version. I believe that the 15.20 (?) version that will be released in a week or two should have a serializer that will work in a deployment environment.

[powellbc]

I ran the serializer from Self Service to test deployment and the (copied over) com.microsoft.office.LicenseV2.plist file was not modified in any way. Should this have happened? It also was unmodified when running the serializer package locally.

[dgreening]

So, on that (the copied file not getting updated): I have had to script the removal of the copied licensing file, and THEN run the serializer, which works like a charm. pbowden said that a future version of the serializer will overwrite the plist no matter what.

#!/bin/bash

# check for existance of Office 2016 licensing file and remove it if found or echo and exit if not
if [[ -e "/Library/Preferences/com.microsoft.office.licensingV2.plist" ]]; then
    echo "License file found! Removing it!"
        rm /Library/Preferences/com.microsoft.office.licensingV2.plist
        exit 0
else
    echo "License file not found! Exiting!"
fi
exit 0

[calumhunter]

I don't understand how people are having so much difficulty with all this. Its about as simple as can be.

1. Take the Microsoft_Office_2016_Volume_Installer.pkg from the VLSC portal and install it any way you like -> DONE

OR

1. Take the office 365 installer package from the publicly available MS site i.e. the Retail/non VL version. Install that first, then install the VL serialiser package -> DONE

No mess, no fuss.

/Shrug

[powellbc]

@calumhunter Comments in this thread indicate the serializer package would be a way to fix (i.e. properly license) machines that used a duped com.microsoft.office.LicenseV2.plist file.

[CGundersen]

The latest info appears to be that you must remove the copied/existing v2 plist before running serializer. It's on MS's radar for correction ... and thanks to @calumhunter for getting that clarified on Slack. :)

[calumhunter]

the process is the same.
currently the 15.17 serialiser does not remove/overwrite an existing v2.plist
but then it doesn't have to yet because the apps still function correctly with a copied v2.plist

MS will fix the serialiser to remove/overwrite the v2.plist before the apps fail to work with a copied v2.plist
don't concern yourself too much with this. It will be fixed when it needs to be.
The process will remain the same as mentioned above.
If you wish to be super proactive, run a preflight script to remove the v2.plist before the vl serialiser package installs.

[skeb1ns]

I deployed a policy yesterday that runs the script that @dgreening shared before running the Serializer package. However, the new unique .plist doesn't get generated on some machines even though the .pkg says that the "installation" succeeded, leaving the user prompting for activation the next time an Office App starts.

I manually placed the widely used standard .plist as a temporary workaround but I really want to get the Serializer package to work to avoid massive activation issues when Microsoft pulls the plug on this activation method.

Tested the policy on a test device first and that worked fine. Anyone else got this issue as well?

[calumhunter]

@rschenk How did you install the Office apps on the machine where teh serialiser failed?
What installers did you use?
Did you use the updater installers or the full suite or standalone app installers?
The updaters do not contain the licencing helper stuff which the serialiser requires to be installed first.

Only the full suite installer or standalone app installers are supported.

[skeb1ns]

@calumhunter I've build a custom .pkg containing the Microsoft_Office_2016_Volume_Installer ISO from september (pre 15.17), the separate 15.17/15.17.1 patches, the latest autoupdater,the license .plist, and a script to install Office + the patches and to place the .plist in Library/Preferences.

Pretty much the same method that most admins used I believe. :)

[calumhunter]

@rschenk Thats your problem

Use the full suite installer or the standalone app installers

The links to these installers can be obtained from here:
http://macadmins.software

I'll repeat again, do NOT use the updater packages. Use only the standalone packages.

[calumhunter]

Like i said in my post earlier, i think you are doing far too much work and over complicating things

1. Grab the full suite installer from the http://macadmins.software site
2. Deploy/install the full suite installer package (15.17) (contains all the apps in one pkg ~1.3gb)
3. Deploy/install the VL serialiser package to licence the 15.17 suite of apps

end of story.

no repackaging, no scripting, no plist

no mess, no fuss

[skeb1ns]

@calumhunter

I've just rebuild my .pkg using the same method including the Serializer without the default license .plist and I did a modification on the script to run the Serializer at the end. This seems to work in my test VM resulting in a generated license file so new installations should be covered.

What do you suggest concerning the existing installations? Replace all the current apps with the full installers and a second run of the Serializer package?

[calumhunter]

for existing installs simply run a script to remove the plist if it exists before the serialiser package installs.
You could pull apart the serialiser package and insert a preinstall script and use that.

[tcandela]

on computers that yet to have Office 2016 installed, installing the new v15.17 Microsoft_Office_2016_Volume_Installer.pkg should license the installation correctly.

no need to use the serializer.pkg

[m_higgins]

I can also confirm what @tcaldana has mentioned. The latest version of the VL installer works just fine

[donmontalvo]

@calumhunter wrote:

Like i said in my post earlier, i think you are doing far too much work and over complicating things Grab the full suite installer from the http://macadmins.software site Deploy/install the full suite installer package (15.17) (contains all the apps in one pkg ~1.3gb) Deploy/install the VL serialiser package to licence the 15.17 suite of apps end of story. no repackaging, no scripting, no plist no mess, no fuss

I thought the VL serializer PKG isn't needed if the full VL installer is run? Someone corrected me in another thread when I mentioned the same, needing to run both.

[calumhunter]

@donmontalvo Read up bro, I explained earlier

Posted: 1/5/16 at 5:30 PM by calumhunter I don't understand how people are having so much difficulty with all this. Its about as simple as can be. Take the Microsoft_Office_2016_Volume_Installer.pkg from the VLSC portal and install it any way you like -> DONE OR Take the office 365 installer package from the publicly available MS site i.e. the Retail/non VL version. Install that first, then install the VL serialiser package -> DONE No mess, no fuss. /Shrug

I'll try to clarify a bit more.

The reason someone might choose to use the retail/0365/sku-less version is that this gets updated sooner than the version on the VLSC site.

For example only recently there was the 15.16 version available from MS as 0365/sku-less but the VL version on the VLSC portal was 15.14.

So if you want to be on top of the latest version, always grab the retail/0365/sku-less version then serialise it with your vl serialiser package.

[donmontalvo]

Right but for those of us using VL only, no need to run both the VL installer and VL serializer. Correct?

[5Y54DMIN]

@donmontalvo

yes i would like some clarification my self.

Do i just add the install pkg to the install list and the serializer?

Or is the serializer ran after-install?

[5Y54DMIN]

What if i just build office 2016 into the MAC os image its self can i run the serializer during the imaging process?

[Aziz]

@pgh

If you're installing Microsoft Office 15.17 or higher, there is no need for the serializer during imaging

[5Y54DMIN]

@Abdiaziz

So i just add the office install pkg to list of programs to be installed during the imaging process and that it?

I dont do anything post install, after the imaging process...

[Aziz]

@pgh

Yes. You can check for it, and it will be activated. The serializer is meant for people who want the latest version of Microsoft Office from O365, then use the serializer to activate it.

Also, if you were using the .plist copying method of activating Office, you'll need to deploy the serializer to re-activate Microsoft Office.

[5Y54DMIN]

@Abdiaziz

@donmontalvo

Ok i added the PKG directly to casper not editing and it still will not work it install the application but when i go to launch them i get the below.

#!/bin/sh

√Process:               Microsoft Word [735]
Path:                  /Applications/Microsoft Word.app/Contents/MacOS/Microsoft Word
Identifier:            com.microsoft.Word
Version:               ???
Code Type:             X86 (Native)
Parent Process:        ??? [1]
Responsible:           Microsoft Word [735]
User ID:               501

Date/Time:             2016-01-13 12:16:00.912 -0500
OS Version:            Mac OS X 10.11.2 (15C50)
Report Version:        11
Anonymous UUID:        005799DB-0850-F6C9-F855-B85C80FE7DF7


Time Awake Since Boot: 82 seconds

System Integrity Protection: enabled

Crashed Thread:        0

Exception Type:        EXC_BREAKPOINT (SIGTRAP)
Exception Codes:       0x0000000000000002, 0x0000000000000000
Exception Note:        EXC_CORPSE_NOTIFY

Application Specific Information:
dyld: launch, loading dependent libraries

Dyld Error Message:
  Library not loaded: @rpath/mbukernel.framework/Versions/A/mbukernel
  Referenced from: /Applications/Microsoft Word.app/Contents/MacOS/Microsoft Word
  Reason: image not found

Binary Images:
0x8fefb000 - 0x8ff2f5cf  dyld (360.18) <25D51D2B-794C-3911-9EEE-B1F0035D7104> /usr/lib/dyld

Model: iMac12,2, BootROM IM121.0047.B1F, 4 processors, Intel Core i5, 2.7 GHz, 4 GB, SMC 1.72f2
Graphics: AMD Radeon HD 6770M, AMD Radeon HD 6770M, PCIe, 512 MB
Memory Module: BANK 0/DIMM0, 2 GB, DDR3, 1333 MHz, 0x02FE, 0x45424A3231554538424655302D444A2D4620
Memory Module: BANK 1/DIMM0, 2 GB, DDR3, 1333 MHz, 0x02FE, 0x45424A3231554538424655302D444A2D4620
AirPort: spairport_wireless_card_type_airport_extreme (0x168C, 0x9A), Atheros 9380: 4.0.74.0-P2P
Bluetooth: Version 4.4.3f4 16616, 3 services, 27 devices, 1 incoming serial ports
Network Service: Ethernet, Ethernet, en0
Serial ATA Device: ST31000528AS, 1 TB
Serial ATA Device: HL-DT-STDVDRW  GA32N
USB Device: USB 2.0 Bus
USB Device: FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)
USB Device: Hub
USB Device: Keyboard Hub
USB Device: Apple Optical USB Mouse
USB Device: Apple Keyboard
USB Device: BRCM2046 Hub
USB Device: Bluetooth USB Host Controller
USB Device: USB 2.0 Bus
USB Device: Hub
USB Device: USB 3.0 FD
USB Device: IR Receiver
USB Device: Card Reader
Thunderbolt Bus: iMac, Apple Inc., 22.1

[tcandela]

here is my choicechangesXML. It is not installing OUTLOOK (like intended), but I still see 'check for updates' under help menu. I am getting that stupid popup saying

You are opening the application “Microsoft AutoUpdate.app” for the first time. Are you sure you want to open this application?

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<array> <dict> <key>attributeSetting</key> <integer>0</integer> <key>choiceAttribute</key> <string>selected</string> <key>choiceIdentifier</key> <string>com.microsoft.outlook</string> </dict> <dict> <key>attributeSetting</key> <integer>0</integer> <key>choiceAttribute</key> <string>selected</string> <key>choiceIdentifier</key> <string>com.microsoft.autoupdate</string> </dict> </array>
</plist>