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Office LTSC 2021 deployment

documentation
Resources for IT professionals and admins on how to deploy and manage Office LTSC
2021.

Plan, prepare, and deploy

ｂ GET STARTED

Overview of Office LTSC 2021

｀ DEPLOY

Deploy Office LTSC 2021

Deploy Project 2021

Deploy Visio 2021

Deploy OneNote 2021

Activation

ｅ OVERVIEW

Volume activation of Office

ｇ TUTORIAL

Configure a KMS host computer

Configure DNS for KMS

ｃ HOW-TO GUIDE

Activate by using KMS

Activate by using MAK

Activate by using Active Directory

Update

ｅ OVERVIEW

How Office LTSC 2021 gets updated

How updates are different in Office LTSC 2021

ｃ HOW-TO GUIDE

Configure where Office LTSC 2021 gets updates from

Check for updates for Office LTSC 2021

Use Group Policy to specify update settings

Office LTSC for Mac 2021

ｅ OVERVIEW

Overview of Office for Mac (for admins and IT Pros)

｀ DEPLOY

Deployment options for admins for Office for Mac

ｃ HOW-TO GUIDE

Activate Office for Mac with Volume License Serializer

Troubleshooting and Support

ｉ REFERENCE

Troubleshoot Office LTSC 2021

End User Help and Learning

Overview of Office LTSC 2021
Article • 09/19/2024

Office Long Term Service Channel (LTSC) 2021 is an on-premises edition of Microsoft's
core productivity apps, designed for use in disconnected or restricted environments. It's
available to organizations through volume licensing agreements.

） Important

Office LTSC 2021 is separate from Office that's available through Microsoft 365 (or
Office 365) plans. For example, if you've deployed Microsoft 365 Apps for
enterprise to the users in your organization, you don't need Office LTSC 2021.
Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise already has all the features that are included in
Office LTSC 2021, along with many more features that aren't in Office LTSC 2021.

Office LTSC 2021 is available for enterprise admins to download and deploy to the users
in their organization. The following volume licensed Office products are available for
devices running Windows:

Office LTSC Professional Plus 2021

Office LTSC Standard 2021
Project Professional 2021
Project Standard 2021
Visio LTSC Professional 2021
Visio LTSC Standard 2021

These Office products use Click-to-Run, instead of Windows Installer (MSI), as the
installation technology. But, how you activate these Office products – for example, by
using Key Management Service (KMS) – remains the same.

Office LTSC 2021 is supported on devices running Windows 10 or Windows 11. For more
information, see System requirements for Microsoft 365 and Office .

For devices running macOS, Office LTSC Standard for Mac 2021 is available for volume
licensed customers. For more information, see Deployment guide for Office for Mac.

What changed in Office LTSC 2021?

The following are changes in Office LTSC 2021 compared to the volume licensed version
of Office 2019.
  Tip

If you’re moving to Office LTSC 2021 from Office 2016, you should also review the
changes documented in Overview of Office 2019 (for IT Pros). The most important
difference between Office 2016 and Office LTSC 2021 is the change in the
installation technology from Windows Installer (MSI) to Click-to-Run.

Privacy-related policy settings

The following policy settings are available when using Group Policy:

Configure the level of client software diagnostic data sent by Office to Microsoft
Allow the use of connected experiences in Office that analyze content
Allow the use of connected experiences in Office that download online content
Allow the use of connected experiences in Office

These policy settings are located under User Configuration\Policies\Administrative

Templates\Microsoft Office 2016\Privacy\Trust Center in the Group Policy Management
tool.

７ Note

The “Allow the use of additional optional connected experiences in Office" policy
setting is also available for Office LTSC 2021. But that's not considered a change
because that policy setting is already available for volume licensed versions of
Office 2019.

For more information, see Use policy settings to manage privacy controls. Even though
the article isn’t specifically for Office LTSC 2021, the information covered in the article
about how the policy settings work does apply to Office LTSC 2021.

Support duration
Office LTSC 2021, including Project and Visio, have five years of Mainstream Support.
There won’t be any Extended Support available for these products after the five years of
Mainstream Support ends. For more information, see Fixed Lifecycle Policy.

Microsoft Teams
 ７ Note

Office LTSC 2021 no longer includes the Teams client app. Existing Office LTSC 2021
installations remain unaffected.

Users with the Teams client app from their existing Office LTSC 2021 installation are
prompted to sign in upon launching. Users with a Microsoft Entra account linked to
Teams, Microsoft 365, or Office 365 can sign in using their licensed account.

Users without an existing license for Teams are able to use the free or the Exploratory
service for Microsoft Teams.

The free version of Microsoft Teams is for users who don't have an existing
Microsoft Entra account. For more information, see Manage the free version of
Microsoft Teams.

The Exploratory experience is for users in an organization who have existing

Microsoft Entra accounts but aren't licensed for Teams. For more information, see
Manage the Microsoft Teams Exploratory license.

For more information about the Teams client app with Office LTSC 2021, see Microsoft
Teams in Office LTSC 2021.

Language support
Office LTSC 2021 adds support for the following three languages:

English (United Kingdom), en-gb

French (Canada), fr-ca
Spanish (Mexico), es-mx

７ Note

These languages aren't available in Project or Visio.

OpenDocument format 1.3

Word, Excel, and PowerPoint in Office LTSC 2021 include support for OpenDocument
format (ODF) 1.3. For more information, see Office apps now support OpenDocument
format 1.3 .
Office Add-ins
Several more Office Add-ins JavaScript APIs are available with Office LTSC 2021. These
include the following requirement sets.

Product requirement sets:

Excel: Up to 1.12
Outlook: Up to 1.9 on Windows, up to 1.8 on Mac
PowerPoint: Up to 1.2

Common API requirement sets:

CustomFunctionsRuntime 1.3 (Excel)
DialogApi 1.2 (Excel, PowerPoint, Word)
IdentityAPI 1.3 (Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Word)
ImageCoercion 1.2 (Excel, PowerPoint, Word)
OpenBrowserWindowApi 1.1 (Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Word)
RibbonApi 1.1 (Excel)
SharedRuntime 1.1 (Excel)

Office Add-ins on Windows now use Microsoft Edge with WebView2. For more
information, see Browsers used by Office Add-ins.

Office Telemetry Dashboard

Office Telemetry Dashboard is no longer included with the installation of Office and isn't
supported for Office LTSC 2021.

OneDrive (Groove) client

The OneDrive (Groove) client is no longer included with the installation of Office and
isn't supported for Office LTSC 2021.

Power View in Excel

Power View isn't available for the version of Excel included with Office LTSC 2021. Power
BI is the recommended tool for visual data exploration and reporting. For more
information, see Roadmap for Power View in Excel .

What stayed the same in Office LTSC 2021?

You can use the same software distribution tools, such as Microsoft Configuration
Manager, to deploy and update Office LTSC 2021 as you do for volume licensed versions
of Office 2019.

Also, how you activate volume licensed versions of Office remains the same. For
example, by using Key Management Service (KMS) or Multiple Activation Key (MAK). For
more information, see Overview of volume activation of Office.

The major version of Office LTSC 2021 is 16.0, which is the same major version as
volume licensed versions of Office 2019 (and Office 2016). Having the same major
version provides the following benefits when you’re upgrading from Office 2019:

Existing Group Policy settings continue to work, because those settings are still
saved in the following registry locations:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Office\16.0
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Office\16.0
Other registry locations and settings information that reference 16.0 still apply.
Add-ins and other extensibility solutions compatible with Office 2019 are likely to
work with Office LTSC 2021, requiring minimal testing.

What are the new features in Office LTSC 2021?

For information about the new features in Office LTSC 2021, see the following articles:

What's new in Office 2021

What's new in Access 2021
What's new in Excel 2021
What's new in Outlook 2021
What's new in PowerPoint 2021
What's new in Visio Professional 2021
What's new in Word 2021

Office LTSC 2021 includes only some, but not all, features that are available in versions
of Office that come with a Microsoft 365 (or Office 365) plan.

Office LTSC 2021 doesn't receive any new features. If you want to get new Office
features on an ongoing basis, you should consider moving to a Microsoft 365 (or Office
365) plan that includes Office. Many enterprise plans include Microsoft 365 Apps for
enterprise, which includes the same Office apps as Office LTSC Professional Plus 2021.
For more information, see Compare Microsoft 365 enterprise plans and Compare
Office 365 enterprise plans .
To get ongoing feature updates for the desktop versions of Project and Visio, you
should consider moving to a subscription plan for those products. For more information,
see Project Plan 3/Project Plan 5 and Visio Plan 2 .

７ Note

The Teams client app included with Office LTSC 2021 will continue to receive new
features. The update process for Teams is different than the update process for the
other Office apps, such as Word and Excel. For more information, see Teams
update process.

How do I upgrade to Office LTSC 2021?

We recommend that you uninstall existing versions of Office before you deploy Office
LTSC 2021. You can remove most Office products that were installed with Windows
Installer (MSI), such as Office 2016 or Office 2013, from the device as part of the
installation of Office LTSC 2021. For more information, see Remove existing versions of
Office before installing Office LTSC 2021.

Additional information about Office LTSC 2021

Office LTSC Professional Plus 2021 includes Access, Excel, OneNote, Outlook,
PowerPoint, Publisher, Skype for Business, Teams, and Word.
Access and Publisher aren't available for devices running macOS.
Office LTSC 2021 includes the OneNote desktop app. For more information, see
Deployment guide for OneNote.
Office LTSC 2021 is available in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions. We recommend
64-bit on devices that have 4 GB or more of memory. But you should assess
application compatibility and other factors that might require you to use the 32-bit
version. For more information, see Choose between the 64-bit or 32-bit version of
Office .
After downloading the installation files, internet connectivity isn’t required to
install Office LTSC 2021. Internet connectivity is required for MAK activation, but
not for KMS activation. After activation, internet connectivity isn't required to use
Office LTSC 2021.
LTSC stands for Long Term Servicing Channel.

Related articles
 Deploy Office LTSC 2021
Update Office LTSC 2021
Overview of volume activation of Office

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Deploy Office LTSC 2021
Article • 07/22/2024

To configure and perform deployments of Office LTSC 2021, including Project and Visio,
for users in your organization, you use the Office Deployment Tool (ODT). The Office
Customization Tool (OCT) that you previously used for Windows Installer (MSI) is no
longer used.

The installation files for Office LTSC 2021 are available on the Office Content Delivery
Network (CDN) on the internet instead of on the Volume Licensing Service Center
(VLSC). You can install Office LTSC 2021 directly from the Office CDN. Or, you can
download the installation files from the Office CDN to a location on your local network,
such as a shared folder, and install Office LTSC 2021 from that location. You can use
different methods for different sets of devices in your organization. Whichever method
you choose, you use the ODT.

Installing directly from the Office CDN requires the least amount of administrative effort
and is recommended. But you might have constraints that prevent you from installing
directly from the internet. For example, some devices might not have connectivity to the
internet or you might have limited bandwidth to the internet.

The following steps are the basic steps for deploying Office LTSC 2021:

1. Download the Office Deployment Tool from the Microsoft Download Center
2. Create the configuration.xml file
3. Download the Office LTSC 2021 installation files (optional, if not installing directly
from the Office CDN)
4. Install Office LTSC 2021 by using the Office Deployment Tool

Alternatively, you can use Configuration Manager to deploy Office LTSC 2021 if that's
available in your organization.

Whichever way you choose to deploy Office LTSC 2021, we recommend that you remove
existing versions of Office before installing Office LTSC 2021.

Download the Office Deployment Tool from the

Microsoft Download Center
The Office Deployment Tool is a free download from the Microsoft Download Center.
We recommend that you always download and use the most current version of the ODT.
After you download the Office Deployment Tool, double-click on the
officedeploymenttool executable (.exe) file to extract the ODT files. When you're
finished, you should have several files: setup.exe and some sample configuration.xml
files. For an Office LTSC 2021-specific sample, see Sample configuration.xml file to use
with the Office Deployment Tool.

The setup.exe file is the ODT and is a command-line tool that supports downloading
and installing Office LTSC 2021. The configuration.xml files are sample files to get you
started. You use the configuration.xml file to provide settings for the ODT to use when
downloading or installing Office LTSC 2021. The configuration.xml is a simple xml file
that can be created and edited in any text editor, such as Notepad. You can name the
file anything that you want, as long as it retains the xml file extension.

Create the configuration.xml file

Once you have a copy of the ODT, you need to create a configuration.xml file. You can
create multiple configuration.xml files to be used with the ODT. For example, you can
create a configuration.xml file to download and install the 64-bit version of Office LTSC
Professional Plus 2021 in English. Then, you can create a different configuration.xml file
to install the 32-bit version of Visio LTSC Professional 2021 in French. When you run the
ODT from an elevated command prompt, you specify which configuration.xml file to use.

 Tip

Instead of using a text editor to create your configuration.xml file, we

recommend that you use the Office Customization Tool (OCT) .
The OCT provides a web-based interface for making your selections and
creating your configuration.xml file to be used with the Office Deployment
Tool. For more information, see Overview of the Office Customization Tool.
This OCT is different than the Office Customization Tool that you might have
used in the past to install volume licensed versions of Office that used
Windows Installer (MSI) as the installation technology.

There are a series of settings in the configuration.xml file that you configure to
customize the Office LTSC 2021 download or installation. The following table lists the
most common settings to configure in the configuration.xml file.

ﾉ Expand table
Configuration configuration.xml Additional information
setting

Where to download SourcePath If you don’t specify a SourcePath when installing

the Office installation Office, the ODT looks for the installation files in
files to and where to the folder it’s located in. If it doesn’t find the
install Office from Office installation files there, it goes to the Office
CDN to get the installation files.
For example,
\\server\share (a We recommend that you install Office directly
shared folder on your from the Office CDN, if internet connectivity and
local network). network bandwidth make that possible.

Which products to Product ID Valid values include the following IDs:

download or install - ProPlus2021Volume
- Standard2021Volume
For example, Office - ProjectPro2021Volume
LTSC Professional Plus - ProjectStd2021Volume
2021. - VisioPro2021Volume
- VisioStd2021Volume

For a list of Product IDs for other volume licensed

Office products, such as Access LTSC 2021, see
List of Product IDs which are supported by the
Office Deployment Tool for Click-to-Run.

If you have a Microsoft Services Provider License

Agreement (SPLA), review this information.

Use Key Management PIDKEY Enter the Generic Volume License Key (GVLK) for
Service (KMS) to KMS activation.
activate Office LTSC
2021

Use Multiple Activation PIDKEY Enter the product key for MAK activation.
(MAK) to activate
Office LTSC 2021

Which languages to Language ID You can install multiple languages at the same
download or install time you’re Installing Office LTSC 2021, or you
can install them later.
For example, English
(en-us) and French (fr- For more information, see Deploy languages for
fr). Office LTSC 2021.

Which proofing tools Product ID The Product ID is "ProofingTools" and is used in

to install combination with the Language ID.

For more information, see Deploy languages for

Office LTSC 2021.
Configuration configuration.xml Additional information
setting

Which edition of Office OfficeClientEdition Valid xml values are "32" and "64."
LTSC 2021 to download
or install. All Office products on the device must be of the
same architecture. You can’t have both 32-bit
For example, the 64-bit and 64-bit Office products installed on the same
version. device.

We recommend 64-bit on devices that have 4 GB

or more of memory. But you should assess
application compatibility and other factors that
might require you to use the 32-bit version.

For more information, see Choose between the

64-bit or 32-bit version of Office .

Which apps to install ExcludeApp By default, all apps included in Office LTSC
Professional Plus 2021 are installed.
For example, all apps
except Publisher. For example, to not install Publisher, you can
include the following line in your
configuration.xml:

<ExcludeApp ID="Publisher" />

For more information, see ExcludeApp element.

Where to get security UpdatePath The default is to get updates directly from the
and quality updates Office CDN on the internet, which is
from. recommended and requires the least amount of
administrative effort.
For example, directly
from the Office CDN But if you need to update devices that don’t have
on the internet. internet connectivity, you can specify that Office
gets updates, for example, from a shared folder
on your local network. But this option means that
you must download the updates from the Office
CDN each month and copy them to the shared
folder.

For more information, see Update Office LTSC

2021.

Which update channel Channel Office uses the concept of update channels to
to install from and get determine which updates an installed version of
updates from Office receives.
 Configuration configuration.xml Additional information
setting

For more information, see Update channel for

Office LTSC 2021.

Whether to remove RemoveMSI Recommended. For more information, see

previous Windows Remove existing versions of Office before
Installer (MSI) versions installing Office LTSC 2021.
of Office before
installing Office LTSC
2021

 Tip

More information about these configuration.xml settings is available here:

Configuration options for the Office Deployment Tool. Keep in mind that not all
the information in that article applies to Office LTSC 2021. For example, the settings
related to shared computer activation, such as SharedComputerLicensing and
SCLCacheOverride, don’t apply to Office LTSC 2021.

Sample configuration.xml file to use with the

Office Deployment Tool
The following sample configuration.xml file can be used to either download or install the
64-bit version of Office LTSC Professional Plus 2021 in English using a shared folder on
your local network and activate by using MAK. If you’re using this configuration.xml to
install Office LTSC 2021, previous Windows Installer (MSI) versions of Office are removed
as part of the installation process. Even though it’s not specified in the configuration.xml
file, updates are automatically enabled and are configured to come directly from the
Office CDN, because those settings are the default.

XML

<Configuration>
<Add SourcePath="\\Server\Share" OfficeClientEdition="64"
Channel="PerpetualVL2021">
<Product ID="ProPlus2021Volume" PIDKEY="#####-#####-#####-#####-
#####" >
<Language ID="en-us" />
</Product>
<Product ID="ProofingTools">
<Language ID="de-de" />
<Language ID="es-es" />
</Product>
 </Add>
<RemoveMSI />
<Display Level="None" AcceptEULA="TRUE" />
</Configuration>

For the PIDKEY, replace #####-#####-#####-#####-##### with your MAK client

activation key.

Remove existing versions of Office before

installing Office LTSC 2021
We recommend that you uninstall any previous versions of Office before installing Office
LTSC 2021. To help you uninstall versions of Office that use Windows Installer (MSI) as
the installation technology, you can use the ODT and specify the RemoveMSI element in
your configuration.xml file.

There are several ways that you can use the RemoveMSI element when installing Office
LTSC 2021.

Uninstall all Office products on the device.

Identify any existing language resources, like language packs, and install the same
languages.
Keep some Office products and uninstall all other Office products on the device.

RemoveMSI can be used to uninstall 2007, 2010, 2013, or 2016 versions of Office, Visio,
or Project that were installed using Windows Installer (MSI).

For more information about using RemoveMSI, see Remove existing MSI versions of
Office when upgrading to Microsoft 365 Apps. Even though that article is about
Microsoft 365 Apps, most of the information also applies to Office LTSC 2021.

To uninstall 2019 versions of Office, Visio, or Project from the device, use the Remove
element. You use the Remove element because 2019 versions of Office, Visio, and
Project are installed by using Click-to-Run, not Windows Installer (MSI).

Download the Office LTSC 2021 installation files

Once you have a copy of the ODT and have created your configuration.xml file, you can
download the Office LTSC 2021 installation files to your local network. To do that, open
an elevated command prompt, go to the folder where you saved the ODT and the
configuration.xml file, and type this command:
 Console

setup /download configuration.xml

If you've saved the configuration.xml file with a different name, use that name in the
command.

It looks as if nothing is happening, but the download is happening in the background.

Once the download is complete, you're returned to a command prompt.

If you want to check that the files are downloading, go to the location you specified for
your SourcePath in the configuration.xml file. You should see a folder named “Office”
with a subfolder named “Data.” Under Data, there's also a subfolder named with the
version number of the download. For example, 16.0.14332.20481. Which files you see
and the names of the files depend on whether you're downloading the 32-bit or 64-bit
version of Office and which languages you're downloading.

Here are some other details about downloading Office LTSC 2021 installation files:

You must download the 32-bit and 64-bit versions separately.

All volume licensed Office products are included in the same download, regardless
of which products you specify in the configuration.xml file. For example, if you
download Office LTSC Professional Plus 2021, the download also includes Visio
LTSC Professional 2021 and Project Professional 2021. Including all products in the
download is designed to help you save disk space on your local network. The core
files for these products are in the stream.x86.x-none.dat or stream.x64.x-none.dat
file, depending if it’s the 32-bit or 64-bit version of Office.

Install Office LTSC 2021 by using the Office

Deployment Tool
Once you have a copy of the ODT and have created your configuration.xml file (and
downloaded the Office LTSC 2021 installation files to your local network, if necessary),
you can install Office LTSC 2021. To do that, open an elevated command prompt, go to
the folder where you saved the ODT and the configuration.xml file, and type the
following command:

Console

setup /configure configuration.xml

If you've saved the configuration.xml file with a different name, use that name in the
command.

Once the installation is complete, you're returned to a command prompt, and you can
go open the Office LTSC 2021 programs you’ve installed.

７ Note

Office LTSC 2021 is installed on the system drive, which is usually the C:\ drive. The
installation location can't be changed.

Install Office LTSC 2021 by using Configuration

Manager
You can also use Microsoft Configuration Manager (current branch) to deploy Office
LTSC 2021. The Office 365 Client Installation wizard steps you through the process and
builds the configuration.xml file for you. There's an entry for Office LTSC Professional
Plus 2021 in the wizard. On that same page, you can also select to deploy Project and
Visio. To get to the wizard, in the Configuration Manager console, navigate to Software
Library > Overview > Office 365 Client Management.

Deploy languages for Office LTSC 2021

You can use the ODT and the configuration.xml file to deploy Office LTSC 2021,
including Project and Visio, in multiple languages. For more information, see Language
element.

You can also just install proofing tools by specifying the Product ID as "ProofingTools" in
your configuration.xml file along with the appropriate Language IDs. Proofing tools
packages are smaller than full language packs. Consider deploying proofing tools in
cases where users work with documents in multiple languages but don’t need the Office
product UI in all those languages. The proofing tools can be installed at the same time
you’re installing Office LTSC 2021, or you can install them later. They can also be
installed whether or not the language pack for a given language is installed.

If you're upgrading from a Windows Installer (MSI) version of Office, you can get Click-
to-Run versions of the same language resources – for example, language packs,
language interface packs, or proofing tools – installed when you deploy Office LTSC
2021. For more information, see Remove existing MSI versions of Office when upgrading
to Microsoft 365 Apps. Even though that article is about Microsoft 365 Apps, most of
the information also applies to Office LTSC 2021.

Microsoft Teams in Office LTSC 2021

Office LTSC 2021 no longer includes the Teams client app. However, if the Teams client
app was previously installed with Office LTSC 2021, it will continue to be automatically
updated approximately every two weeks with new features and quality updates. The
update process for Teams is different from the update process for other Office apps,
such as Word and Excel. For more information, see Teams update process.

Skype for Business in Office LTSC 2021

Skype for Business isn't included, by default, in the installation of Office LTSC 2021 when
you use either of the following methods to deploy Office LTSC 2021:

The Office Deployment Tool with a configuration.xml file created by using the
Office Customization Tool and you don’t change the default settings under the
Apps section.
The Office 365 Client Installation wizard in Configuration Manager (current branch)
and you don’t change the default settings under the Apps section.

For either method, you can adjust the settings in the UI so that Skype for Business is
installed with Office LTSC 2021.

Related articles
Overview of Office LTSC 2021
Update Office LTSC 2021
Overview of volume activation of Office

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Update Office LTSC 2021
Article • 09/16/2024

After you deploy Office LTSC 2021, including Project and Visio, you’ll want to keep it
updated because Microsoft releases security updates and quality updates, such as
updates that provide stability or performance improvements for Office. Office LTSC 2021
is updated approximately once a month, usually on the second Tuesday of the month.

７ Note

Office LTSC 2021 doesn't receive new features after it's released. If you want to get
new Office features on an on-going basis, you should consider moving to a
Microsoft 365 (or Office 365) plan that includes Office.

Office LTSC 2021 use Click-to-Run, instead of Windows Installer (MSI), as the technology
used to install and update Office.

How Office LTSC 2021 gets updated

Here’s how Office updates work:

When Microsoft releases updates for Office, a new build is made available on the
Office Content Delivery Network (CDN). This build includes the latest security and
quality updates.
By default, Office is configured to automatically receive updates from the Office
CDN. You can change this setting. For more information, see Configure where
Office LTSC gets updates from.
The "Office Automatic Updates 2.0" scheduled task on the device checks for
updates regularly.
If updates are available, Office automatically downloads them without user
intervention. During this process, Office downloads only the necessary updates to
match the latest version on the CDN.
Users can continue working in Office apps like Word while updates are
downloading. After the updates download, they're installed. If any Office apps are
open, users are prompted to save their work and close the apps to install the
updates.
After installation, users can resume working in their Office apps.

How updates are different in Office LTSC 2021

Since Click-to-Run handles updates differently than Windows Installer (MSI), here are
some things you need to be aware of if you're used to MSI-based updates.

There are no separate downloads for security or quality updates. These updates
are already included as part of a new build of Office LTSC 2021 that’s posted on
the Office CDN.
Updates are cumulative, so the latest version of Office LTSC 2021 available on the
Office CDN includes all the security and quality updates from all the previous
versions of Office LTSC 2021.
When you download and install Office LTSC 2021 from the Office CDN, it’s up to
date already. You don’t have to download and apply any additional updates or
service packs before you can start using Office LTSC 2021.
Since updates are cumulative and already included in the latest version of Office
LTSC 2021 on the Office CDN, you don’t use Microsoft Updates or Windows Server
Updates Services (WSUS) by itself to update Office LTSC 2021. But you can use
Microsoft Configuration Manager to help you deploy and manage updates to
Office LTSC 2021, including controlling when and from where updates are applied.

Configure where Office LTSC 2021 gets updates

from
If network connectivity and your organizational requirements allow, update Office
automatically from the Office Content Delivery Network (CDN). Updating from the
Office CDN is the default, so there’s nothing extra to do, making it an easy way to keep
Office up to date.

If you prefer that devices with Office installed don't connect to the Office CDN for
updates, configure Office to get updates from a shared folder within your internal
network. You can specify this location either in the configuration.xml file used to deploy
Office with the Office Deployment Tool or by using Group Policy. At least one device
must have access to the Office CDN to download the latest version of Office to the
shared folder on your internal network.

Installing and updating Office from a shared folder on your local network requires more
administrative effort and disk space. For example, you need to track when new builds of
Office are available and then download the updated version to your network.
Downloading to a shared folder on your local network downloads a full copy of the
updated version of Office.

You can also use enterprise software deployment tools, such as Microsoft Configuration
Manager, to help update Office.
For more information, see Deploy Office LTSC 2021

Check for updates for Office LTSC 2021

Instead of waiting for the scheduled task to run to check for updates, you can manually
check for updates. To do that, open any Office app, such as Word, and go to File >
Account > Update Options > Update Now.

This causes the Click-to-Run service to go look for updates at the location that you’ve
configured Office to look for updates. For example, directly from the Office CDN on the
internet. If updates are available, Office begins the process to download.

Size of updates for Office LTSC 2021

The size of the updates downloaded to the user's device from the update location varies
depending on several factors, including how long it’s been since Office was last updated
and the number of security and quality updates available.

To minimize the size of the updates that need to be downloaded, we recommend

keeping Office up to date. Office uses a technology called binary delta compression to
help reduce the size of updates applied to the user's device. However, binary delta
compression is only available if you're updating from a recent version of Office. For
example, if you're updating from the September or October version to the November
version. But if you're updating a much older version of Office, such as from the June to
November version, binary delta compression isn’t available.

Use Group Policy to specify update settings

If you have Windows Server and Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) deployed in
your organization, you can configure update settings for Office by using Group Policy.
To do this, download the most current Administrative Template files (ADMX/ADML for
Office) , which include the policy settings for Office.

After you copy the Administrative Template files to AD DS, you'll find the update policy
settings under Computer Configuration\Policies\Administrative Templates\Microsoft
Office 2016 (Machine)\Updates in the Group Policy Management tool. You'll also find a
description of how to configure each policy setting. For example, you can use the
"Update path" Group Policy setting to specify where Office should look for updates.

Update channel for Office LTSC 2021

Office uses the concept of update channels to determine which updates an installed
version of Office receives. Update channel is a device-wide setting, which means that all
Office products, including Project and Visio, installed on a device must be using the
same update channel.

“PerpetualVL2021” is the only update channel available for Office LTSC Professional Plus
2021 and Office LTSC Standard 2021. The PerpetualVL2021 update channel is also
available for volume licensed versions of Project 2021 and Visio LTSC 2021.

Volume licensed versions of Project 2021 and Visio LTSC 2021 can also use other update
channels, such as Current Channel, Monthly Enterprise Channel, or Semi-Annual
Enterprise Channel. The reason Project and Visio can use other update channels is so
that they can be installed on a device along with Microsoft 365 Apps, which supports all
those other channels. But even if Project and Visio use these other update channels,
they'll still only receive security and quality updates each month, not any new features.

For more information, see Overview of update channels for Microsoft 365 Apps.

Related articles
Overview of Office LTSC 2021
Deploy Office LTSC 2021

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Overview of volume activation of Office
Article • 09/18/2024

Applies to: Volume licensed versions of Office LTSC 2024, Volume licensed versions of
Office LTSC 2021, Office 2019, and Office 2016 (including Project and Visio)

Activation is the process of validating software with the manufacturer after it's installed
on a specific computer. Activation confirms that the product is genuine—not a
fraudulent copy—and that the product key or serial number is valid and hasn't been
compromised or revoked. Activation also establishes a link or relationship between the
product key and the particular installation.

７ Note

If you're a user trying to activate a personal copy of Office at home, see Activate
Office instead of reading this article.

Volume activation is the process that Microsoft volume licensing customers use to
automate and manage the activation of Windows operating systems, Microsoft Office,
and other Microsoft products across large organizations.

There are three different methods that you can activate volume licensed versions of
Office, including Project and Visio:

Key Management Service (KMS): Office is activated by contacting a KMS host

computer on your network.

Multiple Activation Key (MAK): Office is activated online by Microsoft-hosted

activation servers or by telephone.

Active Directory-based: Office on a domain-joined computer is activated through

Active Directory.

Which activation method you choose depends on the size, network infrastructure,
connectivity, and security requirements of your environment. You can choose to use
different activation methods for different versions of Office and for different computers,
for example desktops and laptops. Because these three activation methods are also
used to activate volume licensed versions of Windows, you might be able to use the
same method to activate both Windows and Office. For more information, see Volume
Activation for Windows and Volume Activation Overview.
All volume licensed versions of Office, including Project and Visio, have a preinstalled
product key, called a Generic Volume License Key (GVLK), that can be used for KMS and
Active Directory-based activation. You don't have to enter a product key for each Office
installation if you're activating Office by using KMS or Active Directory. If you're
activating Office by using MAK, you must enter a product key for each Office
installation, but there are ways to automate that.

Key Management Service (KMS) activation of

Office
KMS activation is a client-server model in which each client requests activation from a
KMS host computer. The keys needed to activate Office are installed on the KMS host
computer. The client uses DNS to locate a KMS host computer to request activation.

For more information, see the following articles:

Configure a KMS host computer to activate volume licensed versions of Office

Configure DNS for activating volume licensed versions of Office by using KMS
Activate volume licensed versions of Office by using KMS

Multiple Activation Key (MAK) activation of

Office
MAK activation is used for one-time activation through Microsoft-hosted activation
services, either via the internet or by telephone. MAK activation requires that a MAK is
installed on a client computer and instructs that computer to activate itself against those
services.

Each MAK has a predetermined number of allowed activations and is based on your
volume licensing agreement. Each Office activation that uses MAK counts toward the
activation limit. After Office is activated, no reactivation is required unless the hardware
changes significantly.

For more information, see Activate volume licensed versions of Office by using MAK.

Active Directory-based activation of Office

Active Directory-based activation can activate Office installed on domain-joined
computers. The product key information, which is the same that is used by KMS, is
stored in Active Directory and replicated throughout the forest. If Office can't contact
Active Directory for activation, Office tries to activate by using KMS.

For more information, see Activate volume licensed versions of Office by using Active
Directory.

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Configure a KMS host computer to
activate volume licensed versions of
Office
Article • 11/01/2024

Applies to: Volume licensed versions of Office Long Term Service Channel (LTSC) 2024,
Office LTSC 2021, Office 2019, and Office 2016 (including Project and Visio)

To activate volume licensed versions of Office, including Project, and Visio, you must
have a Key Management Service (KMS) host computer. You can configure a Windows
Server computer to be a KMS host computer by installing the Volume Activation
Services role and then running the Volume Activation Tools wizard.

To enable the KMS host computer to activate Office, you must install the Office Volume
License Pack and enter your KMS key on the KMS host computer. Then, you need to
activate the KMS key over the internet or by telephone.

If you have a KMS host computer configured to activate Windows, you can configure
that same KMS host computer to activate Office. You can also configure a KMS host
computer to activate multiple versions of Office, such as Office LTSC 2024, Office LTSC
2021 Office 2019, and Office 2016. In these cases, the KMS host computer must be
running an operating system that supports KMS for each of the versions of Office that
you want to activate. Also, you need to install the Office Volume License Pack for each
version of Office on the KMS host computer and activate a KMS host key for each
version of Office.

Office supports KMS host computers running on the following operating systems,
depending on which version of Office is activated with KMS:

Office LTSC 2024: At least Windows Server 2019 or at least Windows 10 (volume
editions)
Office LTSC 2021: At least Windows Server 2016 or at least Windows 10 (volume
editions)
Office 2019: At least Windows Server 2012 or at least Windows 8.1 (volume
editions)
Office 2016: At least Windows Server 2008 R2 or at least Windows 7 Service Pack 1
(volume editions)

Configure the KMS host computer

To configure the KMS host computer to activate Office, follow these steps. You must be
a member of the Administrators group on the KMS host computer.

If your KMS host computer has internet access:

1. Sign in to the Microsoft 365 admin center and go to Billing > Your products.
2. Select the Volume licensing tab (only volume licensing administrators can access
this section).
3. Go to the Download and keys tab, then download the KMS key for each product
and version of Office that you want to activate using KMS.
4. Download and run the appropriate Office Volume License Pack executable from
the Microsoft Download Center.

Office LTSC 2024 Volume License Pack

Office LTSC 2021 Volume License Pack
Office 2019 Volume License Pack
Office 2016 Volume License Pack

1. Running the executable installs the pack on the KMS host computer and opens the
Volume Activation Tools wizard.
2. Follow the steps in the wizard and enter your KMS key when prompted.
3. If a firewall is enabled, ensure port 1688 is open to allow the KMS host service
through:

Go to Control Panel > System and Security > Windows Firewall (or
Windows Defender Firewall).
Select Allow an app or feature through Windows Firewall.
Select Change Settings, check Key Management Service, and select OK.

If the KMS host computer doesn't have internet access, activate it by telephone.

1. From an elevated command prompt, go to the Windows\system32 folder, and

then run the following command:

Console

cscript slmgr.vbs /dti ACTIVATIONID

Replace ACTIVATIONID with the Activation ID for your version of Office.

Activation ID for Office LTSC 2024: F3D89BBF-C0EC-47CE-A8FA-E5A5F97E447F

Activation ID for Office LTSC 2021: 47F3B983-7C53-4D45-ABC6-BCD91E2DD90A
Activation ID for Office 2019: 70512334-47B4-44DB-A233-BE5EA33B914C
 Activation ID for Office 2016: 98EBFE73-2084-4C97-932C-C0CD1643BEA7

The result of running this command is a 36-digit installation ID. Paste the
installation ID number into Notepad, and then break it up into six groups of six
numbers.

1. At the command line, run the following command:

Console

slui.exe 4

This command launches the Windows phone activation wizard and it displays a
telephone number.
After obtaining the telephone number, cancel the wizard. You can ignore the activation
ID displayed by the wizard. It's for Windows.

1. Call the telephone number. At each prompt, enter a group of six numbers. This 36-
digit number is the installation ID that you obtained in step 1.
2. When you hear the response, write down the numbers. These numbers are your
confirmation ID.
3. At the command line, run the following command:

Console

cscript slmgr.vbs /atp CONFIRMATIONID ACTIVATIONID

Replace CONFIRMATIONID with the 48-digit confirmation ID that you received over the
telephone.

Replace ACTIVATIONID with the Activation ID for your version of Office.

Activation ID for Office LTSC 2024: F3D89BBF-C0EC-47CE-A8FA-E5A5F97E447F

Activation ID for Office LTSC 2021: 47F3B983-7C53-4D45-ABC6-BCD91E2DD90A
Activation ID for Office 2019: 70512334-47B4-44DB-A233-BE5EA33B914C
Activation ID for Office 2016: 98EBFE73-2084-4C97-932C-C0CD1643BEA7

You should see a message that the confirmation ID was successfully deposited.

Verify activations by the KMS host computer

After you set up the KMS host computer, KMS clients send requests for activation and
increment the current count of activations. The current count must be 5 or more before
KMS clients are activated. The maximum current count is double the activation
threshold, or 10. You can also check the KMS log from the Applications and Services
Logs folder for event ID 12290, the ID for KMS-related activity. The KMS log records
activation requests from KMS clients. Each event displays the name of the computer and
the time stamp of each activation request.

Verify the KMS key is successfully installed and

activated
From an elevated command prompt on the KMS host computer, run the following
command:

Console

cscript slmgr.vbs /dlv all

To view information only for a specific version of Office, specify that version's Activation
ID after the /dlv parameter. For example, for Office 2019:

Console

cscript slmgr.vbs /dlv 70512334-47B4-44DB-A233-BE5EA33B914C

The following text is an example of the output for Office 2016. The line that says:
"License Status: Licensed" indicates that your KMS host computer is successfully
activated.

Console

Name: Office 16, OfficeKMSHostVL_KMS_Host edition

Description: Office 16, VOLUME_KMS channel
Activation ID: 98EBFE73-2084-4C97-932C-C0CD1643BEA7
Application ID: 0ff1ce16-a989-479d-af46-f275c6370663
Extended PID: 05426-00206-234-001162-03-1033-9200.0000-0992013
Installation ID: 020650770493837252929082195773527024195725809211989214
Use License URL:
https://activation.sls.microsoft.com/SLActivateProduct/SLActiva
teProduct.asmx?configextension=o16
Validation URL: https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/p/?LinkID=187557
Partial Product Key: KDQ2G
License Status: Licensed
Remaining Windows rearm count: 1000
Trusted time: 10/26/2016 9:58:33 AM
Key Management Service is enabled on this machine
Current count: 0
 Listening on Port: 1688
DNS publishing enabled
KMS priority: Normal
Key Management Service cumulative requests received from clients
Total requests received: 0
Failed requests received: 0
Requests with License Status Unlicensed: 0
Requests with License Status Licensed: 0
Requests with License Status Initial grace period: 0
Requests with License Status License expired or Hardware out of
tolerance: 0
Requests with License Status Non-genuine grace period: 0
Requests with License Status Notification: 0

Related articles
Overview of volume activation of Office
Activate volume licensed versions of Office by using KMS
Activate volume licensed versions of Office by using Active Directory

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Configure DNS for activating volume
licensed versions of Office by using KMS
Article • 09/16/2024

Applies to: Volume licensed versions of Office Long Term Service Channel (LTSC) 2024,
Office LTSC 2021, Office 2019, and Office 2016 (including Project and Visio)

To activate volume licensed versions of Office, including Project and Visio, by using Key
Management Service (KMS), the KMS host computer for Office must be discoverable.
The KMS host computer automatically publishes its existence by creating service (SRV)
resource records (RRs) on the DNS server. But, only the first KMS host computer can
create an SRV RR. When multiple computers run KMS, other KMS host computers can't
modify or update SRV RRs unless the DNS server permissions are configured to allow
these changes.

Changing the permissions on the DNS server requires administrative rights in the
domain. You need to set up DNS as follows:

Ensure that all computers running KMS are members of the same Active Directory
Domain Services (AD DS) domain.
Create a global security group in AD DS for the computers running KMS.
Add each computer running KMS to the new security group.
Set the permissions on the DNS server to enable updates by members of the newly
created security group.

For more information, see Configuring DNS.

How DNS is used to find a KMS host computer

The first time that a KMS client queries DNS for KMS information, it randomly selects a
KMS host computer from the list of SRV RRs that DNS returns. The address of a DNS
server that contains the SRV RRs can be listed as a suffixed entry on KMS clients. This
enables advertisement of SRV RRs for KMS in one DNS server and KMS clients that have
other primary DNS servers to find it.

You can add priority and weight parameters to the DnsDomainPublishList registry value
for KMS host computers. Doing so enables you to establish priority groupings and
weighting within each group, which specifies the order in which to use KMS host
computers and balances traffic among multiple KMS host computers. If you're using
priority and weight parameters, we recommend that you disable KMS caching on the
client. For more information, see Configure KMS host caching.

If the KMS host computer that a client selects doesn't respond, the KMS client removes
that KMS host computer from its list of SRV RRs, and randomly selects another KMS
host computer from the list. If the priority and weight parameters are set, the KMS client
uses them while finding another KMS host computer. Otherwise, KMS host computers
are selected randomly. After a KMS host computer responds, the KMS client caches the
name of the KMS host computer and, if caching is enabled, uses it for successive
activation and renewal attempts. If the cached KMS host computer doesn't respond on a
later renewal, the KMS client discovers a new KMS host computer by querying DNS for
KMS SRV RRs.

Related articles
Configure a KMS host computer to activate volume licensed versions of Office
Activate volume licensed versions of Office by using KMS

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Activate volume licensed versions of
Office by using KMS
Article • 09/16/2024

Applies to: Volume licensed versions of Office Long Term Service Channel (LTSC) 2024,
Office LTSC 2021, Office 2019, and Office 2016 (including Project and Visio)

All volume licensed versions of Office, including Project and Visio, have a Generic
Volume License Key (GVLK) preinstalled. GVLKs support both Key Management Service
(KMS) and Active Directory-based activation. On the KMS host computer configured to
support volume activation of Office, you install and enable only one KMS host key to
activate all volume licensed versions of Office.

When the KMS host computer is available and configured correctly, Office activates
automatically without user interaction. Office activates the first time it runs, as long as
the KMS host computer has received at least four prior activation requests. The KMS
host computer requires a minimum of five requests before it starts activating clients.

You don't have to do anything else to enable activation of Office by KMS. KMS clients
can locate a KMS host computer automatically by querying DNS for service (SRV)
resource records (RRs) that publish the KMS service. For more information, see How
DNS is used to find a KMS host computer.

If the network environment doesn't use SRV RRs, you can manually assign a KMS client
to use a specific KMS host computer by configuring the
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\OfficeSoftwareProtectionPlatform registry
key on the KMS client. The KMS host computer name is specified by
KeyManagementServiceName (REG_SZ), and the port is specified by
KeyManagementServicePort (REG_SZ). The default port is 1688. These registry keys can
also be set by using ospp.vbs script. For more information about the ospp.vbs script, see
Tools to manage volume activation of Office.

Configure KMS host caching

You can configure whether or not the last used KMS host computer is saved to the
cache on the KMS client. If the KMS host computer isn't cached, the KMS client queries
DNS every time that activation is attempted. This means that the priority and weight
parameters set for KMS host computers is honored. If the KMS host computer is cached,
the KMS client won't query DNS. Instead, it tries to contact the cached KMS host
computer that last activated it successfully.
To configure KMS host caching, you can use the ospp.vbs script. For more information
about the ospp.vbs script, see Tools to manage volume activation of Office.

To configure KMS host caching, open an elevated command prompt on the KMS client
computer and go to the Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16 folder. If you installed
the 32-bit version of Office on a 64-bit operating system, go to the Program Files
(x86)\Microsoft Office\Office16 folder.

To disable KMS host caching, type the following command, and then press ENTER:

Console

cscript ospp.vbs /cachst:FALSE

To enable KMS host caching, type the following command, and then press ENTER:

Console

cscript ospp.vbs /cachst:TRUE

Check the license status of Office

The following table describes the license state of the Office with respect to activation.

ﾉ Expand table

License state Description

Licensed By default, the KMS client requests activation with the KMS host computer one
time every seven days. (The number of days is configurable.) This design allows
the maximum possible time for the client to be in the licensed state.

After the client is successfully activated, it remains in the licensed state for 180
days. When in the licensed state, users don't see any notification dialog boxes
prompting them to activate the client. After 180 days, the activation attempt
process resumes. If activation is continually successful, the whole activation
experience is transparent to the user.

Out-of- If activation doesn't occur during the 180-day period, Office goes into the out-of-
tolerance tolerance state for 30 days. Users then see notifications that request activation.

Unlicensed If activation doesn't occur during the out-of-tolerance state, Office goes into the
notification unlicensed notification state. Users then see notifications that request activation
and a red title bar.
You can use the ospp.vbs script with the /dstatusall option to check the license state for
all Office clients. Or, use the /dstatus option to check the status of the local client. For
more information about using the ospp.vbs script, see Tools to manage volume
activation of Office.

Related articles
Overview of volume activation of Office
Configure a KMS host computer to activate volume licensed versions of Office
Configure DNS for activating volume licensed versions of Office by using KMS
Tools to manage volume activation of Office
GVLKs for KMS and Active Directory-based activation of Office, Project, and Visio
Volume Activation Management Tool (VAMT) Technical Reference

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Activate volume licensed versions of
Office by using MAK
Article • 10/08/2024

Applies to: Volume licensed versions of Office Long Term Service Channel (LTSC) 2024,
Office LTSC 2021, Office 2019, and Office 2016 (including Project and Visio)

Multiple Activation Key (MAK) activation is used for one-time activation through
Microsoft-hosted activation services, either via the internet or by telephone. MAK
activation requires that a MAK is installed on a client computer and instructs that
computer to activate itself against those services.

Each MAK has a predetermined number of allowed activations and is based on your
volume licensing agreement. Each Office activation that uses MAK counts toward the
activation limit. After Office is activated, no reactivation is required unless the hardware
changes significantly.

There are two ways to activate computers by using MAK:

MAK independent activation means each computer must connect and activate with
Microsoft over the internet or by telephone. This method is best for computers
with direct internet access.

MAK proxy activation by using VAMT enables one computer with internet access to
process activation requests on behalf of multiple computers. MAK proxy activation
is configured by using the Volume Activation Management Tool (VAMT). MAK
proxy activation is appropriate for environments in which security concerns might
restrict direct access to the internet or to development and test labs. For more
information, see Perform Proxy Activation.

Activate Office LTSC 2024 by using MAK

If you're using MAK to activate Office LTSC 2024, you specify the key in the
configuration.xml file used by the Office Deployment Tool when you deploy Office LTSC
2024 to the users in your organization. For more information, see Deploy Office LTSC
2024.

Activate Office LTSC 2021 by using MAK

If you're using MAK to activate Office LTSC 2021, you specify the key in the
configuration.xml file used by the Office Deployment Tool when you deploy Office LTSC
2021 to the users in your organization. For more information, see Deploy Office LTSC
2021.

Activate Office 2019 by using MAK

If you're using MAK to activate volume licensed versions of Office 2019, you specify the
key in the configuration.xml file used by the Office Deployment Tool when you deploy
Office 2019 to the users in your organization. For more information, see Deploy Office
2019 (for IT Pros).

Activate Office 2016 by using MAK

If you're using MAK to activate volume licensed versions of Office 2016, you can enter
the key by using one of the following supported methods:

Before you install Office 2016, you can use the Office Customization Tool (OCT) or
the Config.xml file.

After you install Office 2016, you can use the product UI, the Volume Activation
Management Tool (VAMT), the ospp.vbs script, or enable a non-admin user to
activate Office using MAK.

Configure MAK activation in the OCT for Office LTSC

2024, Office LTSC 2021, and Office 2019
1. In the Office Customization Tool , expand Licensing and activation.

2. In the Product key section, select MAK next to the volume license product and
enter your product key.
 

3. After making any other necessary changes in the OCT, select the Export button.

Configure MAK activation in the OCT for Office 2016

1. In the OCT, go to the Licensing and user interface page.
2. Select Enter another product key, and then in the Product key field, enter the
multiple activation key (five sets of five numbers or characters).
3. After making any other necessary changes in the OCT, save the .msp file in the
Updates folder.

７ Note

For more information, see Office Customization Tool (OCT) 2016 Help:
Overview and Office Customization Tool (OCT) 2016 Help: Licensing and
user interface.
You can activate Office 2016 automatically when you install by setting the
AUTO_ACTIVATE property value to 1 in the Config.xml file. For more
information, see Setting element. (Even though this article is for an earlier
version of Office, the information also applies to Office 2016.)

Configure MAK activation in the Config.xml file

To enter a multiple activation key by using the Config.xml file, follow these steps:

1. Add the following line to the Config.xml file:

XML
 <PIDKEY Value="AAAAABBBBBCCCCCDDDDDEEEEE" />

Replace AAAAABBBBBCCCCCDDDDDEEEEE with your 25-character product key.

2. To apply the settings in Config.xml, at a command prompt, type the following

command, and then press ENTER:

Console

Setup.exe /config <path of Config.xml file>

７ Note

For more information about the Config.xml file, see Config.xml file reference.
(Even though this article is for an earlier version of Office, the information also
applies to Office 2016.)
You can activate Office 2016 automatically when you install by setting the
AUTO_ACTIVATE property value to 1 in the Config.xml file. For more
information, see Setting element. (Even though this article is for an earlier
version of Office, the information also applies to Office 2016.)

Change the key by using the product UI

To change the product key for only one computer, follow these steps:

1. Open any Office app, like Word or Excel.

2. Select File > Account.
3. Under the Product Information section, choose Change Product Key.
4. In the Change Product Key window, enter the new product key.
5. Select Activate.

If you need to change the Office product key on multiple computers after installation,
use the Volume Activation Management Tool (VAMT). For more information, see Volume
Activation Management Tool (VAMT) Technical Reference.

Enable a non-admin user to activate Office by using MAK

An administrator can create a registry key that lets a standard user (a user who isn't an
administrator) activate Office with MAK. By default, volume-licensed versions of Office
disable this behavior.

Use this method if you want a user to manually activate Office with MAK, replace an
existing key with a new one, or switch from KMS to MAK activation.

To enable this behavior, add the following line to the Config.xml file:

XML

<Setting Id="USEROPERATIONS" Value="1" />

Or, you can set the

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\OfficeSoftwareProtectionPlatform
registry key to enable or disable standard user activation:

To enable, set "UserOperations"=dword:00000001

To disable, set "UserOperations"=dword:00000000

７ Note

For more information about the Config.xml file, see Config.xml file reference. (Even
though this article is for an earlier version of Office, the information also applies to
later versions.)

Deploying multiple MAK keys

In some organizations, different groups have different MAK keys for their volume
licensed versions of Office, Project, or Visio. Unfortunately, you can't include multiple
MAK keys in the same configuration.xml file (for Office LTSC 2024, Office LTSC 2021, or
Office 2019) or in the Office Customization Tool or config.xml file (for Office 2016).

If you don't want to create separate XML files for each group, you could use one of
these other methods:

Volume Activation Management Tool (VAMT)

ospp.vbs script
Enable a non-admin user to activate Office by using MAK

Related articles
Overview of volume activation of Office
Tools to manage volume activation of Office
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Activate volume licensed versions of
Office by using Active Directory
Article • 09/18/2024

Applies to: Volume licensed versions of Office Long Term Service Channel (LTSC) 2024,
Office LTSC 2021, Office 2019, and Office 2016 (including Project and Visio)

Active Directory-based activation enables an organization to activate volume licensed

versions of Office, including Project and Visio, on computers that are joined to an Active
Directory domain. Active Directory-based activation is implemented as a role service on
Windows Server and relies on Active Directory Domain Services to store an activation
object. For more information, see Activate using Active Directory-based activation.

Requirements for using Active Directory-based

activation
To activate through Active Directory, install the volume licensed version of Office,
Project, or Visio with a Generic Volume License Key (GVLK) on one of these operating
systems:

Windows 11
Windows 10
Windows Server 2022
Windows Server 2019
Windows Server 2016
Windows Server 2012 R2
Windows Server 2012

Review the System requirements for Office to determine which operating systems are
supported by the volume licensed version of Office, Project, or Visio that you're
deploying to users in your organization.

Configure Active Directory-based activation

To configure Active Directory-based activation, you must have Domain Administrator
and Enterprise Administrator credentials.

1. Sign in to a domain controller in Active Directory and use Server Manager to install
the Volume Activation Services role.
 2. Sign in to the Microsoft 365 admin center and navigate to the Billing > Your
products page.
3. Select the Volume licensing tab. (You need to be a volume licensing administrator
to access this section.)

4. Go to the Download and keys tab and get your KMS key for your version of Office.
5. Download the appropriate Office Volume License Pack from the Microsoft
Download Center:

Office LTSC 2024 Volume License Pack

Office LTSC 2021 Volume License Pack
Office 2019 Volume License Pack
Office 2016 Volume License Pack

6. Run the Office Volume License Pack executable file. This installs the Office Volume
License Pack and opens the Volume Activation Tools wizard.
7. Choose Next, and then on the Select Volume Activation Method page, choose
Active Directory-Based Activation.
8. On the Manage Activation Objects page, enter the KMS host key, which you got
from the VLSC, and, optionally, give it a name. Then choose Next.
9. On the Activate Product page, either activate the KMS host key online or by
phone, and then follow the rest of the wizard instructions.

When you're done, an Activation Succeeded page displays.

Additional information about Active Directory-

based activation
Active Directory-based activation uses the same keys that are used by Key
Management Service (KMS). However, Active Directory-based activation doesn't
require a dedicated KMS host computer. The activation object is replicated across
all the domain controllers in the Active Directory forest.
A successful Active Directory-based activation of Office lasts for up to 180 days.
The Software Protection service running on the computer periodically attempts to
 re-activate Office by querying Active Directory for the activation object. If Active
Directory can't be contacted, Office tries to activate by using a discoverable KMS
host computer.

Related articles
Overview of volume activation of Office
GVLKs for KMS and Active Directory-based activation of Office, Project, and Visio

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Rearm a volume licensed version of
Office that's included in an operating
system image
Article • 09/18/2024

Applies to: Volume licensed versions of Office Long Term Service Channel (LTSC) 2024,
Office LTSC 2021, Office 2019, and Office 2016 (including Project and Visio)

There's a 25-day grace period from the time of installation of Key Management Service
(KMS) clients before notifications to activate are displayed to the user. The 25-day grace
period gives ample time for a KMS host computer to be found and activation to
succeed. If activation is successful, users don't see notifications to activate.

If you want to deploy a volume licensed version of Office, Project, or Visio, as part of an
operating system image, you must rearm your Office installation before you capture the
image. If you don't rearm, users might see notification dialog boxes at the time that the
image is deployed, instead of 25 days after deployment.

Rearming does the following important tasks:

Resets the grace timer to 30 days.

Freezes the grace timer until either an Office application is run, or the ospp.vbs
script is run.
Resets the client computer ID (CMID). The KMS host computer uses the CMID to
determine the number of unique clients. You can use the ospp.vbs script to check
the CMID.

For more information about the ospp.vbs script, see Tools to manage volume activation
of Office.

You can rearm five times, unless you activate Office by using a KMS host computer. If
you run out of rearms, activating by using a KMS host computer lets you rearm once.

７ Note

Rearming is also recommended if you're activating a volume licensed version of

Office, including Project and Visio, by using Multiple Activation Key (MAK). If you're
activating by using MAK and you don't remotely activate for end-users by using the
Volume Activation Management Tool (VAMT) or ospp.vbs, users see an activation
dialog box the first time that an Office application starts. The activation dialog box
 is slightly different 25 days after installation. Also, users might immediately see a
red title bar warning them of activation issues if Office wasn't rearmed before the
image was captured.

Use the ospprearm command to rearm an

Office installation
1. Verify that the user account that is performing this procedure is a member of the
Administrators group on the KMS host computer.

2. Close all Office applications.

3. Open an elevated command prompt and go to the Program Files\Microsoft

Office\Office16 folder. If you installed the 32-bit version of Office on a 64-bit
operating system, go to the Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office16 folder.

4. Type ospprearm.exe and then press Enter. If rearm succeeds, the following
message displays: "Microsoft Office rearm successful."

5. Capture the image.

） Important

Do not open an Office application or run ospp.vbs, or do anything else related

to Office while the image is being captured. Otherwise, the grace timer starts.

Related articles
Overview of volume activation of Office
Tools to manage volume activation of Office
Volume Activation Management Tool (VAMT) Technical Reference

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Tools to manage volume activation of
Office
Article • 09/16/2024

Applies to: Volume licensed versions of Office LTSC 2024, Office LTSC 2021, Office 2019,
and Office 2016 (including Project and Visio)

The Office Software Protection Platform script (ospp.vbs), the Software License Manager
script (slmgr.vbs), and the Volume Activation Management Tool (VAMT) can help you
configure and test volume licensed versions of Office, including Project and Visio. Before
you read this article, we recommend that you read the following articles:

Overview of volume activation of Office

Activate volume licensed versions of Office by using MAK
Activate volume licensed versions of Office by using Active Directory.

The ospp.vbs script

The Office Software Protection Platform script (ospp.vbs) enables you to configure
volume licensed versions of Office products, including Project and Visio. The ospp.vbs
script is located in the Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16 folder. If you installed the
32-bit version of Office on a 64-bit operating system, go to the Program Files
(x86)\Microsoft Office\Office16 folder.

７ Note

The ospp.vbs script doesn't work for Microsoft 365 Apps or subscription versions of
Project and Visio. Instead, you can use a PowerShell script named vnextdiag.ps1. For
more information, see Check the license and activation status for Microsoft 365
Apps.

Running ospp.vbs requires the cscript.exe script engine. To see the Help file, type the
following command, and then press ENTER:

Console

cscript ospp.vbs /?

The general syntax is as follows:

 Console

cscript ospp.vbs [Option:Value] [ComputerName] [User] [Password]

Option Specifies the option and value to use to activate a product, install or uninstall a
product key, install and display license information, set KMS host name and port, and
remove KMS host name and port. The options and values are listed in the tables in this
section.

ComputerName Name of the remote computer. If a computer name isn't provided, the
local computer is used.

User Account that has the required permission on the remote computer.

Password Password for the account. If a user account and password aren't provided, the
current credentials are used.

） Important

Before you run the ospp.vbs, ensure that:

If you want to run the script on a remote computer, the Windows firewall
allows Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) traffic on the remote
computer.
The user account you will use is a member of the Administrators group on the
computer on which you run the script.
You run ospp.vbs script from an elevated command prompt.

Global options for ospp.vbs

ﾉ Expand table

Global option Description

/act Activates installed Office product keys.

/inpkey:value Installs a product key (replaces existing key) with a user-provided product key.
Value option is required.

/unpkey:value Uninstalls an installed product key with the last five digits of the product key to
uninstall (as displayed by the /dstatus option). Value parameter is required.

/inslic:value Installs a license with user-provided path of the .xrm-ms license. Value parameter
is required.
 Global option Description

/dstatus Displays license information for installed product keys.

/dstatusall Displays license information for all installed licenses.

/dhistoryacterr Displays the failure history for MAK/retail activation.

/dinstid Displays Installation ID for offline activation.

/actcid:value Activates product with user-provided Confirmation ID. Value parameter is

required.

/rearm Resets the licensing status for all installed Office product keys.

/rearm:value Resets the licensing status for an Office license with a user-provided SKU ID value.
Value parameter is required.

Use this option with the SKU ID value specified by using the /dstatus option if you
have run out of rearms and have activated Office through KMS or Active
Directory-based activation to gain an another rearm.

/ddescr:value Displays the description for a user-provided error code. Value parameter is
required.

The following table describes the ospp.vbs options for configuring the KMS client.

KMS client options for ospp.vbs

ﾉ Expand table

KMS client Description

option

/dhistorykms Displays KMS client activation history.

/dcmid Displays KMS client computer ID (CMID).

/sethst:value Sets a KMS host name with a user-provided host name. Value parameter is required.

This sets
HKLM\Software\Microsoft\OfficeSoftwareProtectionPlatform\KeyManagementServiceName
(REG_SZ).

/setprt:value Sets a KMS port with a user-provided port number. The default port number is 1688. Value
parameter is required.

This sets
HKLM\Software\Microsoft\OfficeSoftwareProtectionPlatform\KeyManagementServicePort
(REG_SZ).
 KMS client Description
option

/remhst Removes KMS host name and sets port to default. The default port is 1688.

/cachst:value Allows or denies KMS host caching. Value parameter is required (TRUE or FALSE).

/actype:value (Windows 8.1 and later versions only) Sets volume activation type. Value parameter is
required.

Values: 1 (for Active Directory-based), 2 (for KMS), 0 (for both).

/skms- (Windows 8.1 and later versions only) Sets the specific DNS domain in which all KMS SRV
domain:value records can be found. This setting has no effect if the specific single KMS host name is set
by the /sethst option. Value parameter is the Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) and is
required.

/ckms- (Windows 8.1 and later versions only) Clears the specific DNS domain in which all KMS SRV
domain records can be found. The specific KMS host is used if it's set by the /sethst option.
Otherwise, auto-discovery of the KMS host is used.

Scenarios that use ospp.vbs

The following scenarios assume that you're running ospp.vbs in an elevated command
prompt.

７ Note

Any changes that you make affect only the Office client products. You have to
configure the Windows client separately by using the slmgr.vbs script.

To change the product key to a MAK key on a remote computer

1. If the remote computer is named contoso1, run the following command to enter the
product key. This assumes that you have administrator credentials on the remote
computer. If your credentials on the remote computer differ from your logon name
and password, you must type your logon name and password at the command line,
and then press ENTER:

Console

cscript ospp.vbs /inpkey:xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx contoso1

 2. To activate the remote computer, type the following command, and then press
ENTER:

Console

cscript ospp.vbs /act contoso1

To diagnose KMS activation errors

1. If the computer has the KMS client key installed, check the licensing status. To do
this, type the following command, and then press ENTER:

Console

cscript ospp.vbs /dstatusall

2. To check the KMS activation history, type the following command, and then press
ENTER:

Console

cscript ospp.vbs /dhistorykms

3. To trigger activation, type the following command, and then press ENTER:

Console

cscript ospp.vbs /act

4. Check the error message for error code 0xC004F042. If in the notification dialog
boxes you see an error code that is shown to users, you can also use that code to
check the error message. To do this, type the following command, and then press
ENTER:

Console

cscript ospp.vbs /ddescr:0xC004F042

To turn on or off KMS host caching on the KMS client

1. On the KMS client computer, to turn on caching, type the following command, and
then press ENTER:
 Console

cscript ospp.vbs /cachst:TRUE

2. On the KMS client computer, to turn off caching, type the following command, and
then press ENTER:

Console

cscript ospp.vbs /cachst:FALSE

To test KMS host name, and then set to auto-discovery

1. If you're testing a KMS host named kmstest.contoso.com, and you want to specify it
in the KMS client, type the following command, and then press ENTER:

Console

cscript ospp.vbs /sethst:kmstest.contoso.com

７ Note

If you change the default port on the KMS host computer, you must run ospp.vbs
with the /setprt option. For example: cscript ospp.vbs /setprt:1750

2. To trigger activation, type the following command, and then press ENTER:

Console

cscript ospp.vbs /act

3. To check the KMS activation history to see whether the host was successfully
contacted, type the following command, and then press ENTER:

Console

cscript ospp.vbs /dhistorykms

4. Now you want this KMS client to use Domain Name System (DNS) for auto-
discovery of the production KMS host. To remove the KMS host name, type the
following command, and then press ENTER:
 Console

cscript ospp.vbs /remhst

The slmgr.vbs script

The Software License Manager (slmgr.vbs) script, located in the Windows\system32
folder, is used to configure and retrieve volume activation information for the Office KMS
host and the Windows host. For more information, see Configuring KMS Hosts for
Windows.

You can run the script locally on the target computer or remotely from another computer.
You have to be an administrator to use the script. If a standard user runs slmgr.vbs, some
license data might be missing or incorrect, and many operations are prohibited.

The slmgr.vbs script can use the Windows-based script host, wscript.exe, or the
command-based script host, cscript.exe, and administrators can specify which script
engine to use. If no script engine is specified, slmgr.vbs runs by using the default script
engine, wscript.exe. We recommend the cscript.exe script engine.

You must restart the Software Licensing Service for any changes to take effect. To restart
the Software Licensing Service, use the Microsoft Management Console (MMC) Services
snap-in or run the following command:

Console

net stop sppsvc && net start sppsvc

The slmgr.vbs script requires at least one parameter. If you run the script without any
parameters, it displays Help information. The following table lists slmgr.vbs command-
line options, and a description of each. Most of the parameters in the table configure the
KMS host computer. However, the parameters /sai and /sri are passed to KMS clients
after the KMS clients contact the KMS host computer. The general syntax of slmgr.vbs is
as follows (assuming you're using the cscript.exe as the script engine):

Console

cscript slmgr.vbs [ComputerName] [User] [Password] [Option]

ComputerName Name of the remote computer. If you don't provide a computer name,
the local computer is used.

User Account with required permission on the remote computer.

Password Password for the account. If you don't provide a user account and password,
current credentials are used.

Option Options are shown in the following table.

Slmgr.vbs command options

ﾉ Expand table

Option Description

/ ipk ProductKey Installs the product key for Windows (default) or other application identified
by the product key.

/ ato ActivationID Activates the KMS host for Windows (default), or the application that is
identified when its Activation ID is provided.

/ dti ActivationID Displays the Installation ID that is used for telephone activation of the KMS
host computer for Windows (default) or the application that is identified
when its Activation ID is provided. You enter the Installation ID into the
telephone to receive the Confirmation ID, which is used for activating the
KMS host computer by using the /atp parameter.

/ atp After the Confirmation ID is received, activates the KMS host for Windows
ConfirmationID (default) or the application that is identified when its Activation ID is
ActivationID provided.

/ dlv ActivationID Displays detailed license information for Windows (default), or the
application that is identified when its Activation ID is provided.

For example, run the following command at the elevated command prompt
in the Windows\system32 folder to get the status of the Office KMS host:

cscript slmgr.vbs /dlv 70512334-47B4-44DB-A233-BE5EA33B914C

/ dli ActivationID Displays license information for Windows (default), or the application that is
identified when its Activation ID is provided.

/ upk ActivationID Uninstalls the product key for Windows (default) or the application that is
identified when its Activation ID is provided.

CAUTION: If you intend to uninstall the product key for Office, for example,
and forget to enter the Activation ID, all installed product keys are
uninstalled. This includes the product key for Windows.

/ xpr ActivationID Displays the expiration date for the current license state.

/ sprt PortNumber Sets the TCP communications port on a KMS host computer. It replaces
PortNumber with the TCP port number to use. The default setting is 1688.
 Option Description

/ cdns Disables automatic DNS publishing by a KMS host computer.

/ sdns Enables automatic DNS publishing by the KMS host computer.

/ cpri Lowers the priority of KMS host computer processes.

/ sai Changes how often a KMS client attempts to activate itself when it can't find
ActivationInterval a KMS host computer. It replaces ActivationInterval with a value expressed in
minutes. The default setting is 120 minutes.

/ sri RenewalInterval Changes how often a KMS client attempts to renew its activation by
contacting a KMS host computer. It replaces RenewalInterval with a value
expressed in minutes. The default setting is 10080 minutes (seven days). This
setting overrides the local KMS client settings.

７ Note

Activation ID for Office LTSC 2024: 8D368FC1-9470-4BE2-8D66-90E836CBB051

Activation ID for Office LTSC 2021: 47F3B983-7C53-4D45-ABC6-
BCD91E2DD90A
Activation ID for Office 2019: 70512334-47B4-44DB-A233-BE5EA33B914C
Activation ID for Office 2016: 98EBFE73-2084-4C97-932C-C0CD1643BEA7

Slmgr.vbs command options (Active Directory-based

activation)
The following table shows the command options for activating an AD DS forest by using
Active Directory-based activation.

ﾉ Expand table

Option Description

/ ad-activation-online ProductKey Activates an AD DS forest through the user-provided

product key.

/ ad-activation-apply-get-iid Displays installation ID for AD DS forest.

ProductKey

/ ad-activation-apply-cid ProductKey Activates an AD DS forest through the user-provided

ConfirmationID product key and the Confirmation ID.
Volume Activation Management Tool (VAMT)
Volume Activation Management Tool (VAMT) provides a graphical user interface to
manage volume activation. For more information, see Volume Activation Management
Tool (VAMT) technical reference.

７ Note

Office LTSC 2024, Office LTSC 2021, and Office 2019 require at least VAMT 3.1.

Manage volume activation for Office LTSC 2024 using

VAMT
To manage volume activation for Office LTSC 2024 using VAMT, follow these steps:

1. Identify the installation folder for VAMT, for example, C:\Program Files
(x86)\Windows Kits\10\Assessment and Deployment Kit\VAMT3 .

2. Download the Office LTSC 2024 support files from the Office VAMT download
link .
3. Copy the pkeyconfig-office24-client.xrm-ms , pkeyconfig-office24-kmshost.xrm-ms ,
and Office24.cilx files into the appropriate VAMT directories:

Copy the .xrm-ms files into the VAMT3\pkconfig folder.

Copy the .cilx file to a location where it can be easily accessed for import.

To import Office LTSC 2024 data into VAMT:

1. Open VAMT.
2. In the right-side Actions pane, select Import list to open the Import List dialog box.
3. In the Import List dialog box, navigate to the location of the Office24.cilx file,
choose the file, and select Open.
4. In the Volume Activation Management Tool dialog box, select OK to begin the
import. VAMT will display a progress message while the file is being imported.
Select OK when a message confirms that the import has completed successfully.

Related articles
Overview of volume activation of Office
Activate volume licensed versions of Office by using MAK
Activate volume licensed versions of Office by using Active Directory
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Deployment guide for Project
Article • 10/08/2024

How you deploy Project to the users in your organization depends on which version of
Project you purchase. A common purchase option for organizations is one of the
following versions of Project:

Project Online Desktop Client, available as a subscription with Project Plan 3 or

Project Plan 5.
Project Professional 2024 or Project Standard 2024, available as a one-time
purchase through a volume licensing agreement.
Project Professional 2021 or Project Standard 2021, available as a one-time
purchase through a volume licensing agreement.
Project Professional 2019 or Project Standard 2019, available as a one-time
purchase through a volume licensing agreement.
Project Professional 2016 or Project Standard 2016, available as a one-time
purchase through a volume licensing agreement.

Before you deploy, be sure to review the system requirements for the version of
Project that you plan to deploy to the users in your organization.

） Important

There are some combinations of Office, Visio, and Project that can't be installed
together on the same device. For more information, see Supported scenarios for
installing different versions of Office, Visio, and Project on the same computer.

Deploy Project
The following sections provide guidance on how to deploy different versions of Project.

Deploy Project Online Desktop Client

Here are the general steps to deploy Project Online Desktop Client to users in your
organization:

1. Purchase either Project Plan 3 or Project Plan 5, which includes Project Online
Desktop Client, with enough licenses for all of your Project users.
2. Sign in to the Microsoft 365 admin center and assign licenses for Project Online
Desktop Client to those users.
 3. Have your users sign in to Office.com and install Project from the Apps &
devices section of My account . Users have to be local administrators on their
devices to install Project.

If you want to have more control over how Project is deployed to your users, you can do
the following instead:

1. Download the Office Deployment Tool from the Microsoft Download Center.
2. Create a configuration.xml file to use with the Office Deployment Tool to install
Project Online Desktop Client.

We recommend using the Office Customization Tool in the Microsoft 365

Apps admin center to create the configuration file. Leave the Office Suite
field empty and choose your version in the Project dropdown.
We also recommend reviewing the Build dynamic, lean, and universal
packages for Microsoft 365 Apps article on how to optimize your
configuration file. This step is optional.

3. Use the Office Deployment Tool to deploy Project Online Desktop Client on your
users' devices.

We recommend installing Project without downloading the source files

beforehand. This reduces the overall network utilization and removes the
need to maintain the source files.

If you already use other tools to deploy software to your users, such as Microsoft
Configuration Manager, you can use the Office Deployment Tool along with those tools
to deploy Project.

Deploy a volume licensed version of Project 2024

To deploy a volume licensed version of Project Professional 2024 or Project Standard
2024 to users in your organization, follow these general steps:

1. Purchase Project 2024 as part of a volume licensing agreement.

2. Use the Office Deployment Tool and a configuration.xml file to install Project 2024
from the Office Content Delivery Network (CDN) on the internet. For more
information, see Deploy Office LTSC 2024

It's recommended to use the Office Customization Tool in the Microsoft

365 Apps admin center to create the configuration file. Leave the Office
Suite field empty and choose your version in the Project dropdown.
 It’s recommended to install Project directly without downloading the source
files beforehand. This approach reduces overall network utilization and
eliminates the need to maintain the source files.

If you use other tools, such as Microsoft Configuration Manager, to deploy software to
your users, you can integrate the Office Deployment Tool with those tools to deploy
volume licensed versions of Project.

７ Note

Volume licensed versions of Project 2024 are available directly from the Office
CDN.
Volume licensed versions of Project 2024 are installed using Click-to-Run
rather than Windows Installer (MSI).
The Office Customization Tool (OCT) used for Windows Installer (MSI) versions
of Project is not applicable for volume licensed versions of Project 2024.

Deploy a volume licensed version of Project 2021

Here are the general steps to deploy a volume licensed version of Project Professional
2021 or Project Standard 2021 to users in your organization:

1. Purchase Project 2021 as part of a volume licensing agreement.

2. Use the Office Deployment Tool and a configuration.xml file to install Project 2021
from the Office Content Delivery Network (CDN) on the internet. For more
information, see Deploy Office LTSC 2021.

We recommend using the Office Customization Tool in the Microsoft 365

Apps admin center to create the configuration file. Leave the Office Suite
field empty and choose your version in the Project dropdown.
We recommend installing Project without downloading the source files
beforehand. This reduces the overall network utilization and removes the
need to maintain the source files.

If you already use other tools to deploy software to your users, such as Microsoft
Configuration Manager, you can use the Office Deployment Tool along with those tools
to deploy volume licensed versions of Project.

７ Note
 Volume licensed versions of Project 2021 are available directly from the Office
CDN.
Volume licensed versions of Project 2021 are installed by using Click-to-Run
instead of by using Windows Installer (MSI).
The Office Customization Tool (OCT) that's used for Windows Installer (MSI)
versions of Project isn't used with volume licensed versions of Project 2021.

Deploy a volume licensed version of Project 2019

Here are the general steps to deploy a volume licensed version of Project Professional
2019 or Project Standard 2019 to users in your organization:

1. Purchase Project 2019 as part of a volume licensing agreement.

2. Use the Office Deployment Tool and a configuration.xml file to install Project 2019
from the Office Content Delivery Network (CDN) on the internet. For more
information, see Deploy Office 2019 (for IT Pros).

We recommend using the Office Customization Tool in the Microsoft 365

Apps admin center to create the configuration file. Leave the Office Suite
field empty and choose your version in the Project dropdown.
We recommend installing Project without downloading the source files
beforehand. This reduces the overall network utilization and removes the
need to maintain the source files.

If you already use other tools to deploy software to your users, such as Microsoft
Configuration Manager, you can use the Office Deployment Tool along with those tools
to deploy volume licensed versions of Project.

７ Note

Volume licensed versions of Project 2019 are available directly from the Office
CDN.
Volume licensed versions of Project 2019 are installed by using Click-to-Run
instead of by using Windows Installer (MSI).
The Office Customization Tool (OCT) that's used for Windows Installer (MSI)
versions of Project isn't used with volume licensed versions of Project 2019.

Deploy a volume licensed version of Project 2016

Here are the general steps to deploy a volume licensed version of Project Professional
2016 or Project Standard 2016 to users in your organization:

1. Purchase Project 2016 as part of a volume licensing agreement.

2. To download your version of Project 2016, go to Microsoft 365 admin center >
Billing > Your products > Volume licensing > Download and keys.
3. If you want to configure user settings for when Project is installed, you can use the
Office Customization Tool (OCT).
4. Deploy Project 2016 to your users. For example, you can send your users a script to
run that installs Project from a network share on your local network.

If you already use other tools to deploy software to your users, such as Microsoft
Configuration Manager, you can use the Office Customization Tool (OCT) along with
those tools to deploy Project.

７ Note

The Office Customization Tool (OCT) is only available for versions of Project 2016
that are purchased as part of a volume licensing agreement. The OCT can't be used
for retail versions of Project 2016, such as versions bought at a retail store or
online.

Configure user settings for Project by using

Group Policy
If you want to specify and maintain certain user settings for your Project installations,
you can download the Group Policy Administrative Template files (ADMX/ADML) for
Office and use them to configure Group Policy settings. Group Policy can be used only
with devices joined to a domain.

The same Group Policy settings work for Project Online Desktop Client, and volume
licensed versions of Project.

End user resources for Project

To help your users get started with Project, here are some resources to share with them:

Project help & learning

Get started with Project
Related articles
Documentation to help you plan, deploy, and manage Project Server and Project
Online
Plans and pricing information

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Deployment guide for Visio
Article • 09/18/2024

How you deploy Visio to the users in your organization depends on which version of
Visio you purchase. A common purchase option for organizations is one of the following
versions of Visio:

Visio desktop app that comes with a Visio Plan 2 subscription.

Visio LTSC Professional 2024 or Visio LTSC Standard 2024, available as a one-time
purchase through a volume licensing agreement.
Visio LTSC Professional 2021 or Visio LTSC Standard 2021, available as a one-time
purchase through a volume licensing agreement.
Visio Professional 2019 or Visio Standard 2019, available as a one-time purchase
through a volume licensing agreement.
Visio Professional 2016 or Visio Standard 2016, available as a one-time purchase
through a volume licensing agreement.

Before you deploy, be sure to review the system requirements for the version of Visio
that you plan to deploy to the users in your organization.

） Important

There are some combinations of Office, Visio, and Project that can't be installed
together on the same device. For more information, see Supported scenarios for
installing different versions of Office, Visio, and Project on the same computer.

Deploy Visio
The following sections provide guidance on how to deploy different versions of Visio.

Deploy a subscription version of Visio

Here are the general steps to deploy a subscription version of Visio to users in your
organization:

1. Purchase Visio Plan 2, with enough licenses for all of your Visio users.
2. Sign in to the Microsoft 365 admin center and assign licenses for Visio to those
users.
3. Have your users sign in to Office.com and install Visio from the Apps & devices
section of My account . Users have to be local administrators on their devices to
 install Visio.

If you want to have more control over how the subscription version of Visio is deployed
to your users, you can do the following instead:

1. Download the Office Deployment Tool from the Microsoft Download Center.
2. Create a configuration.xml file to use with the Office Deployment Tool to install the
subscription version of Visio.

We recommend using the Office Customization Tool in the Microsoft 365

Apps admin center to create the configuration file. Leave the Office Suite
field empty and choose your version in the Visio dropdown.
We also recommend reviewing the Build dynamic, lean, and universal
packages for Microsoft 365 Apps article on how to optimize your
configuration file. This step is optional.

3. Use the Office Deployment Tool to deploy the subscription version Visio to the
users in your organization.

We recommend installing Visio without downloading the source files

beforehand. This reduces the overall network utilization and removes the
need to maintain the source files.

If you already use other tools to deploy software to your users, such as Microsoft
Configuration Manager, you can use the Office Deployment Tool along with those tools
to deploy the subscription version of Visio.

Deploy Visio LTSC 2024

To deploy Visio LTSC Professional 2024 or Visio LTSC Standard 2024 to users in your
organization, follow these general steps:

1. Purchase Visio LTSC 2024 as part of a volume licensing agreement.

2. Use the Office Deployment Tool and a configuration.xml file to install Visio LTSC
2024 from the Office Content Delivery Network (CDN) on the internet. For more
information, see Deploy Office LTSC 2024

It’s recommended to install Visio directly without downloading the source

files beforehand. This approach reduces overall network utilization and
eliminates the need to maintain the source files.

If you use other tools, such as Microsoft Configuration Manager, to deploy software to
your users, you can integrate the Office Deployment Tool with those tools to deploy
Visio LTSC 2024.
 ７ Note

Visio LTSC 2024 is available directly from the Office CDN.

Visio LTSC 2024 is installed using Click-to-Run rather than Windows Installer
(MSI).
The Office Customization Tool (OCT) used for Windows Installer (MSI) versions
of Visio is not applicable for Visio LTSC 2024.

Deploy Visio LTSC 2021

Here are the general steps to deploy Visio LTSC Professional 2021 or Visio LTSC Standard
2021 to users in your organization:

1. Purchase Visio LTSC 2021 as part of a volume licensing agreement.

2. Use the Office Deployment Tool and a configuration.xml file to install Visio LTSC
2021 from the Office Content Delivery Network (CDN) on the internet. For more
information, see Deploy Office LTSC 2021.

We recommend using the Office Customization Tool in the Microsoft 365

Apps admin center to create the configuration file. Leave the Office Suite
field empty and choose your version in the Visio dropdown.
We recommend installing Visio without downloading the source files
beforehand. This reduces the overall network utilization and removes the
need to maintain the source files.

If you already use other tools to deploy software to your users, such as Microsoft
Configuration Manager, you can use the Office Deployment Tool along with those tools
to deploy Visio LTSC 2021.

７ Note

Visio LTSC 2021 is available directly from the Office CDN.

Visio LTSC 2021 is installed by using Click-to-Run instead of by using
Windows Installer (MSI).
The Office Customization Tool (OCT) that's used for Windows Installer (MSI)
versions of Visio isn't used with Visio LTSC 2021.

Deploy a volume licensed version of Visio 2019

Here are the general steps to deploy a volume licensed version of Visio Professional
2019 or Visio Standard 2019 to users in your organization:

1. Purchase Visio 2019 as part of a volume licensing agreement.

2. Use the Office Deployment Tool and a configuration.xml file to install Visio 2019
from the Office Content Delivery Network (CDN) on the internet. For more
information, see Deploy Office 2019 (for IT Pros).

We recommend using the Office Customization Tool in the Microsoft 365

Apps admin center to create the configuration file. Leave the Office Suite
field empty and choose your version in the Visio dropdown.
We recommend installing Visio without downloading the source files
beforehand. This reduces the overall network utilization and removes the
need to maintain the source files.

If you already use other tools to deploy software to your users, such as Microsoft
Configuration Manager, you can use the Office Deployment Tool along with those tools
to deploy volume licensed versions of Visio.

７ Note

Volume licensed versions of Visio 2019 are available directly from the Office
CDN.
Volume licensed versions of Visio 2019 are installed by using Click-to-Run
instead of by using Windows Installer (MSI).
The Office Customization Tool (OCT) that's used for Windows Installer (MSI)
versions of Visio isn't used with volume licensed versions of Visio 2019.

Deploy a volume licensed version of Visio 2016

Here are the general steps to deploy a volume licensed version of Visio Professional
2016 or Visio Standard 2016 to users in your organization:

1. Purchase Visio 2016 as part of a volume licensing agreement.

2. To download your version of Visio 2016, go to Microsoft 365 admin center >
Billing > Your products > Volume licensing > Download and keys.
3. If you want to configure user settings for when Visio is installed, you can use the
Office Customization Tool (OCT).
4. Deploy Visio 2016 to your users. For example, you can send your users a script to
run that installs Visio from a network share on your local network.
If you already use other tools to deploy software to your users, such as Microsoft
Configuration Manager, you can use the Office Customization Tool (OCT) along with
those tools to deploy Visio.

７ Note

The Office Customization Tool (OCT) is only available for versions of Visio 2016 that
are purchased as part of a volume licensing agreement. The OCT can't be used for
retail versions of Visio 2016, such as versions bought at a retail store or online.

Configure user settings for Visio by using

Group Policy
If you want to specify and maintain certain user settings for your Visio installations, you
can download the Group Policy Administrative Template files (ADMX/ADML) for Office
and use them to configure Group Policy settings. Group Policy can be used only with
devices joined to a domain.

The same Group Policy settings work for the subscription version of the Visio desktop
app, and volume licensed versions of Visio.

End user resources for Visio

To help your users get started with Visio, here are some resources to share with them:

What's new in Visio 2024

Beginner tutorial for Visio
Visio help & learning

Related articles
Plans and pricing information
Visio licensing

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Provide product feedback
Deployment guide for OneNote
Article • 10/02/2024

） Important

OneNote for Windows 10 will reach end of support in October 2025. It's
recommended that all enterprise customers switch from OneNote for Windows 10
to OneNote on Windows, which is available from the Microsoft Store and with a
Microsoft 365 subscription. OneNote on Windows offers new features and updates
and allows you to customize user settings through Group Policy.

OneNote is included with Word, Excel, and PowerPoint when you deploy Microsoft 365
Apps, Office Long Term Service Channel (LTSC) 2024, Office LTSC 2021, or Office 2019.
There are no other steps you need to take to include OneNote with new installations of
Office. But, always be sure to check the deployment settings before you deploy, for
example when using the wizards in Configuration Manager (current branch) or Microsoft
Intune.

Use the Office Deployment Tool or enterprise deployment software like Microsoft
Configuration Manager to include or exclude OneNote when you deploy Office in your
organization.

To add OneNote to an existing installation of Office

If you install Office on your device but OneNote is missing, use the Office Deployment
Tool and the following configuration.xml file to add OneNote.

XML

<Configuration>
<Add>
<Product ID="OneNoteFreeRetail">
<Language ID="MatchInstalled"/>
</Product>
</Add>
</Configuration>

When you deploy the free version of OneNote, the license updates automatically to
match the Office version already installed on the device once the user opens OneNote
for the first time.
 ７ Note

Using OneNoteFreeRetail isn't supported with volume licensed versions of

Office, such as Office LTSC Professional Plus 2021 or Office Standard 2019. To
add OneNote back to those versions of Office, you can run an Online Repair.
If you deploy the freemium version of OneNote, when you go to Control
Panel > Programs > Programs and Features, OneNote will appear as a
standalone entry named Microsoft OneNote Home and Student 2016.

To exclude OneNote from being installed

There are different ways to exclude OneNote from being installed with Office,
depending on which deployment method you're using, as shown in the following table.

ﾉ Expand table

Method Instructions

Office Deployment Tool You can use the ExcludeApp element in your configuration.xml
file.

We recommend that you use the Office Customization Tool to

help you create your configuration.xml file.

Microsoft Configuration In the Office 365 Client Installation wizard, you can set OneNote
Manager (current branch) to the Off position when you configure the Office settings.

Microsoft Intune On the Configure app suite page, you can clear the check box
for OneNote in the Select Office apps drop-down list.

If you're allowing your users to install Office for themselves from the Microsoft 365
portal, there's no way to exclude OneNote from being installed.

Additional information about deploying

OneNote

OneNote training resources

We're providing free and shareable eBooks to help your users transition to the user
interface and functionalities in OneNote.
Configure OneNote settings
You can use Group Policy to configure certain OneNote settings for your users. To use
Group Policy, download the latest Administrative Template files (ADMX/ADML) for
Office from the Microsoft Download Center and implement the policy settings by
using Active Directory Domain Services.

７ Note

Group Policy requires the devices with OneNote to be joined to an Active

Directory domain.
Most of these same policy settings can be applied by using Cloud Policy,
which doesn't require the device to be joined to a domain.
Group Policy can't be used with Microsoft 365 Apps for business or with
OneNote for Windows 10.
Cloud Policy can only be used with Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise.

Supported languages
While both OneNote and OneNote for Windows 10 are available in most of the same
languages, there are a few differences. The lists of the supported languages are available
here: OneNote , OneNote for Windows 10

Other platforms
There are also versions of OneNote for Mac, iPad, iPhone, Android, and for web
browsers. For more information, see What's the difference between the OneNote
versions?

Related articles
Frequently Asked Questions about OneNote in Office 2019 and Microsoft 365
OneNote help & learning
OneNote info for developers
OneNote for Windows 10 migration guide

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Overview of Office for Mac (for admins
and IT Pros)
Article • 09/17/2024

Applies to: Microsoft 365 for Mac, Office Long Term Service Channel (LTSC) for Mac 2024,
LTSC for Mac 2021

The following Office apps are available for devices running macOS:

Word
Excel
PowerPoint
Outlook
OneNote
OneDrive
Teams

The following sections are intended to provide information to help you plan your
deployment of Office to Mac users in your organization.

For more information, refer to Deployment options for admins for Office for Mac.

System requirements
Office for Mac is supported on the three most recent versions of macOS. As new major
versions of macOS are made generally available, Microsoft will remove support for the
oldest version and support the newest and previous two versions of macOS. For more
information, refer to Upgrade macOS to continue receiving Microsoft 365 and Office for
Mac updates .

For all the system requirements, refer to System requirements for Microsoft 365 and
Office .

Chipset support
Office provides native support for both Apple silicon and Intel-based Mac devices. All
installation and update packages are provided in Universal 2 format. For more
information, refer to Microsoft 365, Office 2021, and Office 2019 support for Apple
silicon .
Languages
All the supported languages in Office for Mac are included as part of the installer
package (.pkg) file. There aren't separate installer package files for each language, which
means that admins don't need to choose which language to deploy to users. Instead,
the language used at app start is based on the preferred locale settings in macOS. Users
can switch to a different language without having to reinstall Office.

Updates
Office for Mac is updated approximately once a month. These updates include, as
needed, security updates and non-security updates, such as updates that provide
stability or performance improvements for Office. For those users with a Microsoft 365
plan, these updates can also include new or improved features. For more information,
refer to Deploy updates for Office for Mac.

Features
For information about features in the various versions of Office for Mac, review the
following resources. Keep in mind that Office LTSC for Mac 2024 and Office LTSC for
Mac 2021 don't receive new features after they've been released. If you want to get new
Office features on an on-going basis, you should consider upgrading to a Microsoft 365
plan that includes Office.

If you're looking for information to help your users get started with Office for Mac,
review the resources on Office Help & Training .

Office for Mac features

To review the latest features in each monthly release, refer to What's new in Microsoft
365 or Release notes for Office for Mac.

 Tip

For early access to new features, check out the Microsoft 365 Insider Program for
Business.

Office LTSC for Mac 2024 features

For information about the new features in Office LTSC for Mac 2021, refer to the
following articles:

What's new in Excel 2024 for Mac

What's new in Outlook 2024 for Mac
What's new in PowerPoint 2024 for Mac
What's new in Word 2024 for Mac

Office LTSC for Mac 2021 features

For information about the new features in Office LTSC for Mac 2021, refer to the
following articles:

What's new in Excel 2021 for Mac

What's new in Outlook 2021 for Mac
What's new in PowerPoint 2021 for Mac
What's new in Word 2021 for Mac

Privacy controls
There are preference settings available that allow you to configure settings related to
diagnostic data and connected experiences for Office on a Mac. For more information,
refer to Use preferences to manage privacy controls for Office for Mac.

App bundles
The app bundle for each app, such as Word, includes all the resources needed to run the
app. There aren't any shared resources among the apps. For example, the app bundles
for Excel for Mac and Word for Mac both contain the font resources needed by the app.

Customizations
To help improve security, Office for Mac has implemented Apple app sandboxing
guidelines. This means that you can't customize the app bundle before or after you
deploy Office. Don't add, change, or remove files in an app bundle. For example, even if
you don't need the French language resource files for Excel, don't delete them. This
change prevents Excel from starting. But, you can still configure preferences for each
app.
App icons
When you deploy Office on a Mac, the app icons aren't automatically added to the dock,
but are available from Launchpad. You can provide your users with instructions on how
to add app icons to the dock .

Version numbers
The major version of Microsoft 365 for Mac, Office LTSC for Mac 2024, and Office LTSC
for Mac 2021 is 16.x. Since the major version is the same, application settings, including
policies, preferences, and preference domains are similar for the three versions of Office
for the Mac.

Also, add-ins and other extensibility solutions that were compatible with an older
version will most likely be compatible with a newer version or will require minimal
testing. For example, when upgrading from Office LTSC for Mac 2021 to Office LTSC for
Mac 2024.

Office LTSC for Mac 2024 has version numbers of 16.89 or higher. Office LTSC for Mac
2021 has version numbers of 16.53 or higher.

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Deployment options for admins for
Office for Mac
Article • 09/18/2024

Applies to: Microsoft 365 for Mac, Office Long Term Service Channel (LTSC) for Mac 2024,
LTSC for Mac 2021

There are two basic ways that you, as an admin, can deploy Office to Mac users in your
organization:

Provide your Mac users with the installer package file, and have them install Office
for themselves

Download the installer package file to your local network, and then use your
software distribution tools to deploy Office to Mac devices

If you have a Microsoft 365 plan, you can provide your Mac users with instructions on
how to download and install Office themselves. To install Office on a Mac, a user has
to be an administrator on the device or know an administrator account name and
password.

 Tip

If your users are familiar with the process for downloading and installing Mac apps,
you can simply send them the direct link to the Office Content Delivery Network.

If you use software distribution tools, you have more control over which users get Office
and when. For example, you can automatically install Office apps as part of automated
device enrollment. To plan your deployment, review the following information.

７ Note

For information about upgrades, see Upgrade an installation of Office for Mac.

Download Office for Mac to your local network

The easiest way to download Office for Mac, and ensure you're always getting the most
current version and build, is to download directly from the Office Content Delivery
Network (CDN) on the internet. Here are the links to the installer packages for the Office
suite, which contains all the applications.

Microsoft 365 for Mac

Office LTSC for Mac 2024 (volume license)
Office LTSC for Mac 2021 (volume license)

The same installer package can be used for Microsoft 365 subscriptions, Office LTSC for
Mac 2024, and Office LTSC for Mac 2021. How you activate the product determines
which features are available to your users.

７ Note

If you have a Microsoft Services Provider License Agreement (SPLA), review

this information.
Support for Office 2019 for Mac ended on October 13th, 2023. For more
information, see End of support for Office 2019 for Mac .
Support for Office 2016 for Mac ended on October 10th, 2023. For more
information, see End of support for Office 2016 for Mac

Deploy Office for Mac to users in your

organization
Office for Mac uses the Apple Installer technology for installation. That means you can
use the software distribution tools that you normally use to deploy software to Mac
users. Some of the most common tools are Jamf Pro , Microsoft Intune, Munki , and
AutoPkg . You can also use Apple Remote Desktop .

） Important

To help improve security, Office for Mac implements Apple app sandboxing
guidelines. This means that you can't customize the app bundle before or after you
deploy Office. Don't add, change, or remove files in an app bundle. For example,
even if you don't need the French language resource files for Excel, don't delete
them. This change prevents Excel from starting. Even though you can't customize
app bundles, you can configure preferences for each app.
Additional deployment information for Office
for Mac
Whichever deployment method you decide to use, the following information can help
you plan your Office for Mac deployment.

Side-by-side installations

You can't have two different versions of Office installed on a Mac. For example, you can't
install Office LTSC for Mac 2024 on the same Mac where Microsoft 365 for Mac is
already installed.

Deploying individual apps

Installer package files for individual applications, such as Word or Excel, are available to
download from the Office Content Delivery Network (CDN). For links to those files, see
Most current packages for Office for Mac.

 Tip

The Office for Mac installer package, also known as the suite installer, is much
smaller than the combined size of the individual app installers. This is because the
suite installer includes a common set of fonts, frameworks, and proofing tools that
are copied into each app bundle during installation.

Microsoft Teams
Teams is included as part of the installer packages for Microsoft 365 for Mac. If you
don't want Teams included as part of the installation, you can download this installer
package , which doesn't include Teams.

Activation
To use Office on a Mac, Office needs to be activated. Before you deploy, review the
information about how activation works for Office for Mac.

Internet access
After downloading the installer package, internet access isn’t required to install, activate,
or use Office LTSC for Mac 2024 or Office LTSC for Mac 2021.

Uninstalling

If you need to uninstall Office from a Mac, you can follow these steps to completely
remove Office . Unfortunately, there is no program to uninstall Office from a Mac
automatically.

Upgrade an installation of Office for Mac

You can upgrade an existing installation of Office on a Mac to a newer version without
uninstalling the current version. For example, you can upgrade a volume-licensed
version of Office 2019 for Mac to Office LTSC for Mac 2024. You can also switch from a
volume-licensed version of Office, such as Office LTSC for Mac 2024, to a subscription
version of Office for Mac.

Upgrade to Microsoft 365 for Mac (subscription version)

If you're a volume-licensed customer of Office LTSC for Mac 2024 or Office LTSC for Mac
2021, you can upgrade to Microsoft 365 for Mac without uninstalling your current
version. Follow these steps:

1. Install the latest Office updates on each Mac where Office is installed.
2. Have users open any Office app and sign in with their Microsoft 365 account.

Upgrade to Office LTSC for Mac 2024 (volume license)

If you're a volume licensed customer, you can upgrade to Office LTSC for Mac 2024
without having to uninstall Office for Mac 2021. Just follow these steps:

1. Install the latest Office updates on each Mac where Office is installed. Office must
be updated to at least Version 16.89.
2. Download the Volume License (VL) Serializer for Office LTSC for Mac 2024 from the
Microsoft 365 admin center .
3. Run the VL Serializer on each Mac where Office is installed.

Related articles
Deploy updates for Office for Mac
 Deploy preferences for Office for Mac

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Overview of the Volume License (VL)
Serializer
Article • 09/16/2024

Applies to: Office Long Term Service Channel (LTSC) for Mac 2024, Office LTSC for Mac
2021

The Volume License Serializer (VL) is used to activate Office LTSC for Mac 2024 or Office
LTSC for Mac 2021. The VL Serializer is a package (.pkg) file that you run on a Mac where
Office is installed.

Download the Volume License (VL) Serializer

from the Microsoft 365 admin center
To download the VL Serializer, do the following steps:

1. Sign in to the Microsoft 365 admin center and go to > Billing > Your products >
Volume licensing. You need to be a volume licensing administrator to access the
Volume licensing section.

2. Go to the Download and keys tab.

3. Search for "Office LTSC Standard for Mac 2024" or "Office LTSC Standard for Mac
2021" (depending on your licensed version of Office).
4. Select the Download link in the results panel.
5. Choose Continue at the bottom of the window.
6. Select the download icon to download the VL Serializer .iso file.
7. After the download is complete, mount the .iso file to extract the VL Serializer
package file.

Then, deploy and run the VL Serializer package file on each Mac that you want to
activate Office as a volume licensed version.
Office LTSC for Mac 2024 information
The name of the package file is Microsoft_Office_LTSC_2024_VL_Serializer.pkg.
Volume licensed versions of Office LTSC for Mac 2024 have version numbers of
16.89 or higher.
The management tool now runs the VL Serializer in the background while users
continue working in Office LTSC for Mac 2021. After users close and reopen the
app, Office switches to the Office LTSC for Mac 2024 license. This approach
minimizes disruption during the transition.

Office LTSC for Mac 2021 information

The name of the package file is Microsoft_Office_LTSC_2021_VL_Serializer.pkg.
The package file is approximately 12 MB in size.
Volume licensed versions of Office LTSC for Mac 2021 have version numbers of
16.53 or higher.

Additional information about the VL Serializer

The VL Serializer provides native support for both Apple Silicon and Intel-based
Macs.
The volume license is located in the
/Library/Preferences/com.microsoft.office.licensingV2.plist file.
The licensing plist generated by the VL Serializer contains data that's encrypted by
using the serial number of the boot drive on the device where it was generated.
Upon each Office application launch, the plist is decrypted by using the current
boot drive serial number as the decryption key. If the data can't be decrypted (for
example, boot drive serial number is different), Office goes into an unlicensed state
without warning.
Because the license plist file is encrypted using information from the device it's
installed, you can't copy it to a different device to activate Office on that device.
There's a single VL Serializer package that contains a single key. That key is shared
between all volume licensed customer installations.
The VL Serializer package contains a binary executable named "Microsoft Office
Setup Assistant." It's this executable that actually activates the volume license.
The VL Serializer package is compatible with mobile device management (MDM)
servers, such as Jamf Pro or FileWave.

Related articles
 Overview of activation for Office for Mac
Deployment options for admins for Office for Mac

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