Users should have administrator credentials to install Office 2008. When launched, Office Installer checks for a number of installation prerequisites, including minimum system requirements for installing Office 2008. For detailed information about hardware and software requirements for Office 2008, see Office 2008 system requirements in the Office 2008 Evaluation section or the Office 2008 Planning section. If the minimum requirements are not met, the installation will close at this point, and a message will be displayed that informs the user about the failure to install.

We recommend that users disable all virus protection software before installing Office 2008. Users should also make sure to quit all applications before the installation. This is because Office Installer might change existing fonts that might be in use during the Office installation. If there are applications open during the installation, they might appear to have corrupted fonts.

If Office Installer finds that the system meets all the basic requirements, it continues with the installation process. If this is a volume license, the Product ID screen asks you to input your name and company information for identification purposes. You can create an OfficePID.plist file and distribute it to pre-populate the name and company information that a user would normally enter on this screen.

Next, the Office Installer asks for the destination volume where it will install the Office 2008 components. Office 2008 needs 1.5 GB of hard disk space to install all of the components. Users should make sure that the volume they select has enough disk space.

There are two installation options, Easy Install and Custom Install:

Upgrading to a different language Office Installer provides the option of upgrading from one language to another language. If the user upgrades from language A to language B, the Microsoft User Data (MUD) folder is changed from language/location 1 to language/location 2.

Installing fonts Office Installer provides the option of installing the Office 2008 fonts when the Office applications are installed. If users clear this selection, they will not receive the package of Office 2008 fonts or the Windows Office Compatibility font collection. If users select the option to install the fonts, Office Installer copies the fonts to /Library/Fonts/Microsoft. It checks for existing fonts in the following locations before copying new fonts to the user’s computer:

When users choose to install fonts, the Office Installer installs the fonts on the user computer as follows:

Removing earlier versions of Office As part of Office 2008 installation, users have the opportunity to remove all previous versions of Office. When upgrading to Office 2008, we recommend that users remove all previous versions of Office before using Office 2008. Users can also choose to run the Remove Office application of the previous version of Office. When you choose to remove all existing versions of Office, the Office Installer searches the hard disk for all versions and displays a list of the Office installations that were found. Users can select the versions that they want to remove.

The following component is placed in the Trash for each Office installation:

The following component is not removed:

After the Office 2008 files are installed on the client computer, run the Office Setup Assistant to configure and set up Office 2008. When the Office Setup Assistant is launched, it checks the user's computer for any previous versions of Office. If information from the earlier versions of Office is found on the user computer, such as custom dictionaries, AutoCorrect lists, and proofing tool settings, the information is copied to Office 2008.

Configuring the user identity Office 2008 shares the personal information that users enter during setup among all Office 2008 applications that are installed on the computer. These applications use identity information to personalize the user documents. The Office Setup Assistant provides the option of choosing from older identities for the user. If no previous identities are found, the user is asked to create an identity. In either case, the Office Setup Assistant determines whether there is enough space to import an older identity or to create a new identity. If there isn’t enough available space to transfer or create new identity information, the Office Setup Assistant displays a message that asks the user to free up disk space and then restart the Office Setup Assistant.

Configuring feedback  Customer Experience Improvement Program (CEIP) is the tool that users can use to provide feedback to Microsoft about how they use Microsoft software and services. Participating in CEIP is optional. If users participate in this program, Microsoft automatically collects anonymous information about their hardware configuration and how they use Microsoft software and services. Microsoft does not collect any personally identifiable information. User feedback is very valuable to Microsoft, as it helps identify issues to fix and provides information that can be used to improve design and implement features in future versions of the product.

Installing Office 2008 updates  The Microsoft AutoUpdate for Mac tool is installed as part of the Office 2008 installation. After you set up the Office 2008 components, Office Setup Assistant launches the Microsoft AutoUpdate for Mac tool. This tool informs the user of any available updates and provides the option to download and install updates before users start using the applications.