Microsoft Office System

Activate Your Microsoft Office System Trial Product

Published: 01 March 2004

Use this page to learn how to activate your Microsoft Office System trial product. You need to activate your trial before you can use it. The trial works for a limited time beginning when you activate the trial. During the activation process you'll be notified when the trial will expire.

Note  You must have Internet access to activate the trial software.

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How to Activate the TrialHow to Activate the Trial
Receive UpdatesReceive Updates
Trial ExpirationTrial Expiration

How to Activate the Trial

The process to activate your trial software begins automatically when you open any Microsoft Office System product for the first time. Follow these steps to activate the trial.

1.

In the Setup dialog box, enter the 25 character Trial Product Key. If you received an Evaluation CD kit, the Trial Product Key is inside the CD wallet. If you download a trial, the Trial Product Key is in the e-mail that was sent to you after you registered for the download. Click Next.

Example of where to enter the Trial Product Key

Enter the Trial Product Key.

2.

You will then see the End User Licence Agreement (EULA). You must accept the terms of the EULA to use the trial. To accept it, select I accept the terms in the Licence Agreement. Then, click Accept. After you accept the EULA, the Activation Wizard will open.

Example of the EULA

You must accept the EULA to use your trial.

3.

In the Activation Wizard, you have two options:

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Activate the trial. Select I want to activate the software over the Internet. Click Next. The wizard will lead you through the activation process. When this process is complete, you will receive a notice that activation has been successful. The notice will indicate the date when the trial will expire.

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Convert to the full product. Select I do not want to activate my copy of trial. Instead, I want to convert to the full product now. Click Next. You will then be taken through the conversion process.

Example of the Activation Wizard

Use the Activation Wizard to active the software.

Note  If the activation process is cancelled at any time by clicking Cancel or by closing the screen, or if activation is interrupted for any other reason, you will still have the opportunity to go through the activation process until you have successfully activated the trial software.

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Receive Updates

If you want to receive updates and other promotional information on Microsoft products, you can register after activating the trial. Registration is optional and is not tied to activation or required to use the trial software.

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Trial Expiration

After the trial period expires, the software goes into reduced functionality mode. Some of the limitations of reduced functionality mode include the following:

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You cannot create any new files.

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You can view existing files but you cannot modify them.

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You can print files but you cannot save them.

Thirty days before the trial period ends, you will start receiving expiration reminder messages indicating the date when the trial will expire. At this point, you can convert to the full product in two ways:

1.

In any of the expiration reminder messages, click Convert. You can then follow the steps in the conversion process.

2.

In any of the Microsoft Office System products, in the Help menu click Activate Product. You can do this at any time during the trial period, or even after the trial has expired.

After your trial period expires, you can convert into a full use version of the product by following the steps in the conversion process.


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