Deploying Office 365 ProPlus

In this hands on lab, you will package Office 2016 with a configuration file for click-to-run delivery to remote and enterprise worker devices. You will configure and assign the application to smart groups with the flexible deployment feature.

We have provided you with all of the files needed to complete the steps; however, in your organization you will have a customized configuration file to embed with your Office installation.

1. Preparing the Office 365 ProPlus Files

Before we can upload the ProPlus app to the AirWatch Console, we need to prepare and zip the files.

1.1. Open File Explorer

From the bottom toolbar, click the Folder Icon to launch Explorer.

1.2. Package the Office 365 Files as a Zip

  1. Expand the Documents folder under This PC.
  2. Expand the HOL folder.
  3. Click the Windows 10 folder.
  4. Sort by Date Modified
  5. Select the configuration.xml and setup.exe files (click + drag over both, or ctrl + click both files) and right-click.
  6. Hover over Send to.
  7. Click Compressed (zipped) folder.

1.3. Rename the Zipped Folder

Rename the zipped folder to "Office365ProPlus.zip".

NOTE - If you accidentally cancelled the rename after the zipped folder was created, you can rename it by right-clicking the zipped folder and selecting Rename from the list.

1.4. Inspect the Configuration.xml File (Optional)

  1. Select configuration.xml and right-click the file.
  2. Select Edit.

    For this lab, we are using the default configuration.xml file that is provided with the Office 365 ProPlus deployment.  Your organization, if it has deployed Office 365, will have a configuration.xml file already that contains organization specifics for install and licensing options.  For your knowledge, know that the configuration.xml file contains organization specific details that the setup.exe process uses to configure the Office 365 installation for your users.

    Feel free to explore the configuration.xml file before continuing.
  3. Click the Close (X) button to exit Notepad.

2. Deploying Office 365 Pro Plus in AirWatch

Now that you've zipped the setup.exe and configuration.xml files for your Office 365 deployment, the next step is to upload and deploy this application through the AirWatch Console.

2.1. Add an Internal Application

Back in the AirWatch Console,

  1. Click Apps & Books.
  2. Expand Applications.
  3. Click Native.
  4. Click the Internal tab.
  5. Click Add Application.

2.2. Upload the Application File

Click Upload.

2.3. Choose the File to Upload

Click Choose File.

2.4. Choose the Office365ProPlus.zip File

  1. Expand the Documents folder under This PC.
  2. Expand the HOL folder.
  3. Click the Windows 10 folder.
  4. Click to select the Office365ProPlus.zip file.
  5. Click Open.

2.5. Save the Uploaded File

Click Save.

2.6. Continue after Saving the File

  1. Select No for "Is this a dependency file?"
  2. Click Continue.

Selecting Yes for marking a file as a dependency file associates a dependency to Win32 applications.  Dependency files are libraries and frameworks that the app requires to function, such as Java, Silverlight, or .NET libraries.

2.7. Configure the Details Information

  1. Ensure the Details tab is selected.
  2. Enter "Office 365 Pro Plus" for the Name.
  3. Select 64-bit for the Supported Processor Architecture.  The Windows 10 device we are using for this lab is 64-bit, but you should verify which processor architecture is relevant for your devices during your organization's deployments.

NOTE - When uploading MSI files all possible fields are automatically pre-populated with all of the metadata, however for ZIP packages you will have to generate a Name as well as some of the Deployment options.

2.8. Files App Information

  1. Click the Files tab.
  2. Here you can configure additional details and requirements about your application.
    App Dependencies: This is where you would select dependency files and enable the system to apply dependencies.
    App Transforms: Allows you to apply MSI Transform (MST) files.
    App Patches: Allows you to apply MSI Patch (MSP) files.

Continue to the next step.

2.9. Configure the App Uninstall Process

  1. Scroll down to find the App Uninstall Process section.
  2. Select Input for the Custom Script Type.
  3. Enter setup.exe /uninstall ProPlus into the Uninstall Command

2.10. Configure the When to Install Details

  1. Click the Deployment Options tab.
    The When To Install section allows to configure details about what requirements must be met in order to install the application.
  2. Enter "3" for the Disk Space Required which specifies the amount of disk space the device must have available to install the application.
  3. Select "GB" for the Units of the Disk Space Required.
  4. Enter "50" for the Device Power Required which specifies the battery power, in percentage, that the device must have to install the application.
  5. Enter "500" for the RAM Required which specifies the amount of RAM the device must have to install the application.
  6. Enter "MB" for the Units of the RAM Required.

2.11. Configure the Deployment Options

  1. Scroll down to find the How To Install section.
  2. Enter setup.exe /configure configuration.xml for the Install Command

2.12. Additional How to Install Configurations

  1. Scroll down further to find the Retry and Installer fields described below.
  2. Enter "3" for the Retry Count, which specifies the number of times the system attempts to install the application after an unsuccessful attempt.
  3. Enter "5" for the Retry Interval, which specifies the time (in minutes) the system waits when it tries to install the application after an unsuccessful attempt.
  4. Enter "60" for the Install Timeout, which specifies the time (in minutes) the system allows the installation process to run without success.
  5. Enter "1614" for the Installer Reboot Exit Code, which specifies the code the installer outputs to identify a reboot action.
  6. Enter "0" for the Installer Success Exit Code, which specifies the code the installer outputs to identify a successful installation.

NOTE - The Installer Reboot Exit Code is not guaranteed to be 1614 for every application, but this is the usual default value that is commonly used.  You should verify this code for any application you decide to deploy to verify it is correct.

2.13. Configure the When To Call Install Complete Section

  1. Scroll down to the When To Call Install Complete section.
  2. Select Defining Criteria for Identify Application By.
  3. Click + Add.

2.14. Add the Identify Application By Criteria

  1. Select File Exists for the Criteria Type.
  2. Enter C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\root\Office16 for the Path.
  3. Click Add.

NOTE - There are multiple Criteria Types to choose from, allowing you to be flexible in determining if your deployment was successful.  You can also add multiple Criteria configurations and link them together logically to cover complex deployments.

2.15. Configure Images

  1. Click the Images tab.
  2. Click the Icon tab.
  3. Click the area labelled "Click or drag files here".

2.16. Select the O365 Logo for the Icon

  1. Expand the Documents folder under This PC.
  2. Expand the HOL folder.
  3. Click the Windows 10 folder.
  4. Click the o365-logo.jpg file to select it.
  5. Click Open.

2.17. View the Terms of Use and Assign

  1. Click the Terms of Use tab.
  2. If you decide to have a Terms of Use that your users must accept before installing applications, you can configure that here.  For the purposes of this lab, we will leave this as None.
  3. Click Save & Assign.

2.18. Add Assignments

Click + Add Assignment.

2.19. Configure the Application Assignment

  1. Select "All Devices ([email protected])" for the Assignment Groups.
  2. Select Auto for App Delivery Method.
  3. Click Add.

2.20. Save and Publish

Click Save & Publish.

2.21. Publish

Click Publish.

2.22. Confirm the Office 365 ProPlus Application Was Added

Back at the Internal Applications List View, confirm that the Office 365 Pro Plus application is displayed.  

You have successfully added the Office 365 ProPlus app to AirWatch for deployment.  Remember that AirWatch supports uploading and deploying MSIs, EXEs, as well as packaged apps like the zipped file we uploaded in this lab.

AirWatch Tip - When deploying numerous apps to end-user devices, it can take some time to install all the device applications. After device on-boarding completes, apps queue up in a random order for the device to install per Windows operating system specifications, configured timeout values, and retry logic. Dependency files are installed prior to the main application.

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