OFF97: How to Configure Setup.stf to Exclude Office Assistant

• Microsoft Office 97 for Windows
• Microsoft Office 97 for Windows, Service Release (SR-1)

SUMMARY

In Microsoft Office 97, it is possible to customize a post-administrative installation (setup /a) so that when your users run Office 97 Setup, Office Assistant is not available for installation and none of the Microsoft Outlook components are installed.

This article explains how to perform this task by editing the Office Setup .stf file.

MORE INFORMATION

WARNING: This modification may not be supported by Microsoft. Microsoft support engineers will support some modifications to a BACKUP copy of the Setup.stf file. Note also that while support engineers may help customers modify specific lines of an STF, we will not rewrite the entire file in order to achieve a desired configuration. As a general rule, support is limited to options that can normally be changed by a user during a standard installation of the application.

NOTE: The following steps work only if you first perform an administrative installation (setup /a) of Office 97 to a server on your network. If you are performing a stand-alone installation using the Office 97 compact disc, you cannot use the steps in this article.

Before you perform the following steps, make a backup copy of the Off97pro.stf or Off97std.stf file on your server. Rename the file to Backup.stf and do not open or edit it for any reason.

NOTE: The following steps explain how to use Microsoft Excel to edit the .stf file. If Microsoft Excel is not installed or you have problems using these steps, open the .stf file in WordPad or another text editor that does not alter tabs and spaces. Make the appropriate changes outlined in step 15 and save the file.

Use the following steps to edit the .stf file in Microsoft Excel version 5.0 or later.

1. In Microsoft Excel, open the .stf file you want to edit.

2. In the Text Import Wizard dialog box, click Next twice to proceed to step 3.

3. In the Text Import Wizard - Step 3 Of 3 dialog box, under Data Preview, drag the vertical scroll bar indicator down until the Object ID item appears in the Data Preview window. Click the first column to select it. Hold the SHIFT key down, and drag the horizontal scroll bar indicator to the right until the last column is displayed in the Data Preview window. Click the last column. All of the columns (at least 15 columns) should be selected.

4. Under Column Data Format, click the Text option, and click Finish.

5. After the .stf file is open, press CTRL+SHIFT+SPACEBAR to select the entire .stf file. Then, on the Data menu, point to Filter, and click AutoFilter.

6. In cell E1, click the arrow, and then click the value "AddRegData."

7. In cell F1, click the arrow and click Custom. In the Custom AutoFilter dialog box, set the following values

   Show rows where: F contains """" (four quotation marks)

   and click OK.

8. Select all visible cells in column F.

9. On the Edit menu, click Replace. In the Find What box, type a space, followed by a quotation mark ( "). In the Replace With box, type a quotation mark ("). Click Replace All.

10. Select all visible cells in column F.

11. On the Edit menu, click Replace. In the Find What box, type three quotation marks ("""). In the Replace With box, type two quotation marks (""). Click Replace All.

12. Select all visible cells in column F.

13. On the Edit menu, click Replace. In the Find What box, type two quotation marks (""). In the Replace With box, type a quotation mark ("). Click Replace All.

14. On the Data menu, point to Filter, and click AutoFilter.

15. Find the following Object IDs located in column A and delete the corresponding values from the Object Data column in column F. Make sure you delete the trailing space after each number. Use the table that is appropriate for your version of Office.

    Microsoft Office 97 Professional Edition:

           For        Remove the Reference to
           -----------------------------------
    
           ObjID 89                      12901
           ObjID 85                      12901
           ObjID 51                      12903
           ObjID 53                      12903
           ObjID 58                      12903
           ObjID 335                     12904
    
        Microsoft Office 97 Profession Edition, SR-1:
    
           For        Remove the Reference to
           -----------------------------------
    
           ObjID 98                      13201
           ObjID 94                      13201
           ObjID 52                      13203
           ObjID 54                      13203
           ObjID 59                      13203
           ObjID 348                     13204
    
        Microsoft Office 97 Standard Edition:
    
           For        Remove the Reference to
           -----------------------------------
    
           ObjID 75                      11801
           ObjID 79                      11801
           ObjID 41                      11803
           ObjID 43                      11803
           ObjID 48                      11803
           ObjID 247                     11804
    
        Microsoft Office 97 Standard Edition, SR-1:
    
           For        Remove the Reference to
           -----------------------------------
    
           ObjID 84                      12201
           ObjID 88                      12201
           ObjID 42                      12203
           ObjID 44                      12203
           ObjID 49                      12203
           ObjID 260                     12204
    
    

16. On the File menu, click Save. Make sure that the file type is Text.

For more information about using custom setup table files with Office 97, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q158281
   TITLE     : OFF97: How to Use Custom STF Files with MS Office 97 Setup

Keywords          : kbsetup
Version           : WINDOWS:97,97sr1
Platform          : WINDOWS
Issue type        : kbhowto