OFF2000: Licensing the Office 2000 Web Components and Office Server Extensions

ID: Q243006

The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Office 2000 Server Extensions
  • Microsoft Office Spreadsheet Component 9.0
  • Microsoft Office PivotTable Component 9.0
  • Microsoft Office Chart Component 9.0

SUMMARY

This article summarizes the licensing terms for the Microsoft Office Web Components (OWCs) and the Office Server Extensions. It also answers commonly asked questions.


MORE INFORMATION

Office Web Components Licensing

There are three key licensing points for the Office Web Components that are shipped with Office 2000. It is important to note that a valid Office 2000 license is always required to run or access the Office Web Components.
  1. Running the Office Web Components on a client PC or accessing the Office Web Components running on a server requires a valid Office 2000 license. Qualifying licenses include Office 2000 Premium, Office 2000 Professional, Office 2000 Small Business, Office 2000 Standard, Office 2000 Developer, and Microsoft Access 2000.


  2. Running the OWC on a server requires an Office 2000 license for that server and for each client accessing the OWCs running on that server.


  3. Running the OWCs on a Web server that is accessible to users on the Internet or an extranet is not possible because there is no way to guarantee that every user has a valid license for Office 2000.


How are the Office Web Components shipped?

The Office Web Components are shipped as part of Microsoft Office 2000 Premium, Microsoft Office 2000 Professional, Microsoft Office 2000 Small Business, Microsoft Office 2000 Standard, Microsoft Office 2000 Developer, and Microsoft Access 2000.

Is an Office license required for clients that use Office Web Components?

Yes. Any client accessing a Web server that hosts or runs the Office Web Components must have a license for one of the following products: Microsoft Office 2000 Premium, Microsoft Office 2000 Professional, Microsoft Office 2000 Small Business, Microsoft Office 2000 Standard, Microsoft Office 2000 Developer, and Microsoft Access 2000. Any client that has the Office Web Components installed or accesses them from a server must have an Office 2000 license as well.

Can any Web server run the Office Web Components?

No. Only Web servers hosting Web pages viewable on an internal network (that is, an intranet Web server) can run the Office Web Components.

Is an Office 2000 license required for servers running the Office Web Components?

Yes. Web servers running the Office Web Components must have a license for one of the following products: Microsoft Office 2000 Premium, Microsoft Office 2000 Professional, Microsoft Office 2000 Small Business, Microsoft Office 2000 Standard, Microsoft Office 2000 Developer, or Microsoft Access 2000.

Can any client access a Web server running the Office Web Components?

No. Aside from requiring a valid Office 2000 license, clients accessing a Web server running the Office Web Components must be within the server licensee's organization (that is, an intranet).

Can the Office Web Components be run on a Web server that is accessible to users on the Internet or an extranet?

No. This scenario cannot be enabled because there is no way to guarantee that all users accessing the OWCs on a Web server on the Internet or an extranet have valid Office 2000 licenses. This protects customers from unintentionally violating the terms of their license agreement.

However, a very common usage scenario in Office 2000 is for users to publish "interactive" Web pages that reference the OWCs in the HTML. Other users with Office 2000 and the OWCs installed on their PCs who access these pages on a Web server get the fully interactive user experience. However, users who do not have Office 2000 or the OWCs installed get a blank Web page with a notice indicating that they need to have Office 2000 and the OWCs to view the data on the page.

Can you give an example of the "common" usage scenario described above?

Microsoft Excel 2000 enables customers to save their worksheets, charts, and PivotTables to a Web server with "Interactivity." When a user selects the "Add Interactivity" option during the File/Save As Web Page dialog box, Excel 2000 automatically includes a reference in the HTML to the Office Web Components.

The HTML generated by Excel 2000 in this example simply references the OWCs in the OBJECT tag. Your Web browser uses this information to run the OWCs. If Office 2000 and the OWCs have not been installed on the PC accessing the Web page, you get a blank page with a short notice indicating that the page needs Microsoft Office 2000 and the OWCs in order to view this information.

When can the Office Web Components be downloaded or installed to a client?

There are two scenarios for installing or downloading the OWCs to your PC:
  1. During the Office 2000 setup program, you can choose to install the OWCs to your PC or run them from a local server.


  2. The OWCs can be downloaded from a Web server running on your intranet. However, this option only works on an intranet because the OWCs can only be downloaded using a FILE protocol. The FILE protocol is not commonly supported on the Internet or extranet scenarios for security reasons.


    3. Again, both scenarios require a valid Office 2000 license.

Office Server Extensions Licensing

There are two key licensing points for the Office Server Extensions shipped with Office 2000:
  1. Running the Office Server Extensions on a Web server requires a valid license for Office 2000.


  2. Anyone can access a Web server running the Office Server Extensions, even if they do not have a license for Office 2000. However, if you have Office 2000 installed on your PC, you must have a valid license.


How are the Office Server Extensions shipped?

The Office Server Extensions are delivered as part of Office 2000 Professional, Office 2000 Standard, and Office 2000 Premium.

Is an Office license required for clients that use Office Server Extension features?

No. Any client can access a Web server running the Office Server Extensions without an Office 2000 license. However, if you have Office 2000 installed on your PC, you must have a valid license.

Is an Office 2000 license required for servers running the Office Server Extensions?

Yes. Any server that uses the Office Server Extensions must have a license for Office 2000 Standard, Office 2000 Professional, or Office 2000 Premium.

If I am using the Microsoft Database Engine for discussions with the Office Server Extensions, is a database license required?

No. If you are using the Microsoft Database Engine for discussions with the Office Server Extensions, a Microsoft Database Engine license is not required.

Can the Office Server Extensions be redistributed outside of Office 2000?

No. The Office Server Extensions can be distributed only through Office 2000 Standard, Office 2000 Professional, or Office 2000 Premium.

If I am an Internet Service Provider, can I use the Office Server Extensions on my Web servers?

Yes. An Internet Service Provider can host the documents and the Office Server Extensions on a Web server for customer use. The server must have a license for Office 2000 Standard, Office 2000 Professional, or Office 2000 Premium.


REFERENCES

For more information on using Office Web Components see:

http://www.microsoft.com/office/

Additional query words: OFF2000

Keywords : kbdta kbDSupport kbOfficeWebChart kbOfficeWebPivot kbOfficeWebSpread
Version : WINDOWS:; winnt:
Platform : WINDOWS winnt
Issue type : kbinfo


Last Reviewed: October 6, 1999
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