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Office & Office for Mac: Download, Installation, and Activation Support

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Contents

 

Overview

This article applies to Office and Office for Mac on-premises (desktop) products acquired through TechSoup.  If you requested Office 365 or Microsoft 365, please visit TechSoup's Microsoft Cloud Customer Support for more information about Microsoft cloud solutions available through TechSoup.

Starting with Office 2019 on-premises applications and suites, including Visio and Project, can no longer be downloaded directly.  IT administrators will use a special deployment tool from Microsoft to download and install these products.

Review which versions of Microsoft products are currently available through TechSoup.

Learn how to locate and access on-premises Microsoft products in your Microsoft 365 Admin Center.  Unable to locate your licenses?  Please review and complete all of the requirements to view and access your products.

 

Microsoft 365 vs. Office Deployment

The deployment for a cloud based Office 365 and Microsoft 365 app is different then deployment of an on-premises (desktop) Office or Office for Mac product.

When reviewing Microsoft's deployment instructions linked in this article, please make sure you are following local network deployment instructions, not the Microsoft 365 instructions.  The deployment for a cloud based Office 365 and Microsoft 365 apps is different then deployment of an on-premises (desktop) product.

 

What Type of Licenses & Keys are Available?

Not all Microsoft on-premises products require a download file and key to be installed or activated.  These products will still be listed in your Microsoft 365 Admin Center, but they will not have a download link or key listed.  Instead, they will link you to a Microsoft deployment tool, serializer, or activation wizard to activate the product - see Office for Mac and Client Access License (CAL) for more info.

Licenses

There are three types of Microsoft for Nonprofits programs available through TechSoup:

  • Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) On-Premise Program
  • Open Value (OV) On-Premise Program
  • Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) Cloud Subscriptions Program

Keys

There are two types of Microsoft keys available for products that require them for activation.

  • MAK key (Multiple Activation Key)
    • MAK keys are used for one-time activation
    • Available for CSP on-premises licenses (Products WITH Software Assurance) and OV licenses  (Products WITHOUT Software Assurance).
  • KMS key (Key Management Service)
    • KMS keys are used for volume activation.
    • Only available for OV licenses (Products WITHOUT Software Assurance),

Microsoft Support may tell you that KMS keys are available through the Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) On-Premise Program.  This is not accurate for nonprofit licenses aquired through TechSoup.  TechSoup Customer Service will not be able to assist you with accessing a KMS key if your product did not include Software Assurance.

 

Remove Existing Versions of Office

To avoid installation and application conflicts you will need to remove any other versions of Office (on-premises and cloud) from the device.

Office LTSC Standard & Office LTSC Professional Plus

To avoid installation conflicts, in your configuration.xml file make sure RemoveMSI is included so that the deployment automatically uninstalls older MSI-based versions of Office to prevent application conflicts.

You can also manually uninstall older Office versions before deploying.  Learn more on Microsoft's website:

Office for Mac

Office for Mac does not use a configuration.xml file to deploy.  

 

Deployment Instructions

Follow the deployment instructions for Office or Office for Mac to access your on-premises (desktop) products.

Office LTSC Standard & Office LTSC Professional Plus

Follow Microsoft’s special deployment tool for PCs instructions on how to download and install Office applications to your:

Here are the basic steps for deploying Office LTSC 2024:

  1. Download the Office Deployment Tool from the Microsoft Download Center
  2. Create the configuration.xml file
  3. Download the Office LTSC 2024 installation files (Optional, if you're not installing directly from the Office CDN.)
  4. Install Office LTSC 2024 by using the Office Deployment Tool

What is a "configuration.xml file"?

After downloading the Office Deployment Tool (ODT), from Microsoft’s Download Center you will create a configuration.xml file and save it in the same folder as setup.exe for Office LTSC Standard or Office LTSC Professional Plus; configuration.xml files are not used to deploy Office for Mac LSTC

  • OfficeClientEdition: Sets the architecture (bit)
    • EXAMPLE: 64 or 32 bit.
  • Channel: Defines the channel to the perpetual offers
    • EXAMPLE: PerpetualVL2024 for Office LTSC 2024 or PerpetualVL2021 for Office LTSC 2021).
  • Product ID: Specifics the product and version being deployed 
    • EXAMPLE: ProPlus2024Volume for Office LTSC Professional Plus 2024 or ProPlus2021Volume for Office LTSC Professional Plus 2021.
  • Language ID: Sets the installation language 
    • EXAMPLE: United States English = en-US.
  • RemoveMSI: Including will automatically removes older MSI-based office formats to help avoid issues with installation or using the application.
  • AcceptEULA: Controls software license agreement prompts. 
    • When set to TRUE under the <Display> element, it automatically accepts the Microsoft Software License Terms so the installation can run silently without user interaction.

Sample Office LTSC 2024 configuration.xml file

  • OfficeClientEdition: Set to "64" (recommended) or "32".
  • Channel: Must be set to PerpetualVL2024 for Office 2024 volume license releases.
  • SourcePath: Points to your local or network folder where the source installation files reside. Omit this attribute if you run setup.exe /download from the same folder where the XML is located.
  • Controls software license agreement prompts.
  • Product ID: Enter Standard2024LTSC or OfficeStandard2024LTSC for Office LTSC Standard 2024.
    • NOTE: While the Deploy Office LTSC 2024 instructions indicate when configuring your XML file, the 'Product ID=' should list "Standard2024Volume", we have received reports from our members the Product ID should be replaced with "OfficeStandard2024LTSC".
  • PIDKEY: Replace YOUR-KEY-HERE-12345 with your MAK key. 
    • NOTE: If you use KMS activation on your local network, you can remove the PIDKEY attribute entirely.
  • Language ID: Sets the installation language to United States English.
  • RemoveMSI: Automatically uninstalls older MSI-based versions of Office to prevent application conflicts.
  • AcceptEULA: Controls software license agreement prompts. 
    • When set to TRUE under the <Display> element, it automatically accepts the Microsoft Software License Terms so the installation can run silently without user interaction.
Sample Office.jpg

Sample Office LTSC Professional Plus 2024 configuration.xml file

  • OfficeClientEdition: Sets the architecture to 64 (or 32).
  • Channel: Defines the perpetual volume license channel (PerpetualVL2024 for 2024).
  • Product ID: Specifies ProPlus2024Volume for Office LTSC Professional Plus 2024.
  • PIDKEY: Not needed since the Office LTSC Professional Plus 2024
  • Language ID: Sets the installation language to United States English.
  • RemoveMSI: Automatically uninstalls older MSI-based versions of Office to prevent application conflicts.
  • AcceptEULA: Controls software license agreement prompts. 
    • When set to TRUE under the <Display> element, it automatically accepts the Microsoft Software License Terms so the installation can run silently without user interaction.

Office LTSC for Mac

Microsoft Office LTSC for Mac does not use a configuration.xml file or the Windows Office Deployment Tool (ODT). Instead, Mac deployments use standard PKG installer packages combined with a Volume License (VL) Serializer package downloaded from the Microsoft 365 Admin Center.

Review the following Microsoft Learn articles to move forward with deploying Office for Mac:

You should also be able to use these instructions to access Microsoft's Volume License Serializer:

  1. Sign into the Microsoft 365 admin center. 
  2. Go to > Billing > Your products > Volume licensing > Download and keys 
  3. Download the VL Serializer. 
  4. Run the VL Serializer on each device. 
    • By doing this, your Mac users won't see any activation prompts when they first open their copy of Office.

 

Support Options

Microsoft and TechSoup provide the following support options for issues related to .

Contact Microsoft Support

For support installing and activating your licenses, or using your Office product contact Microsoft Support.  

You will need to sign into Microsoft.  Review Microsoft's “sign-in helper” information if you are unable to sign in.

End of support for Office 2016 and 2019

Periodically, Microsoft ends support for their Office suites and individual apps.  Office apps will continue to function, however, after the end date, Microsoft will provide no further security updates, bug fixes, or technical assistance. So, while the apps will keep working, continuing to use them leaves your computer open to new security threat.  Learn more about the Microsoft Lifecycle Policy.

Request a newer version of Office through TechSoup.

TechSoup Support Services

TechSoup Support Services may be returned if the service is not utilized or the IT technician confirms they are unable to support the issue.

Office Deployment Support

If you require support deploying your Office, Office Professional Plus, or Office for Mac, we recommend requesting the Office Standard or Pro Installation Support service.

After requesting the support service, within two business days a TechSoup’s IT Partner, Bask, will have one of their expert technicians contact you to provide remote download and installation support for Microsoft Office 2019 or later suites and individual applications.

Office Functionality Support 

If you are experiencing issues with your Office, Office Professional Plus, or Office for Mac’s functionality, we recommend requesting the IT Help Desk, Single-Issue Tech Support Fix service. 

After requesting the support service, within two business days a TechSoup’s IT Partner, Bask, will have one of their expert technicians contact you to provide remote support technical support for a single technical issue.

Additional TechSoup Support Services

Check out all of the available Microsoft Implementation Services for Nonprofits and other TechSoup Support Services & Resources we have designed for nonprofit organizations like yours!

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