Introducing Microsoft Office 2013 Preview App-V package

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As some of you already know, we shipped the Microsoft Office 2013 Preview App-V package with our App-V 5.0 Beta 2 release in July 2012. We believe that this is a HUGE win for our customers. Over the years, we have received tremendous feedback from our customers regarding better and deeper integration with Microsoft Office. We, in App-V, feel proud to say that with Microsoft Office 2013 Preview App-V package, we have addressed that feedback. The Microsoft Office 2013 Preview App-V package is a pre-built package, which can be added to the App-V 5.0 client or imported to the App-V 5.0 server like any other App-V package. There is neither any sequencing involved nor the need to use a deployment kit, as one had to do with Microsoft Office 2010 using App-V 4.6. Above and beyond the simplified deployment model, the Microsoft Office 2013 Preview App-V package offers much deeper integration between App-V and Microsoft Office, than we have ever offered before.

Microsoft Office 2013 Preview – App-V 5.0 Beta 2 package information

The 32-bit Microsoft Office package is a Microsoft Windows 32-bit on Microsoft Windows 64-bit (WoW64) package and can be deployed on computers with a 32-bit or 64-bit chip architecture.

The 64-bit Microsoft Office package requires a computer that is running a 64-bit version of Windows 7, Windows 8 or Windows Server 2008 R2.

The Microsoft Office packages are designed to run using the App-V 5.0 Beta 2 release using the following link https://www.microsoft.com/getappv5.

Package Information

The 32-bit WoW64 O15 Technical Preview package for App-V includes the following:

· ProPlusVolume_VisioProVolume_ProjectProVolume_en-us_x86.appv

· ProPlusVolume_VisioProVolume_ProjectProVolume_en-us_x86_DeploymentConfig.xml

· ProPlusVolume_VisioProVolume_ProjectProVolume_en-us_x86_UserConfig.xml

The 64-bit O15 Technical Preview package for App-V includes the following:

· ProPlusVolume_VisioProVolume_ProjectProVolume_en-us_x64.appv

· ProPlusVolume_VisioProVolume_ProjectProVolume_en-us_x64_DeploymentConfig.xml

· ProPlusVolume_VisioProVolume_ProjectProVolume_en-us_x86_UserConfig.xml

Enabling scripting on the App-V 5.0 Beta 2 client

Scripting is required to run the Microsoft Office 2013 Preview package. One can enable scripting on the client via App-V 5.0 Client setup, Group Policy or PowerShell cmdlets.

To enable scripting on the App-V 5.0 client via PowerShell, type the following commands using an elevated PowerShell command prompt:

PS>Set-ExecutionPolicy bypass –Scope currentuser. Press Y.

PS> Import-module appvclient and press Enter.

PS>Set-AppvClientConfiguration –EnablePackageScripts 1

Deploying the Microsoft Office 2013 Preview package

The Microsoft Office 2013 Preview package can be deployed and managed in the App-V environment like any other App-V package. Please find below the instructions for adding the package on a standalone client. For more information on how to manage the package on the App-V 5.0 Beta 2 Server, please refer to the App-V 5.0 Beta 2 documentation found at https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=258534

Note:

clip_image001 This procedure does not require an App-V 5.0 Beta 2 management server.

clip_image001[1] It is recommended that you deploy the Office 2013 package globally to a computer.

Deploy an App-V 5.0 Beta 2 package to a computer

Use the following procedure to deploy an Office 2013 Preview package to a computer to allow all users to use the Office applications.

1. Complete all prerequisites required to have the App-V 5.0 packages on a target computer.

2. Open an elevated PowerShell command prompt, and enter the following commands:

PS>Import-module appvclient

PS> $pkg= Add-AppvClientPackage <Path to package location>

Running this command adds the package and returns the PackageId and VersionId into $pkg.

PS>Publish-AppVClientPackage $pkg -Global

This will publish the Office 2013 Preview package for all the users on the computer and allow them to use the Office applications.

clip_image001[2] Note

To modify the default integration settings, shortcuts or FTAs of the applications in a package, you can use the DynamicDeploymentConfiguration files while adding or publishing the package. For more information on how to do that, refer to the App-V 5.0 Beta 2 documentation found at https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=258534

Conclusion

We, the App-V team, believe that the pre-built Microsoft Office 2013 package addresses the needs of our valuable customers. As always, we are eager to have your feedback. If you have not tried the Office 2013 Preview App-V package till now, you can do so by downloading it from https://www.microsoft.com/getappv5. Do let us know, what you think of it!

Comments

  • Anonymous
    January 01, 2003
    Hello Everyone, Please look here: support.microsoft.com/.../2772509 to find out more about the Office 2013 App-V package.

  • Anonymous
    January 01, 2003
    This represents significant value for my company.  Please continue to integrate Office and other Microsoft products, it is vital to our continued success with App-V.  So far it is working great, thank you for delivering this!

  • Anonymous
    January 01, 2003
    With Office 2010, the Home & Business edition was available in pre-sequenced form via Click-To-Run. Nevertheless, this is a good improvement. The real value is if Microsoft can offer an evaluation of the final version of Office 2013 in an App-V package that accepts genuine product keys for any edition so we can just buy a product key card and conver the evaluation edition into the one we bought.

  • Anonymous
    January 01, 2003
    Can you advise when the expected release of App-V 5.0 is? I think Microsoft should of held their Server 2012 release date until key datacentre technologies lined up as people will only delay to roll out to the datacentre until this is complete.

  • Anonymous
    January 01, 2003
    That's awesome!

  • Anonymous
    January 01, 2003
    @Joe, I can not comment on what's coming in the future, but keep checking this space as we unveil things.

  • Anonymous
    January 01, 2003
    @Anurag do you have any comment about the ability to use App-V to deploy traditional volume-licensed Office 2013?

  • Anonymous
    January 01, 2003
    Anyone experiencing outlook 2013 crashing of the pre-built office 2013 app-v 5 sp2 suite on any platform.

  • Anonymous
    October 01, 2012
    This is fantastic!  Are the final versions of Office 2013 (and possibly other products?) going to be available as App-V packages?  That would be a gigantic benefit of going with App-V!

  • Anonymous
    November 02, 2012
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    December 06, 2012
    I really cannot wait for the released. How about having the app-v 5 and office 2013 release  as a special Christmas present for me :)

  • Anonymous
    March 19, 2013
    Can Office 2013 sequenced with Appv 4.6sp1 ?? How to include the KMS license information.??

  • Anonymous
    May 16, 2013
    Any respond to "KIRAN" ? I would also like to be able to do it.

  • Anonymous
    May 16, 2013
    Please see here for information on which versions of App-V can work with Office: support.microsoft.com/.../2772509

  • Anonymous
    January 23, 2014
    Is Office 2013 with App-V 5 SP2 supported with Applocker?Essentially we only wanted to publish office 2013 to certain users on RDS servers but KB2915745 states that the Office2013 AppV package must be deployed to each RDS server computer account (Global mode) rather than to specific users and groups meaning all users will be able to access the package.