Soon Microsoft are to release an update to the Office 2016 Volume License installer on VLSC.
- Microsoft Office For Mac 2016
- Office 2016 Mac License Installer Download
- Office 2016 Installer Download
- Office 2016 Mac License Installer 64-bit
This update is 15.17 & is the first that has a few changes that may affect the way you deploy Office 2016.
For example, if you're licensed for Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2019 through Volume Licensing, you can use Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2016 instead. But you may not downgrade to Microsoft Office Standard Edition 2016 because it is a different product and not considered a prior version of Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2019. Applies to: Office 2019 for Mac. The Volume Serializer (VL) is used to activate Office 2019 for Mac as a volume licensed version. It's an approximately 4 mb package file that you run on a user's computer, either before or after you've installed Office. Download the Volume License.
These changes are going to be later enforced in 15.20 & onwards. Below are some details on the changes, some of the why & how via the power of the MacAdmins.org Slack & the awesome @pbowden that some of us have had a sneak peek.
Contents
- 1 What’s Changing?
When you download the .iso from VLSC you’ll notice two packages within it:
The change is the new second pkg: “Microsoft_Office_2016_VL_Serializer.pkg”
What’s that about?
Well, for a while now it’s been fairly common practice to deploy the Office license to Macs outside of the Office installers or updates.
This came about as on occasion an Office Update or Installer would delete the file.
However, whilst the deletion itself was a bug, the ability to use the license.plist across Macs was also a bug.
What is it & should I use it?
With Office 2016, Microsoft are moving to a device based serialisation method. Which means that deploying the plist /Library/Preferences/com.microsoft.office.licensingv2.plist will no longer work.
This device based serialisation is based around the generating a license on the Mac that is to be running Office 2016.
So if you employ monolithic imaging or deploy Office 2016 via a Composer snap shot etc, the serialisation will not work. (Please don’t deploy Office 2016 via a Composer snap shot, use the pkg).
Also, if you install Office 2016 whilst booted to another volume (as in when installing via a NetBoot or NetInstall volume or something like Target Mode Imaging), again the serialisation will not work.
To install Office 2016 from another volume & have the serialisation work, cache it locally on the Mac being imaged & install on first boot or if using Casper Imaging check “Install on boot drive after Imaging” for the PKG from within Casper Admin.
However, to enable Office 2016 to be correctly licensed in the multitude of deployment scenarios that we mac admins employ, @pbowden & his team have created the “Microsoft_Office_2016_VL_Serializer.pkg”
Running this will correctly serialise the Office 2016 suite, & should be run from the Mac that’s running the suite. So again, can be added post imaging & then the suite will be correctly serialised.
To be clear, this will only affect you if using the Volume Licensed version of Office 2016 & not the Office365 version.
What happens if I carry on copying the licensing.plist?
For now, not much.
15.17 is the first release with the “Microsoft_Office_2016_VL_Serializer.pkg”, from 15.20 (scheduled for Q1 2016) you will have to use the correct license.
How did people find this out?
Well a little over a month ago a gentleman with the nick @pbowden hopped into the #microsoft-office channel on the MacAdmins.org Slack, this was awesome as @pbowden is a: Software engineer for Office for Mac/iOS at Microsoft, a fellow Brit & nice guy.
It’s been a great few weeks with the community sharing feedback with @pbowden & some of us being able to test pre-release installers for Office.
I hope this warning has been as helpful to you, as it was when @pbowden shared it with us.
Introduction: How to Install Microsoft Office 2016 for Mac for Free
Microsoft has put out the free download of Office 2016 for Mac public preview, without any Office 365 subscription required. The new software includes support for Retina displays, iCloud syncing, and looks like the versions of Office currently available on Windows and mobile.
You can begin the free download here.
Step 1: Download the Install
Once you download the 2.6GB file to your downloads folder, click on the Office Preview Package to get started. You will be guided through the necessary steps to install this software.
Tip: I had to upgrade my OS X because you can't install Office for Mac with any version of OS X below 10.10. To see my tutorial on how to upgrade your OS X go here.
I also had some internet interruptions on my initial download to my downloads folder and had a hard time opening the package because it did not download the full 2.6GB. Make sure that you fully downloaded the package.
Step 2: Read and Agree to Licensing Agreement
The software license agreement comes in many languages, this one in English. Once you read the agreement, you will have scrolled to the bottom. Click continue to agree.
Step 3: Agree to the License Agreement to Begin Installation
You will then be prompted to agree. Once you do you will select what users of your computer will have access to the software to select the destination for install. You will need 5.62GB of free space to install. Select and click continue.
Step 4: Install Office for Mac
I want all users of my computer to be able to access Office and made sure to have the available space. Now I am ready to install. I click install. I had to wait a few moments for the installation to complete. Then I was notified that the installation was successful. And my installation is complete.
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