Understanding editions:
A comparison of the different editions can be seen on Wikipediahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microso...010#Comparison
Professional Plus is the most feature packed version.
1.1: 32 or 64 bit?
Microsoft recommends sticking with 32 bit, even on a 64 bit OS. The reason they cite is plugin compatibility. There’s no great benefit to 64 bit unless you’re editing massive spreadsheets.1.2 Activation types
There are two types of activation. “Retail” and “Volume”.
Retail editions require activation, and require a product key during installation. If the product isn’t activated within the grace period, it will enter Reduced Functionality Mode (RFM). RFM renders Office little more than a viewer.
Volume activation is only available in Standard and Professional Plus editions. However Professional plus retail is slightly different than professional plus volume, and requires a little work to convert from one activation type to the other. Currently all activation “hacks” involve volume editions. Volume products do not require a product key during installation (will default to KMS client GVLK), and if the product isn’t activated (or falls out of an activated state) it will enter “Notification mode”. Unlike RFM, notification mode is still fully functional, it will just turn the title bar red and will give popups when Office is started .
Volume activation is designed to help businesses activate dozens, hundreds, or thousands of machines with minimal effort (compared to retail). There’s two methods of volume activation. Key Management Server (KMS) and Multiple Activation Keys (MAK).
KMS involves running an internal company licence server. Client computers will renew their licence against the server. Each renewal will reset the expiry to 180 days, and it will try renewing every 7 days. Office will try contacting the server more frequently if expired or close to expiring. KMS is the preferred method of volume activation for businesses and incidentally KMS based solutions are the main source of activation “solutions”.
MAK activate similar to a retail key. It is a one-time activation over the internet against Microsoft’s server. Unlike a normal retail key, each key can be used for a minimum of 500 activations to thousands of activations. Like a retail key you will have to reactivate if there’s a drastic hardware change or if you image your installation to a new computer.
A comparison of the different editions can be seen on Wikipediahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microso...010#Comparison
Comparison
| Suites[57] | As an individual product | Starter | Office Online | Personal1 | Home and Student2 | Home and Business5 | Standard | Professional5 | Professional Plus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Licensing scheme | Retail | OEM | Free | Retail and OEM | Retail | Retail | Retail3 and Volume | Academic[54]and Retail | Retail3 and Volume |
| Word | Yes | Starter edition | Basic | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Excel | Yes | Starter edition | Basic | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| PowerPoint | Yes | Viewer (Separate) | Basic | Viewer (Separate) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| OneNote | Yes | No | Basic | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Outlook | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Publisher | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Access | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| InfoPath | Yes[60] | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| Lync | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes[61][62] |
| SharePoint Workspace | Yes[63] | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| Project | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Visio | Yes | Viewer (Separate) | No | Viewer | Viewer | Viewer | Viewer (Separate) | Viewer | Viewer |
| Office Customization Tool (OCT)4[64] | No | No | No | No | No | No | Volume edition only | No | Volume edition only |
- Remarks
- 1 Office Personal boxed (retail) product is for non-commercial use and can be installed on two devices: A primary PC and a portable device such as a laptop; Office Personal OEM version can only be used on one computer. Office Personal is available in Japan only.
- 2 Office Home and Student boxed (retail) product can be installed on three PCs in the same household and is for non-commercial use; Office Home and Student Product Key card version can only be used on one computer. Office Home and Student is not available in Japan.
- 3 Retail version is offered through MSDN or TechNet only.[65]
- 4 Office Customization Tool is used to customize the installation of Office by creating a Windows Installer Patch (.MSP) file and replaces the Custom Installation Wizard and Custom Deployment Wizard included in 2003 and earlier versions of the Office Resource Kit which created a Windows Installer Transform (.MST). Office Customization Tool is only included in Volume License editions.[64]
- 5 Boxed SKUs of Home and Business or Professional editions of the product can be installed on two devices: A primary PC and a portable device such as a laptop.[66]
- 6 Office Professional Academic has been replaced by Office University.
Professional Plus is the most feature packed version.
1.1: 32 or 64 bit?
Microsoft recommends sticking with 32 bit, even on a 64 bit OS. The reason they cite is plugin compatibility. There’s no great benefit to 64 bit unless you’re editing massive spreadsheets.1.2 Activation types
There are two types of activation. “Retail” and “Volume”.
Retail editions require activation, and require a product key during installation. If the product isn’t activated within the grace period, it will enter Reduced Functionality Mode (RFM). RFM renders Office little more than a viewer.
Volume activation is only available in Standard and Professional Plus editions. However Professional plus retail is slightly different than professional plus volume, and requires a little work to convert from one activation type to the other. Currently all activation “hacks” involve volume editions. Volume products do not require a product key during installation (will default to KMS client GVLK), and if the product isn’t activated (or falls out of an activated state) it will enter “Notification mode”. Unlike RFM, notification mode is still fully functional, it will just turn the title bar red and will give popups when Office is started .
Volume activation is designed to help businesses activate dozens, hundreds, or thousands of machines with minimal effort (compared to retail). There’s two methods of volume activation. Key Management Server (KMS) and Multiple Activation Keys (MAK).
KMS involves running an internal company licence server. Client computers will renew their licence against the server. Each renewal will reset the expiry to 180 days, and it will try renewing every 7 days. Office will try contacting the server more frequently if expired or close to expiring. KMS is the preferred method of volume activation for businesses and incidentally KMS based solutions are the main source of activation “solutions”.
MAK activate similar to a retail key. It is a one-time activation over the internet against Microsoft’s server. Unlike a normal retail key, each key can be used for a minimum of 500 activations to thousands of activations. Like a retail key you will have to reactivate if there’s a drastic hardware change or if you image your installation to a new computer.
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