Using Click-to-Run to install the new Office

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How long does it take to install Office 2010?  Well, first you need to find the Office 2010 software and start running Setup. Then you have to wait until Setup is completely finished. After Setup is finished, you need to download and apply updates or service packs. So you have to wait some more. All this waiting before your users can even open Word 2010 or Excel 2010 and start doing work. 

There has to be a better, faster, and simpler way to install Office.  Well, in the new version of Office there is a better way. It is called Click-to-Run. Click-to-Run is an alternative to the traditional Windows Installer-based (MSI) method of installing and updating Office. 

So why is Click-to-Run faster and simpler?  Click-to-Run uses streaming technology to install Office. This streaming technology allows your users to start using Office before everything is installed completely. So your users can start using Word before Word finishes installing.  Or they can start using Excel while PowerPoint is still being installed.

Also, Click-to-Run downloads and installs the most up-to-date version of Office from Microsoft. So you don’t have to worry about downloading and applying updates or service packs. They are already included as part of the installation. In addition, Click-to-Run will continue, by default, to update your Office installation automatically over time.

But wait, there’s more. Click-to-Run also uses virtualization technology to install and run Office in a separate, self-contained environment on the local computer. What’s the benefit of that?  This enables your users to run two different versions of Office on the same computer. For example, they can run Excel 2013 Preview and Excel 2010 on the same computer. So if you want to test the new version of Office in your organization, you don’t need to give your users another computer. You can install the new version of Office on the same computer as the existing version of Office. Making it even easier to see what’s new and improved in the new version of Office.

For more information about Click-to-Run, see Click-to-Run overview.

If you want to see Click-to-Run in action, Download Microsoft Office 365 ProPlus Preview.