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Installing and Using Microsoft Excel on a Network
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Contents
Introduction
Designating Network Connections
Setting Up Microsoft Excel on a Network File Server
Installation Requirements
>To install Microsoft Excel on a network file server or a shared directory
Creating Custom Installations for Workstation Users
Editing SETUP.STF to Create a Script
>To edit the information in SETUP.STF
Supporting Vendor Independent Messaging sites
Distributing and Using a Script
Distributing a Script with Microsoft Mail
Network Considerations for Workstation Users
Installing Microsoft Excel on a Workstation
Sharing and Protecting workbooks on Networks
Things to Remember About Shared Files
Other Tools for Workgroup Users
Changing links to QE.XLA after network installation
Note: To move directly to step-by-step instructions, search for the
---- right-angle bracket character (>). This character marks the
beginning of each procedure.
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Introduction
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This document discusses how to install and use Microsoft Excel version 5.0 for Windows on a network.
The first section, "Setting Up Microsoft Excel on a Network File Server," is for network administrators who install Microsoft Excel from floppy disks to a network. Before installing Microsoft Excel on any network workstations, the network administrator must install Microsoft Excel on a network file server.
The second section, "Creating Custom Installations for Workstation Users," is for network administrators who want to create custom installation scripts that end users can run to install or upgrade Microsoft Excel from a network file server.
The final section, "Network Considerations for Workstation Users," is for Microsoft Excel users who run Microsoft Excel from a network file server. It also includes information for users in workgroups.
Designating Network Connections
In this document, network connections are specified with a logical drive letter, such as N. If your network supports the use of universal naming convention (UNC) paths of the form \\server\share, workstation setup users can use a path instead of a logical drive letter. For network server setup, however you must use a logical drive letter. Setup remembers the paths to the components you install, so if you use logical drive letters to specify network file servers during installation, you have to make those network connections manually and use the same drive letters before you run Setup again. If you use UNC paths, Setup will make the correct connections automatically.
Note Every Microsoft Excel user must have a Microsoft Excel license.
---- A license is obtained by buying a retail package or a Microsoft
License Pak. For more information about network use restrictions,
see your Microsoft Excel license agreement.
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Setting Up Microsoft Excel on a Network File Server
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This section is for network administrators who perform an administratorÆs installation on a network file server or a shared directory.
Users on networks can share the Microsoft Excel program and files created in Microsoft Excel. Once youÆve installed Microsoft Excel on the network, end users can either install the program and its components on the workstationÆs hard disk or run Microsoft Excel from the network file server. Note that users can run Microsoft Excel from a network server only after completing the workstation installation.
End users can install Microsoft Excel from the file server, instead of from floppy disks, by using the basic procedure discussed in Chapter 1, "Installing and Running Microsoft Excel," in the Microsoft Excel UserÆs Guide. Alternatively, you can create a script that end users can run to install Microsoft Excel. For more information about scripts, see "Creating Custom Installations for Workstation Users," later in this document.
This document assumes that you know how to use network software to connect to network drives and how to find files stored on network file servers.
Before you set up Microsoft Excel on a network file server, check the
following:
* The network must be operational, and you must have read, write, and
delete/erase privileges for the network directories in which you want
to install Microsoft Excel. For more information, see your network
software documentation.
* You must install the Windows operating system, version 3.1 or later,
on the workstation you use to install Microsoft Excel on the network
file server, and on any workstations that will run Microsoft Excel.
For information about installing Windows, see your Windows documentation.
* If any network users share the Windows operating system or other
applications, they must be logged off from the network. The directories
that contain shared components on the file server or shared volume must
be locked from user access - for example, W:\WINDOWS and
W:\MSAPPS. You must have create, write, and delete privileges in
these directories.
* You should determine in which network file server directories the
components of Microsoft Excel should be installed. Setup suggests
installing EXCEL.EXE in the EXCEL directory and installing shared
components in the MSAPPS directory of the network file server or
the shared volume. You can specify other paths if you want to.
Setting up Microsoft Excel on network workstations is a two-step process. First install Microsoft Excel on the network file server. Then set up the workstations, either by installing Microsoft Excel on each workstationÆs hard disk or by setting up the workstations to run Microsoft Excel from the file server.
Installation Requirements
>To install Microsoft Excel on a network file server or a shared directory
1. Ask all users who are sharing Windows or Microsoft applications
such as Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Word (which share components)
to disconnect from the network file server or the shared directory.
2. Start Microsoft Windows, and quit any other applications.
3. Insert the disk labeled "Setup Disk 1" in drive A or drive B.
4. From the File menu in either Program Manager or File Manager,
choose Run.
5. Type <drive letter>:setup /a and then press Enter. (The /a switch
indicates an administratorÆs installation.) For example, a:setup /a
6. Follow the instructions on the screens that Setup displays.
You need to supply your company name, which will be included
with workstation installations made from the file server. You
will have one opportunity to confirm the company name. Make
sure that the name is correct before you proceed; once youÆve
confirmed it, you cannot change it.
You also need to supply the network directory in which you want
to install the main Microsoft Excel program (for example, N:\EXCEL),
and the directory for storing shared components, such as MSSPELL.DLL,
the spelling checker. Shared components are usually stored in the
MSAPPS directory at the same directory level as the directory that
contains EXCEL.EXE - for example, N:\MSAPPS.
If you are running the Windows operating system from a shared
installation, the proposed location for the shared components is
at the same directory level as the shared Windows directory - for
example, N:\MSAPPS.
When users install Microsoft Excel on their workstations by running
Setup from this administratorÆs installation, the shared components
can be installed on the userÆs workstation or run from the network.
Before you complete the administratorÆs installation, decide if the
shared components will be automatically installed on individual
workstations, automatically shared from the network, or if the choice
will be left to the workstation user.
7. Set the access privileges to read-only for the server
directories in which you installed Microsoft Excel components,
and ensure that all users who may need to install Microsoft Excel
on their workstations from the network have read privileges for
those directories.
Note: If you install Microsoft Excel to a network file server, complete
---- one or more workstation installations and then move Microsoft Excel
to another file server, your workstation users will not be able to
change their installation. Each workstation installation includes a
SETUP.STF file that points back to the original file server at the
time of the workstation's first installation. The workstation user
must manually update their SETUP.STF file to point to the new
network server. This is a text file, so it can be opened in a text
editor or word processor.
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Creating Custom Installations for Workstation Users
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Before you can create custom installations for end users, you must install Microsoft Excel on your network file server. See "To install Microsoft Excel on a network file server or a shared directory" above.
If the workstation can run Windows version 3.1, it can run Microsoft Excel, provided that it has sufficient RAM and disk space. Each workstation should have at least 4 MB of RAM and 2 MB of available disk space for the basic Microsoft Excel program.
Once you've installed Microsoft Excel on your network file server, you can create scripts to run Setup "silently" and control how Setup installs Microsoft Excel on workstations. With a script, you can do the following:
* Perform a complete installation silently, without input from the user.
* Control which type of installation - Typical, Complete/Custom,
Laptop (Minimum), or Workstation - you want Setup to perform.
* Specify the directory in which to install Microsoft Excel.
* Ensure that all installations in a workgroup are the same.
Setup uses information in the file SETUP.STF to determine which files to install and where they should be copied.
To perform a typical installation automatically, just add the /q switch when you run Setup. For example, at the command prompt, type the path to the server or directory where Setup is installed, and then type setup /q to start an automatic installation. When you use this switch, Setup reads information from SETUP.STF and installs Microsoft Excel in the program directory for the previous version of Microsoft Excel or in the default Microsoft Excel program directory, C:\EXCEL, without prompting the user for information.
To control which type of installation Setup performs and specify the directory where Microsoft Excel is installed, edit SETUP.STF to create a custom script that end users can run to install Microsoft Excel.
Note A list of Microsoft Excel components, their recommended locations
---- for network and workstation installations, and explanatory notes is
provided in the FILELIST.TXT file. This is a tab delimited text file,
so you can open it in Notepad or any other text editor, word processor
or spreadsheet. You can find FILELIST.TXT in two locations:
* On Setup disk 1. It is not compressed, so you can open it directly
from the floppy disk.
* If you've already installed Microsoft Excel version 5, FILELIST.TXT
is in the directory in which you installed Microsoft Excel, for
example the C:\EXCEL directory.
Editing SETUP.STF to Create a Script
This section describes how to create a script that automatically performs a Typical, Complete/Custom, Laptop (Minimum), or Workstation installation and how to specify a directory where Setup will install Microsoft Excel.
>To edit the information in SETUP.STF
1. Copy the file SETUP.STF from the network location in which you
installed the main Microsoft Excel program and give it a
new name. Open the copy of SETUP.STF (not the original)
with any spreadsheet application or word processor. It is easiest
to work with the table in Microsoft Excel.
2. To specify the type of installation you want the script to
perform, scroll through the table until you see the following
list of installation options in the third column:
Typical
Complete/Custom
Laptop (Minimum)
Workstation
Type yes in the column labeled "Install During Batch Mode"
to the left of the type of installation you want the script
to perform. Type no next to the other options.
3. If you want the script to perform a Complete/Custom installation,
scroll down until you see the following list of components in
the third column:
Microsoft Excel
Online Help and Lessons
Data Access
Graphics Filters
Addins
Tools
Type yes in the column to the left of each component you
want the script to install. Type no next to the other options.
4. To specify a directory where Setup will install Microsoft Excel,
scroll through the table until you see "c:\excel" in the column
labeled "Object Data." Replace the "c:\excel" with the name of the
directory where you want Setup to install Microsoft Excel.
Important
To ensure that Setup works properly, do not edit any other part
of the table file. If the initial value in a cell is empty, do
not edit the cell. If you are using a text editor, do not delete
tab characters that separate table columns.
5. Save the edited table in text-only format with the new name
you assigned in step 1.
Supporting Vendor Independent Messaging sites
Microsoft Excel supports Vendor Independent Messaging (VIM) 1.0, which means that you can
use the Send and Add/Edit Routing Slip commands (File menu) in Microsoft Excel to send or
route Microsoft Excel documents with mail applications such as Lotus cc:Mail that support VIM 1.0. To provide this support for users who install Microsoft Excel with the SETUP.STF script, make the following change. Edit line 322 of SETUP.STF. Replace the string "323 324 325" with "329".
Distributing and Using a Script
After you create a script, you can copy it to the file server or shared volume from which you want users to install Microsoft Excel, or you can distribute it with Microsoft Mail or another application that can send items across a network.
Use one of the following methods to distribute a script:
* To create one script for all users, rename the SETUP.STF file
that comes with Microsoft Excel to something else, such as
SETUP.OLD. Name the copy of the script that you edited SETUP.STF,
and save it in the same network directory as SETUP.EXE. Direct
your users to run SETUP.EXE /q from the file server or the shared
volume.
* Copy SETUP.EXE and give the copy the same filename you gave
the script but use the .EXE filename extension. For example,
if you named the script NEWSETUP.STF, name the copy of Setup
NEWSETUP.EXE. Put the renamed setup file and the script in the
same directory as SETUP.EXE on the file server or the shared volume.
Direct your users to run the copy of Setup (for example, NEWSETUP.EXE,
not SETUP.EXE).
* To create different installation scripts for different groups
of users, distribute the script with Microsoft Mail or another
application as a Program Manager icon. The command line specifies
the script and switches, as shown below.
/t tablename Substitute the name of the new script for tablename.
/n username (Optional) Substitute a value for username to prevent Setup from prompting the user for a name. The name must be enclosed in quotation marks as shown in the example that follows. To automatically register the workstation copy of Microsoft Excel with the workstationÆs existing user name, type the quotation marks with no name (""). Setup uses the name specified in the WIN.INI file on the workstation in the DefName line of the [MS User Info] section.
/q Causes Setup to run without any user interaction.
For example, suppose you installed Microsoft Excel in the EXCEL directory of a file server - where X designates the file server - and distribute a silent script that uses the MYSCRIPT.STF table file to a user named Paul Tanner. The command line to run the script would be:
If you use Microsoft Mail to distribute a script, create a new message and then choose Insert Object from the Edit menu. In the Object Type box, select Package, and then choose the OK button. From the Edit menu in Object Packager, choose Command Line. Type the full path to SETUP.EXE in the EXCEL directory of the file server or the shared directory. (If your network supports UNC pathnames, use that syntax. If not, users will need to make the network connection themselves by using the same drive letter you specified before running Setup.) Type setup and the switches and arguments as needed, and then choose the OK button.
To attach the Microsoft Excel Setup icon to the command line, choose the Insert Icon button in Object Packager. Choose the Browse button to locate SETUP.EXE in the EXCEL directory of the network file server, and then choose the OK button. Choose Update from the File menu to add the icon to the Mail message, and then choose Exit from the File menu to close Object Packager. The icon is now ready to distribute. Anyone who receives the message can double-click the icon to run Setup from the network and install Microsoft Excel by using the script you specified with the /t switch.
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Network Considerations for Workstation Users
--------------------------------------
There are two ways to run Microsoft Excel in a network environment:
* You can run Microsoft Excel entirely off the network, without
installing it on your own computer.
* You can install Microsoft Excel on your own computer.
Installing Microsoft Excel on a Workstation
If your computer is connected to a network file server or a shared directory, your network administrator may have installed a copy of Microsoft Excel on the network that you can then install on your workstation. The administrator may also have created a process you can use to install Microsoft Excel automatically. Check with your administrator to determine the best way for you to install Microsoft Excel.
The procedure for installing Microsoft Excel on a workstation is discussed in Chapter 1, "Installing and Running Microsoft Excel," in the Microsoft Excel UserÆs Guide. Once you have installed Microsoft Excel, read the following section for important information about using Microsoft Excel in a network environment. You may also need special network software to manage and synchronize shared files on the file server. For more information, check with your network administrator.
Sharing and Protecting Files on Networks
Using Microsoft Excel on a network is essentially the same as using Microsoft Excel on a stand-alone computer. On a network, however, you can use the network file server to store files and exchange them with other users, so you may want to protect some files from unauthorized access.
Things to Remember About Shared Files
* In order for everyone who works on a shared file to display and
print it the same way, the fonts used in the file must be
available on the other computers and printers in your workgroup.
* If you assign a file-protection password, you should write it
down. Without the password, no one can open the file. Also
bear in mind that some kinds of protection - such as protecting
an individual sheet or range of cells - do not prevent other users
from setting a file-protection password.
For more information about sharing and protecting files, see Chapter 39, "Protecting a Workbook" and Chapter 42, "Importing and Exporting Documents" in the Microsoft Excel UserÆs Guide.
Other Tools for Workgroup Users
Microsoft Excel provides features such as audit tools, workbook routing, and password protection that make sharing and editing workbooks in a workgroup setting easier. For more information about these features, see Part 8 in the Microsoft Excel User's Guide.
Changing links to QE.XLA after network installation
If you run Microsoft Excel 5.0 from a network server and use macros that rely on functions in a previous version of QE.XLA, you must change the links to those functions so that they point to the new version of QE.XLA. The links in your macros should now use the pathname
server_directory\LIBRARY\MSQUERY\QE.XLA where server_directory is the directory containing Microsoft Excel on the network server.
