Mastering Office 2021 Enterprise Deployment: A Guide to setup.exe /configure Deploying Microsoft Office in an enterprise environment requires more than a simple "double-click." For Office LTSC 2021 (the perpetual, volume-licensed version), the gold standard is the Office Deployment Tool (ODT) This post breaks down how to use the command setup.exe /configure configuration-Office2021Enterprise.xml file to get your team up and running. Step 1: Get the Tools First, you need the engine that drives the installation. Download the ODT : Grab the latest Office Deployment Tool from the Microsoft Download Center. Extract the Files to extract two key items: and several sample Step 2: The Heart of the Setup: configuration.xml configuration-Office2021Enterprise.xml file tells exactly what to do. While you can edit this in Notepad, the best way to create a precise file is the Office Customization Tool (OCT) Key elements in your XML often include: Product ID : For enterprise 2021, this is usually ProPlus2021Volume Standard2021Volume PerpetualVL2021 ExcludeApp : Don't need Teams or OneDrive? Use this tag to keep the installation lean. Display Level to perform a silent background installation. Step 3: Run the Command Once your XML is ready and placed in the same folder as , it’s time to deploy. Deploy Office Long Term Service Channel (LTSC) 2021
The command you are looking for is used to install or configure Microsoft 365 Apps or Office 2021/2019 using the Office Deployment Tool (ODT). Unlike older versions of Office, you cannot simply double-click setup.exe to install; you must reference a configuration file. Here is the correct command syntax, followed by instructions on how to create the necessary XML file. 1. The Command Open Command Prompt (cmd) or PowerShell in the folder containing your setup.exe file and run: setup.exe /configure configuration-office2021enterprise.xml
Note: Ensure the .xml file is in the same folder as setup.exe , or provide the full path to the XML file.
2. The Configuration XML File You likely need to create or edit the configuration-office2021enterprise.xml file. This file tells the installer what version to install, which language to use, and which products to include. Below is a standard template for Office 2021 Enterprise (typically Volume License). Example XML Content: Copy the code below into a text editor (like Notepad) and save it as configuration-office2021enterprise.xml . <Configuration> <Add OfficeClientEdition="64" Channel="PerpetualVL2021"> <Product ID="ProPlus2021Volume"> <Language ID="en-us" /> </Product> <!-- Uncomment below to add Visio or Project --> <!-- <Product ID="VisioPro2021Volume"><Language ID="en-us" /></Product> --> <!-- <Product ID="ProjectPro2021Volume"><Language ID="en-us" /></Product> --> </Add> <!-- Removes previous versions of Office to avoid conflicts --> <Remove All="TRUE" /> <!-- Disables the automatic update feature (optional) --> <Updates Enabled="TRUE" /> <!-- Accepts the EULA automatically --> <Display Level="Full" AcceptEULA="TRUE" /> </Configuration> setup.exe configure. configuration-office2021enterprise.xml
Key Details to Customize:
OfficeClientEdition: Set to "64" for 64-bit (recommended) or "32" for 32-bit. Channel: For Office 2021 Enterprise (Volume License), use "PerpetualVL2021" . Product ID:
ProPlus2021Volume (Standard Enterprise suite) Standard2021Volume (Standard suite) VisioPro2021Volume (Visio Professional) ProjectPro2021Volume (Project Professional) Mastering Office 2021 Enterprise Deployment: A Guide to
Language ID: Change en-us to your preferred language code (e.g., es-es for Spanish, fr-fr for French).
3. Step-by-Step Instructions If you haven't done this before, here is the full workflow:
Download the Tool: Download the Office Deployment Tool from Microsoft. Install/Extract: Run the downloaded file. It will ask you to extract files to a folder. Do this. Create the XML: Go to that folder. Create a new text file, paste the XML content from above, and save it as configuration-office2021enterprise.xml . Download Mode (Optional): If you want to download the installation files first before installing: setup.exe /download configuration-office2021enterprise.xml Extract the Files to extract two key items:
Wait for this to finish (it will close the window automatically). Install Mode: Run the command you originally asked about: setup.exe /configure configuration-office2021enterprise.xml
Activate: After the installation finishes, you must activate Office using your Volume License key or KMS server. Open any Office app (like Word), go to Account , and enter your product key.
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