OFF97: How to Configure Setup.stf to Exclude Office Assistant (165725)

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WARNING: This modification may not be supported by Microsoft. Microsoft support professionals will support some modifications to a BACKUP copy of the Setup.stf file. Note also that while support professionals may help customers modify specific lines of an STF, we will not rewrite the entire file in order to achieve a desired configuration. As a general rule, support is limited to options that can normally be changed by a user during a standard installation of the application.

NOTE: The following steps work only if you first perform an administrative installation (setup /a) of Office 97 to a server on your network. If you are performing a stand-alone installation using the Office 97 compact disc, you cannot use the steps in this article.

Before you perform the following steps, make a backup copy of the Off97pro.stf or Off97std.stf file on your server. Rename the file to Backup.stf and do not open or edit it for any reason.

1. Edit the .STF file in a text editor such as Microsoft Word, Wordpad, or Notepad.
   
   NOTE: MS-DOS Editor should NOT be used to modify the SETUP.STF file. MS- DOS Editor replaces tabs with spaces and will cause the same error. Other text editors that are known to replace tabs with spaces (and are thus unsuitable for modifying the .STF file) are Xtree Gold 2.0 by Executive Systems and QEdit by SemWare Inc.
2. Find the following Object IDs and delete the corresponding values from the Object Data column on the same line. Make sure you delete the trailing space after each number. Use the table that is appropriate for your version of Office.
   
   Microsoft Office 97 Professional Edition:

         For        Remove the Reference to
         -----------------------------------
   
         ObjID 89                      12901
         ObjID 85                      12901
         ObjID 51                      12903
         ObjID 53                      12903
         ObjID 58                      12903
         ObjID 335                     12904
   						

   Microsoft Office 97 Profession Edition, SR-1:

         For        Remove the Reference to
         -----------------------------------
   
         ObjID 98                      13201
         ObjID 94                      13201
         ObjID 52                      13203
         ObjID 54                      13203
         ObjID 59                      13203
         ObjID 348                     13204
   						

   Microsoft Office 97 Standard Edition:

         For        Remove the Reference to
         -----------------------------------
   
         ObjID 75                      11801
         ObjID 79                      11801
         ObjID 41                      11803
         ObjID 43                      11803
         ObjID 48                      11803
         ObjID 247                     11804
   						

   Microsoft Office 97 Standard Edition, SR-1:

         For        Remove the Reference to
         -----------------------------------
   
         ObjID 84                      12201
         ObjID 88                      12201
         ObjID 42                      12203
         ObjID 44                      12203
         ObjID 49                      12203
         ObjID 260                     12204
   						

3. Save the File. Make sure that the file type is Text.

After you finish these steps, the Office Assistant component is not installed and does not appear in the Add/Remove Programs Control Panel icon for any user who performs an installation of Office 97 using the modified setup table file (for example, you may call this file Custom.stf).

For more information about using custom setup table files with Office 97, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: