Microsoft 365 Apps Deprication with Office Deployment tool

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Microsoft 365 Apps Deprication with Office Deployment tool

Anandu Ramachandran 80

I have a configuration xml that i created from Office Deployment Tool for the product office pro plus retail, if later Microsoft decides to add or depricate an existing app from the source, will the deployment fail?

Will a an app introduced later get automatically installed since it is not explicitly exluded in the configuration xml?

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Answer 1

Hello Anandu

When you create a configuration XML file using the Office Deployment Tool (ODT), it defines the specific components and settings for Office Pro Plus retail. The XML file specifies which products, languages, and features to include or exclude.

If Microsoft adds or deprecates an existing app from the source, it might affect your deployment in the following ways:

Added apps: If a new app is added to the source, it will not be included in your existing deployment configuration unless you explicitly add it to your XML file. The new app will not be automatically installed, as the XML file only specifies the exact components and settings for the original configuration.
Deprecated apps: If an app is deprecated, it will likely be removed from the source, which means it will not be installed as part of your deployment configuration. However, if you have already deployed the deprecated app in the past, it will remain installed on devices until you update your configuration XML file to exclude it or remove it manually.

In terms of automatic installation of new apps not explicitly excluded in the configuration XML, the answer is no. The ODT will only deploy the apps and features specified in your XML file. If a new app is added to the source, it will not be automatically installed unless you update your XML file to include it.

To ensure your deployment configuration remains up-to-date and relevant, consider periodically reviewing and updating your XML file to reflect changes to the source. This will help you take advantage of new features and apps while avoiding any potential issues with deprecated components.

Anandu Ramachandran 80 Reputation points

2024-07-29T04:43:28.4033333+00:00

Hey @glebgreenspan , Thanks for the answer.

The issue here is the configuration xml is like this:

<Add Channel="Current" OfficeClientEdition="64" MigrateArch="TRUE"> <Product ID="O365ProPlusRetail"> <ExcludeApp ID="Access"/> <ExcludeApp ID="Groove"/> <ExcludeApp ID="InfoPath"/> <ExcludeApp ID="Lync"/> <ExcludeApp ID="Publisher"/> <ExcludeApp ID="SharePointDesigner"/> <ExcludeApp ID="Teams"/> <Language ID="MatchOS"/> </Product> </Add>

So here we are manually exluding the apps that we don't want from the the product, so in this case if i do not exlude Team in the above config, teams get's installed. So going by the same logic a new application introduced to the suite would also get installed, this was my concern.

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Microsoft 365 Apps Deprication with Office Deployment tool

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