Need to copy ALL customized settings in Office applications to new computer

Question

Need to copy ALL customized settings in Office applications to new computer

LawrenceCatherine-3151 16

I want an EXACT replica of ALL my current Microsoft Office application settings on a new computer. I would like ALL my Windows settings/customizations replicated also.

I know I can go into each program and export settings but that is extremely time consuming and to be honest, I wouldn't even know where all to look.

I have someone from my IT department that is going to transfer all my files and get me set up on the new computer, but I want all my SETTINGS to be copied also. I do not want to transfer the applications- only the settings/customizations.

I essentially want my new computer to look and function EXACTLY like my current computer without having to change each setting individually.

Is this possible? If so, can someone send me detailed info or a link that I can provide to my IT person? This is a work computer so I don't have admin permissions myself.

Yuki Sun-MSFT 41,376 Reputation points Moderator

2021-08-26T01:46:29.297+00:00

Hi @LawrenceCatherine-3151 ,

From your description, the issue is related to Office applications, so I'll update this thread with right tag in order for you to get Office expertise.
Christopher Swan 0 Reputation points

2023-04-27T08:18:23.0466667+00:00

Has this changed since microsoft 365? I have the same issue.
Deleted

This comment has been deleted due to a violation of our Code of Conduct. The comment was manually reported or identified through automated detection before action was taken. Please refer to our Code of Conduct for more information.
movingMazes 5 Reputation points

2023-11-14T13:46:12.6566667+00:00
@Matt Peck
I tried to post something on your page, but was not able to do so.
I think that the solutions posted here in the answer part are more secure than messing with the registry.
Your solution certainly had its merits at the time, but, not seeing any reviews after 2017, I would not give it a try now, because I suspect that :

it might not work

what is shown in the answers part of this learn.microsoft.com here thread seems to work. It worked for me for the ribbon at least.

At Microsoft : feel free to remove my post without notification.

2 answers

Your answer

Yuki Sun-MSFT 41,376 Reputation points Moderator

2021-08-26T01:46:29.297+00:00

Hi @LawrenceCatherine-3151 ,

From your description, the issue is related to Office applications, so I'll update this thread with right tag in order for you to get Office expertise.
Christopher Swan 0 Reputation points

2023-04-27T08:18:23.0466667+00:00

Has this changed since microsoft 365? I have the same issue.
Deleted

This comment has been deleted due to a violation of our Code of Conduct. The comment was manually reported or identified through automated detection before action was taken. Please refer to our Code of Conduct for more information.
movingMazes 5 Reputation points

2023-11-14T13:46:12.6566667+00:00

@Matt Peck
I tried to post something on your page, but was not able to do so.
I think that the solutions posted here in the answer part are more secure than messing with the registry.
Your solution certainly had its merits at the time, but, not seeing any reviews after 2017, I would not give it a try now, because I suspect that :

it might not work

what is shown in the answers part of this learn.microsoft.com here thread seems to work. It worked for me for the ribbon at least.

At Microsoft : feel free to remove my post without notification.

Answer 1

Hi @LawrenceCatherine-3151 ,
Welcome to Q&A forum!
Per my research, there is currently no tool to do this. Thanks for your understanding!
Which version of Office are you using?
The following are the settings files that I think need to be copied manually.

For Office 2013，2016，365:
Word:

Normal.dotm and Word document templates: in the C:\Users\<User Name>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Templates folder(If do not have the AppData, please tick the Hidden items under View tab). Copy them to the same folder on the new PC.
Customization file: go to File>Options>Customize Ribbon>Import/Export>Export all customizations.This will let you to save a file commonly called "Word Customizations.exportedUI". The same operation Import it to the new PC.
Paragraph styles: please refer to How to import styles from one document to another?.
Besides, you could aslo copy the files in C:\Users\<User Name>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Office(AutoCorrect) and C:\<User Name>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\UProof(User Dictionaries) to the new PC as needed.

Excel:

Customization file: similar procedure as above Step 2.
PERSONAL.XLSB:
For Windows 10: C:\Users\<User Name>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Excel\XLSTART
For Windows 7: C:\Users\<User Name>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Excel\XLSTART

The above information may be insufficient, and you are welcome to point it out.
Besides, since the tag office-itpro focuses on general issues of Office client, if needed, we recommend that you post a new issue with the tag windows-10-general for professional help related to Windows.
Thank you for your understanding.

Hope the information is hepful to you.

If an Answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and upvote it.
Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

movingMazes 5 Reputation points

2023-11-14T13:20:47.76+00:00

This is just awesomely great.

Prior to that, I had already spent hours duplicating my ribbon by hand when switching from one computer to another...

The part for the ribbon worked very well (did not use the rest).

In fact it adds customizations from the source without removing the customization (of the ribbon) if you made some already in the destination. In my case I had done that, but having given another name to the ribbon entry.

I just needed to figure out where to remove the one I did not want to keep. (and made it removed by the remove button between the 2 main boxes.) (It was in the "Home" part of the ribbon in my case, so I had to select "Home" first)

This kind of help should be shown probably in a main topic that would say : What should I do with my 365 subscription when I install it on a new computer (and before throwing the old computer to the bin...) Perhaps such a topic exists already, but if not, I really think it would help a lot of people.

Answer 2

LawrenceCatherine-3151 16

I am not able to reply to the comment above so I am replying here.....

YukiSun-MSFT avatar image YukiSun-MSFT · 14 hours ago
Hi @LawrenceCatherine-3151 ,

From your description, the issue is related to Office applications, so I'll update this thread with right tag in order for you to get Office expertise.

0 Votes0 · Reply More

This is not only Office- but Windows in general. What tag should be used for that?

Viki Ji_MSFT 4,471 Reputation points

2021-08-27T06:24:04.063+00:00

Hi @LawrenceCatherine-3151 ,
Thanks for your reply.
Tags are topics related to your thread that help group and organize all the content on Microsoft Q&A, it is recommended that a thread to correspond to a topic. And we are currently analyzing this issue from the perspective of Office.
As you said, this issue also involves Windows, and posting new questions with the tag windows-10-general will guide you to a professional team that supports Windows instead of adding it in this thread.
Thanks for your understanding!
Viki Ji_MSFT 4,471 Reputation points

2021-08-30T08:24:30.787+00:00

Hi @LawrenceCatherine-3151 ,
If you have a chance to review this thread, please accept the useful information as an answer. This action will help other users in the Q&A forum who have the similar issues.
Besides, if you have other better solutions, welcome to share with us.
Thanks for your understanding!

Share via

Need to copy ALL customized settings in Office applications to new computer

2 answers

Your answer