Deprecated attributes in the ODT configuration file

The ForceUpgrade and ForceDowngrade attributes were removed from the Office Deployment Tool (ODT) configuration file. These attributes were used to force an upgrade or downgrade between Microsoft Office 365 ProPlus versions 2016 and 2013.

This article discusses how to restore the attributes to force or revert an upgrade.

The ForceUpgrade attribute

The ForceUpgrade attribute in the ODT enables you to upgrade Office 365 ProPlus 2013 to Office 365 ProPlus 2016. This attribute was released in September 2015 together with Office 365 ProPlus 2016.

In Config.xml configure mode, if ForceUpgrade is set to True, ForceUpgrade automatically upgrades Office 365 ProPlus 2013 to Office 365 ProPlus 2016 without prompting you for input. This attribute is often used together with the Display element to hide the user interface during installation.

The only supported scenario for the ForceUpgrade attribute is to upgrade from Office ProPlus 365 2013 to Office 365 ProPlus 2016. Because support for Office 365 ProPlus 2013 ended in February 2017, the ForceUpgrade attribute is no longer supported.

How to initiate the ForceUpgrade attribute

Important

Follow the steps in this section carefully. Serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Before you modify it, back up the registry for restoration in case problems occur.

Note

This section applies to customers who are using Office 365 ProPlus 2013.

If you are running Office 365 ProPlus 2013 and Office Updates is enabled in the registry (UpdatesEnabled=True), you will receive an in-app upgrade notification to upgrade to Office 365 ProPlus 2016.

Note

The “Force Upgrade” notification appears at the initial startup of any Office app.

This is the “Force Upgrade” notification if you use Office 365 ProPlus 2013.

Important

The “enableautomaticupgrade” registry entry and corresponding group policy are no longer listed in the Administrative Template XML-based file (ADMX). We recommend that you occasionally revise the ADMX in your environment. You can download the latest ADMX from the Microsoft Download Center.

ForceDowngrade attribute

The ForceDowngrade attribute is used in rollback scenarios to revert the Office client to a previous version. This attribute is used in conjunction with the Version attribute.

Note

If ForceDowngrade is set to True in the registry, and a Version attribute is specified, Office downloads the files for the specified version. If ForceDowngrade is not set, it is interpreted as False.

How to initiate the ForceDowngrade attribute

To initiate the ForceDowngrade attribute and revert to an older version of Office, follow these steps:

1. Type the following text into a text editor (such as Notepad), and save it as Config.xml.

   <Configuration>
   <Updates Enabled="TRUE" TargetVersion="16.0.xxxxx.yyyyy" />
   </Configuration>
   

2. Open an elevated Command Prompt window.

3. At the command prompt, change to the directory in which you saved Config.xml, type setup.exe /configure config.xml, and then press Enter.

Related articles

• Support for 2013 versions of Office 365 ProPlus ended on February 28, 2017
• Configuration options for the Office Deployment Tool
• How to revert to an earlier version of Office

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