Office 2016 - How to remove individual apps?

Question

I purchased the full version of Office 2016 Pro from the Home Use Program. I did the standard click-to-run install, and I never got a chance to select which apps to install. Trying to uninstall or "configure" afterwards only gives the option for complete uninstall.

I read a few items on here, and thought using the MS custom deployment file would fix it, so I altered the .xml file and the install ran and only installed the programs I wanted. However, as soon as the activation popped up, I put in my key, and it gave a "wrong key for this version" error, and then proceeded to automatically install the entire version again.

Are there any work arounds? I really only want Word, Excel and Powerpoint. Everything else is worthless to me.

tim102289 · Answer 1 · 2017-03-11T22:31:45.760

As dxiv mentioned,

There is however an Office 2016 Deployment Tool which is supposed to allow full customization...

The Office 2016 Deployment Tool allows for customization of which apps you would like to install. It also offers a way to uninstall apps that you no longer want (which should be helpful to those who have already installed all of the apps).

When you download the tool, it will ask for a location to extract files, and will extract a setup.exe and a configuration.xml file. You can edit the xml file to specify which apps you want to remove.

I found this page to be particularly helpful in setting up the configuration.xml file to remove certain apps. It also explains how to use the files:

Then you just have to run the Office Deployment Tool and use that configuration.xml file. For example, users can run the following command from an elevated command prompt on their computers:

\\server01\share\setup.exe /configure \server01\share\NoAccessInfoPath.xml

where:

\\server01\share is the network share (in this example) that contains the Office Deployment Tool and the customized configuration.xml file (in this example, NoAccessInfoPath.xml).

Setup.exe is the Office Deployment Tool executable file.

/configure is the Office Deployment Tool command that is used to perform an installation.

Many of the fields in the xml file are optional. I set up a configuration file like the one below to uninstall all the apps except Excel, PowerPoint, and Word.

<Configuration>

  <Add>
    <Product ID="O365ProPlusRetail">
      <Language ID="en-us" />
      <ExcludeApp ID="Access" />
      <ExcludeApp ID="Groove" />
      <ExcludeApp ID="InfoPath" />
      <ExcludeApp ID="Lync" />
      <ExcludeApp ID="OneDrive" />
      <ExcludeApp ID="OneNote" />
      <ExcludeApp ID="Outlook" />
      <ExcludeApp ID="Publisher" />
      <ExcludeApp ID="SharePointDesigner" />
      <ExcludeApp ID="Visio" />
    </Product>
  </Add>

</Configuration>

Your example was quite helpful, as I was a bit confused by the syntax. However, there was one problem. You need to add the version element to the <Add> line. When I initially tried it as is, I got an error about 32 bit and 64 bit not playing along. I guess, if your installation is 32 bit it, it doesn't matter, but mine was 64 bit. The following change fixed it: <Add OfficeClientEdition="64"> — StormRyder, Dec 27 '17 at 03:07
Thanks for the detailed answer. Note, for the standalone Office 2016 (or whatever the non-Office365 version is called) you need to leave off the O365 portion of the ID such as <Add OfficeClientEdition="64" Channel="Monthly"><Product ID="ProPlusRetail"> — David Woodward, Sep 17 '18 at 18:14
Why this doesn't work for Office 365 2019? What do you think? — Suncatcher, Jan 26 '20 at 17:20

score 8 · Answer 2 · answered Dec 06 '15 at 08:20

There is no out-of-the-box way to selectively un/install Office 2016 apps. From Your top questions about Office 2016 answered:

Can I install a subset of the Office 2016 applications?

No, the ability to selectively install individual applications is not available with Office 2016. The vast majority of customers prefer the full installation of all of the Office apps so they are assured that they have the ability to open, view and edit any document they may need. We will continue to evaluate feedback on this topic.

There is however an Office 2016 Deployment Tool which is supposed to allow full customization of the install options:

Using the Office Deployment Tool, an administrator may:
...
- Configure which products and languages to install
- Remove Office Click-to-Run products

score 5 · Answer 3 · answered Jan 30 '19 at 12:58

This is actually a lot easier now so here is the 2019 answer:

Go to https://config.office.com/ and choose the applications you want to install and also any other settings you want to configure. Once you're done click finish then export. This will download a configuration.xml file.
Go to https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=49117 and download the office deployment tool. Once its downloaded pick a temporary folder to extract the files to.
Copy the configuration.xml you made in step 1 to the temportary folder.
In the temporary folder, shift + right click to open a powershell window, then run this command: .\setup.exe /configure .\Configuration.xml and it should install!

See-Also: https://www.reddit.com/r/Office365/comments/8dni9x/anyway_to_remove_another_office_365_apps_or_only/

I'll just note that the command should be run from PowerShell - just as you said. I tried to do it from a regular Command Prompt window and it kept giving instructions how should I type the command and it didn't accept it — Oz Edri, Dec 28 '19 at 12:38

score 2 · Answer 4 · answered Aug 08 '18 at 06:53

This answer is specifically for users using the Home subscription (or "Home Premium" subscription ... whatever it is called by MS).

Download the Office 2016 Deployment Tool. You must use the setup.exe file contained in this download. On other channels, such as downloading from office.com, the setup.exe file ignores the config.xml file.

Save the following XML to config.xml beside setup.exe:

<Configuration>
    <Add OfficeClientEdition="64">
    <Product ID="O365HomePremRetail">
      <Language ID="en-us" />
      <ExcludeApp ID="Access" />
      <!--<ExcludeApp ID="Excel" />-->
      <ExcludeApp ID="Groove" />
      <ExcludeApp ID="Lync" />
      <ExcludeApp ID="OneDrive" />
      <!--<ExcludeApp ID="OneNote" />-->
      <ExcludeApp ID="Outlook" />
      <ExcludeApp ID="PowerPoint" />
      <ExcludeApp ID="Publisher" />
      <!--<ExcludeApp ID="Word" />-->
    </Product>
    </Add>
    <Updates Enabled="FALSE" />
</Configuration>

Run setup.exe -configure config.xml .

To verify the XML file is working, the setup will only show icons of the selected programs:

That said, my personal advise is to use Office 2010. License keys can still be purchased online. It is cheaper as you don't have to pay the subscription fee yearly, and the "new" version of Office is not necessarily better anyway.

score 0 · Answer 5 · answered Jul 02 '17 at 15:55

0

I believe the Office Deployment Tools doesn't fully support Home User version (note that only ProPlus seems to be available for your choice). I've used it several times while installing my copy and each time it neglected the Exclude parameter and installed a full suite. Other parameters though (e.g. icons not pinned, update channel etc.) worked as intended.

answered Jul 02 '17 at 15:55

mikolajek

85

Moreover, it looks formally you can play with the installer and install what you want. But the issue pops up when you activate your office copy. In my case I'm getting a nice subset of applications, but the moment I activate the copy, all skipped applications are getting re-downloaded and installed on my device. Thus, I'm left again with the full Office Home package... – mikolajek Jul 03 '17 at 12:41

score 0 · Answer 6 · answered Jan 16 '18 at 14:18

If you are trying the configuration tool with Win 10, it probably needs to be a Pro version to fully access any Windows Admin functions. Also, Office will probably need to be Pro Plus to allow modification. If neither of these parameters allow selective installation of truncated Office 16, you probably have excellent grounds for a class action suite against M$aft, if you can find an activist attorney.

Good Luck!

score 0 · Answer 7 · answered Oct 07 '20 at 11:34

On Mac with homebrew cask it is even more simple to install the major elements of the office package.

Currently the following formula's (non exhaustive list) exist: microsoft-edge, microsoft-excel, microsoft-lync, microsoft-office, microsoft-office-2011, microsoft-office-2016, microsoft-outlook, microsoft-powerpoint, microsoft-teams, microsoft-word,

So if you want to install only Excel you run this line in the terminal:

brew cask install microsoft-excel

And done. No config file or Office deployment tool needed.

score -1 · Answer 8 · answered Nov 10 '16 at 16:59

-1

If you are on Mac, you can using ApplCleaner, a free app that lets you selectively remove unused Office program: first pick them via Select and then remove using Delete.

answered Nov 10 '16 at 16:59

Quirico

1

score -3 · Answer 9 · answered Dec 06 '15 at 07:40

-3

I have been asking the same question and from what I've researched and found out, there is no way to remove the "extra" applications that are not needed.

answered Dec 06 '15 at 07:40

Tyrone W.

1

2

Welcome to Super User. Saying something isn't possible can be the right answer, but that, alone, leaves the reader with a question of whether you're correct or just aren't familiar with a solution. This kind of answer is always better if you can cite a source. – fixer1234 Dec 06 '15 at 22:51

Office 2016 - How to remove individual apps?

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