The Office Deployment Tool

The Office Deployment Tool (ODT) for Click-To-Run is used to configure deployment of Office 365 ProPlus for users’ computers. It can also be used for configuring Project Pro for Office 365 and Visio Pro for Office 365. The tool consists of a setup program and a customizable XML configuration file. Administrators customize the XML file to specify configuration options (such as which Office applications will be installed and where the installation files will be stored.) The tool is then used to download the appropriate Office 365 ProPlus software and build a deployment package (set of installation files including a setup program, the customized XML file, and the Office software) that can be distributed for installation on users’ computers. The XML file can also contain instructions to remove applications from users’ computers.

The ODT is usually run in two modes, depending on what the administrator wants to do:

Download mode downloads the Office 365 ProPlus software from the Microsoft servers to the on-premises server that will be used for deploying the installation file to users’ computers.