The Home and Student bundle is supposed to be licensed for three computers but buying from an OEM is limited to one computer. Sharp eyed readers will have noticed a conflict. However it’s not clear if that rule is imposed in practice. You can only install Office 2007 on one computer and that should be the one you bought from that OEM.Īn OEM licensed Office 2007 is not allowed to be moved to another computer (this is the same rule that usually applies to Windows).
OEM bundles are often (but not always) cheaper for a good reason – the license is limited to ONE specific computer.
The Standard, Small Business, Professional and Ultimate bundles can be sold by OEM’s as well as retail. Office 2007 Basic bundle is (supposedly) only sold by OEM’s and the OEM license always applies.
This may include a purchase made online after a trial period – that depends on what product you chose and who you bought from (the computer maker’s site or Microsoft).
Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) licenses are those sold by computer makers with the software install files supplied on the hard drive or Office 2007 is pre-installed on the computer delivered to you.
The main ‘licensed device’ must be at the home of the employee.Īs with the retail license there is no practical way for Microsoft to enforce the location or portability of the computer you install Office 2007 upon.
Home Use Program licenses are the same as the standard retail license – ie you can install on TWO computers, one of them a portable device. See Get Office 2007 from your boss for $30 and other articles at Office Watch about the HUP. Staff can buy an Office 2007 HUP license for a fraction of the usual price – normally only paying for shipping of an install DVD if they need it. Unlike the standard license (above) there’s no reference to a ‘single primary user’ and therefore apparently no restriction on how many people can use Office on the three permitted computers.Įach Office, Sharepoint Designer, Visio or Project license that a company pays for (as part of Volume Licensing and Software Assurance) is really two licenses – one for the company and an equivalent Home Use Program (HUP) license. But again, in practice there’s no way for Microsoft to know what computer Office 2007 is installed on or where that computer is. There is no provision for a portable computer and by a strict reading of the rules you can’t install these two bundles on any laptop or netbook computer. These bundles can be installed on THREE computers in a household for use by the people who live there. The Home and Student edition and Military Appreciation edition have more generous rules even though the Office 2007 software is the same. For example a couple could share a computer at home. Each user can run Office for their own documents as long as it is on the same computer either using a single login or different logins. In addition, Microsoft talks about a ‘single user’ however Windows allows multiple logins/users to a computer. In practice Microsoft can’t control which two computers you install to there’s no way for the activation process to distinguish between a portable and non-portable computer. A portable device for use by the single primary user of the ‘licenced device’.Īll that means that you can install Office 2007 on two computers (one of them portable) provided both computers are used by one person. The ‘licensed device’ which is intended to be a desktop computer ANDĢ.
You can install Office 2007 on two computers:ġ. Office 2007 individual products: Access, Excel, Groove, InfoPath, OneNote, Outlook, Outlook with Business Contact Manager, PowerPoint, Project, Publisher, SharePoint Designer, Visio, and Word Office 2007 bundles: Standard, Small Business, Professional, and Ultimate suite. (except Home and Student edition & Military Appreciation Edition).
There will be exceptions, for example licenses for schools and colleges can be quite different, check with your institution for info on who is covered by the software license – sometimes students are included in the license. Here’s an effort to explain the differences between the most popular Office bundles on sale. Then there’s the difference between what you’re permitted under the license and what Microsoft can effectively control you doing with Office 2007. The long and complex license for Office can be confusing and, from the messages we receive, there’s even more confusion now there’s different rules depending on which Office 2007 bundle you buy and even who you buy it from. When you buy Microsoft Office 2007, how many computers can you install the software on? When you buy Office 2007, how many computers can you install it on?