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Click to run, CTR, Office 365, Office on Demand. What does it all MEAN?

Office 2013, Office 2013, Click-To-Run (aka CTR), Office 365, Office on Demand, MSI installers ... it seems like there are dozens of ways to buy (or rent!) Microsoft Office (including PowerPoint), but it's hard to figure out what you get with each, or how to compare them. We'll try to shed some light on that here.

First, what's it CALLED?

Office versions have names (Office XP, Office 2010) and they have numbers (Office 9, 10 ... 14, 15). Sometimes you'll see this new version of Office called Office 2013, sometimes Office 15.

We'll call it Office 2013 here.

As to all the different ways you can buy, rent, install and use Office 2013 ... read on.

Click-To-Run or CTR

Click-To-Run isn't a specific product, it's a relatively new way of installing Office on your computer. It "streams" installation files down from the internet as they're needed and sets itself up in a kind of virtual machine.

It was introduced in Office 2010, where it was Not Good. But Microsoft must have been watching it very closely, because the Office 2013 Click-To-Run installation has corrected many, if not all, of the issues that came up in Office 2010 CTR. Some of the improvements in Office 2013 CTR:

CTR has a few advantages over the type of installers (called MSI installers) that we're used to from installation CDs/DVDs:

And a few disadvantages and/or claimed advantages that don't seem to work out as well as MS might have hoped:

All in all, we figure that as long as Microsoft continues to make a good old-fashioned disk/file-based installer available, seriously consider getting it rather than using the CTR option. Unfortunately, they don't. Unless you purchase a volume license, you get Click to Run.

MSI

MSI means MS Installer (or something along those lines). It's the kind of installer that Microsoft has been shipping on CDs and DVDs for the last umpteen years. It's proven, reliable technology that pretty much solves all the problems raised by CTR installers.

Which do I have?

Most likely, you have CTR, but to be sure:

Incidentally, you might want to turn updates OFF before you start a presentation; otherwise, updates might install and force a reboot, right in the middle of your big show. Very unprofessional.

Office On Demand

Office On Demand is an Office licensing approach that uses technology similar to CTR. It installs a temporary copy of an individual Office application on any Windows 7 or newer PC you want to use; a friend's computer, library computer, a borrowed or rented PC, etc. When you're done using it, it disappears from the computer. Like CTR, it requires internet access, but as long as you have internet access, you can run Office, which is pretty cool.

Office Web Apps

Microsoft Office Web Apps are web-based versions of the main Office programs (PowerPoint, Word, Excel, etc.) There are several implementations of Web Apps:

These web apps have very limited functionality compared to the full versions you're used to on your desktop/laptop PC, but once you store your documents on SkyDrive you (and others you give access to) can view and/or edit them from pretty much any internet-connected computer, PC, Mac or even some smartphones and tablets, and all without having to install anything.

The PowerPoint web app is also an excellent way to display presentations to people who may not have PowerPoint or a compatible viewer installed on their computer.

The exact features offered by the SkyDrive vs Office 365 web apps will differ and may change over time as Microsoft updates them and makes them more capable. Because they're hosted on web servers rather than on your computer or other device, you get the benefit of any improvements immediately, without having to do anything at your end.

Also pretty cool: The web apps also work on Mac computers and some mobile devices (phones, tablets, etc).

SkyDrive

SkyDrive is a free cloud-based (ie, web-based) Microsoft service that gives you a big chunk of free storage on the internet.

You also get synchronization features and access to the web-app versions of the popular Office programs.
Sign into SkyDrive here if you already have an account
Learn more about SkyDrive here

Note: due to a naming conflict with the products of another company, Microsoft has agreed to drop the "SkyDrive" name. As yet, we haven't heard what the new name will be.

Office 365

Office 365 is a subscription-based version of Office. You pay for it by the month. The cost depends on the level you choose (ie, the features you need). There are various Office 365 plans, including:

Compare the Office 365 subscription plans here.

Compare the regular (MSI and CTR) versions of Office 2013 with Office 365 here

Here's further information about Office 365, including links for getting started setting it up.

Summary

Or if you'd rather hear it from the Microsoft mouth:


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Click to run, CTR, Office 365, Office on Demand. What does it all MEAN?
http://www.pptfaq.com/FAQ01155_CTR_Office_365_Office_on_Demand_What_does_it_all_MEAN.htm
Last update 27 August, 2013
Created: