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"So Office 2007 is using the old way of activating," said Rob Helm, an analyst with Directions on Microsoft, "which is really no activation at all." "The 2007 Microsoft Office system will continue to use product keys that bypass product activation," Microsoft said in the online document. Unlike the retail versions of Office 2007, copies installed using volume license keys - the typical way large organizations purchase Microsoft's software - will simply skip product activation, the process where keys must be entered and judged legitimate.Īs with earlier editions of Office, the 2007 version will use what Microsoft dubs "Volume Activation 1.0." VA 1.0 also is the procedure used to install Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 in businesses. Microsoft won't require businesses that deploy Office 2007 to activate the suite, the company said Tuesday in an updated document on its Web site.
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