Combined ‘one-click’ update for both Windows and Office

Here’s a combined ‘one-click’ way to force an update to both Windows and Microsoft Office at the same time.

Normally Windows and Office both update themselves automatically and in the background so you don’t have to worry about it.

But there are times when you need to ensure both are fully updated. To do that the official way means going to two different settings (one in Windows and another in Office) which is clumsy and a little time-consuming.

There’s a faster ‘one click’ way to update Windows, Microsoft Office or both which is handy for a few reasons.

• Having trouble with the computer.
  • Support staff will often ask if your Windows/Office are up to date. It’s a good idea to update both before calling.
• Before going away or offline
  • If your computer will be either offline or with limited Internet access. It’s best to ensure the computer is updated while still well connected.
• Reviving an ‘old’ computer.
  • A machine that hasn’t been on (or connected to the Internet) for months will need an update check.
  • This especially applies to virtual machines that have been dormant for some time.

There are many ways to do this, we’ve chosen a simple method using a batch file rather than more complicated PowerShell scripts.

The settings we’ll use make the update screens appear so you know what’s happening. There are options to hide the screens (aka ‘silent’), if you prefer.

Office Update

The key line in the script to update Microsoft Office is:

“C:\Program Files\Common Files\microsoft shared\ClickToRun\OfficeC2RClient.exe” /update <user> displaylevel=true forceappshutdown=true updatepromptuser=false 

<user> must be replaced with the current user name.

You can change the three true/false settings, see Simple ‘one click’ force an update to Microsoft Office for more details.

The basic commands are:

Cd C:\Program Files\Common Files\microsoft shared\ClickToRun

OfficeC2RClient.exe” /update <user>

We’ve added the three option parameters just so it’s clear to you what is possible.

OfficeC2RClient.exe /update <user> displaylevel=true forceappshutdown=false updatepromptuser=false

This works for all modern 64-bit Office including Microsoft 365, Office 2021, Office 2019 and most Office 2016.

Windows Update

There are more ways to start Windows Update than anyone cares to count.  We’ve chosen a simple and direct method which appears on the screen.

control update

All that line does is open Settings | Windows Update which will automatically start an update process.  In Windows 11 and 10, this line does the same thing:

:: ms-settings:windowsupdate

There are other Windows Update methods available including ones which will work in the background with no on-screen notification.  We’ve summarized them in the batch file code, below, just FYI.

Make a batch file

With the command line options you can automate the Windows/Office update process or at least make it a single click operation.

Make a batch file in Notepad or other text app called, say UpdateBoth.bat .

Then run that file as Administrator.  The Office and Windows update boxes will appear on the screen so you can see them working.  While they are updating you can continue to work in Office or other apps.

The fastest way to start the batch file is to make a shortcut file (perhaps on the Desktop). Then click on the shortcut to run the batch file. The Shortcut can be set to ‘Run as Administrator’ in shortcut Properties | General | Advanced.

Windows and Office update – the script

@ECHO OFF
:: COMBINED force update for Office and Windows

:: MUST be 'Run as Adminstrator'
:: MUST change 'user' in Office update line to user name.

:: UPDATE Office
:: Update modern Office 64-bit (365, 2019, 2021 and most Office 2016)
cd C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\ClickToRun
OfficeC2RClient.exe /update user displaylevel=true forceappshutdown=false updatepromptuser=false

:: MUST Replace ‘user’ with the user name
:: See https://office-watch.com/2023/microsoft-office-update-one-click-force/ 


:: UPDATE Windows
control update

:: MORE WINDOWS UPDATE INFO

:: Update Windows for Win7 to Win10 and Win11
:: this command checks for updates and downloads (/detectnow) then installs (/updatenow)
:: wuauclt /detectnow /updatenow

:: FYI for Windows 10,11 and Server 2016 there's a new way to do the same thing: Usoclient
::UsoClient /StartScan
::UsoClient /StartDownload
::UsoClient /StartInstall

:: for Windows 10 and 11 only:
:: ms-settings:windowsupdate

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