Microsoft Office 2024 will keep ActiveX Controls disabled by default

The Redmond software giant is changing how their Office suite handles ActiveX controls. With the launch of Office 2024 in October, ActiveX controls will no longer be enabled by default in the Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Visio apps.

✍ ActiveX is a legacy software platform introduced in 1996 that allows creating interactive elements that can be registered in the operating system and then used by other apps. Microsoft Office allows adding such elements into the documents. Now the company will begin disabling ActiveX controls in documents opened in Win32 Office desktop applications in October 2024. A similar change will be rolled out to Microsoft 365 apps in April 2025.

According to Microsoft, starting with the new Office 2024, the default configuration setting for ActiveX objects will change from Ask before enabling all least restrictive controls to Disable all controls without notification. After that, users will no longer be able to create or interact with ActiveX objects in Office documents.

Some existing ActiveX objects will continue to appear as static images in Office documents.

In non-commercial versions of Office, users will see a notification that the ActiveX objects in the documents are blocked. Users who need to enable ActiveX controls in Office documents can revert to the previous default settings using one of the following methods.

Enable ActiveX support in Office 2024

1. In the Trust Center Settings dialog box, under ActiveX Settings, select the Prompt before enabling all least restrictive controls option.
2. Alternatively, set the registry 32-bit DWORD parameter HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\Common\Security\DisableAllActiveX to 0.
3. Finally, you can get the same by setting the Group Policy setting "Disable all ActiveX" to 0.

This change was likely prompted by known ActiveX security issues, such as the zero-day vulnerabilities to deploy malware and steal information.

Office 2024 will be a special version without a subscription. The new product with a perpetual license will be available on Windows and Mac for individuals at the same prices as Office 2021.

For customers, the cost of Office 2024 licenses will increase by 10% compared to Office 2021.

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