We are introducing a change to the Excel Trust Center Macro settings to provide a more secure experience for users by default. This new default behavior will disable Excel 4.0 macros.
Note: Users who have already configured this setting or have a group policy configuration in place will not be affected by this change.
Affected Workloads
- Microsoft 365 suite
- Microsoft 365 Apps
Key points
- Timing: Insiders-Slow: will rollout in late October and be complete in early November.
- Current Channel: will rollout in early November and be complete in mid-November.
- Monthly Enterprise Channel (MEC): will begin and complete rollout in mid-December.
- Roll-out: tenant level
- Control type: admin control
- Action: review and assess
How this will affect your organization
The setting Enable XLM macros when VBA macros are enabled will now be unchecked by default, thus disabling XLM macros. This change is limited to end-users who have not yet configured this macro setting or who do not have a group policy configured by their tenant admins.
- Users who have previously configured this setting or who have an existing group policy configuration in place will not be impacted by this change.
- Affected users will still be able to re-enable and configure the behavior of XLM macros via the Excel Trust Center settings.
What you need to do to prepare
There is no required action from tenant admins.
Learn more
Message ID: MC289724
Published: 06 October 2021
Updated: 06 October 2021
Alex Lim
Alex Lim is a certified IT Technical Support Architect with over 15 years of experience in designing, implementing, and troubleshooting complex IT systems and networks. He has worked for leading IT companies, such as Microsoft, IBM, and Cisco, providing technical support and solutions to clients across various industries and sectors. Alex has a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the National University of Singapore and a master’s degree in information security from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is also the author of several best-selling books on IT technical support, such as The IT Technical Support Handbook and Troubleshooting IT Systems and Networks. Alex lives in Bandar, Johore, Malaysia with his wife and two chilrdren. You can reach him at [email protected] or follow him on Website | Twitter | Facebook
