Author: Security – Computerworld

The barely-mentioned Pixel 9 wonder that’s completely won me over

August 28, 2024 /

If you go by Google’s marketing, the most important part of its new Pixel 9 devices revolves almost entirely around two tremendously trendy letters: “A” and “I.”

Yes, indeedly: Google’s gung ho about pushing its assorted AI elements as a defining differentiator of the Pixel 9 experience. In reality, though, lemme tell ya: Having lived with the latest Pixels for a solid couple weeks now, those aren’t the advantages that actually matter.

The latest Pixels’ less flashy features make much more of a meaningful difference in your day-to-day life — and, combined with the Pixel 9 series’ exceptional hardware, its unusually unmuddled Android user experience, and its unmatched software support promise, they are really the reasons to consider these devices.

But beyond things like the Pixel calling conveniences and the awesome new Call Notes system, one Pixel 9 possibility in particular has jumped out at me and become a real highlight in my time with the devices.

It’s something Google’s never so much as mentioned, as far as I’m aware, and something you could easily overlook entirely if you weren’t paying close attention. But it’s shaping up to be my favorite Pixel 9 addition and quite possibly my favorite all-around Android invention in recent memory — and it may just convince me to make the leap from my own personal Pixel 8 Pro, solely to have access to this smart new system.

[Psst: Got a Pixel? Any Pixel? Check out my free Pixel Academy e-course to find all sorts of advanced intelligence lurking within whichever model you’re using!]

Let me show you what it’s all about.

Google’s Pixel reminder puzzle

Real quick, a fast flash of context: Here in the land o’ Android, those of us obsessed with organization have had quite the rocky roller coaster ride when it comes to reminders.

‘Twas a time when setting reminders on Android was delightfully easy and effective, no matter what specific need or purpose might be involved. We had a brilliantly versatile cross-platform Google Assistant system for setting and managing reminders on any device — based on date and time, location, you name it — and we even had a handy option for setting reminders specific to incoming messages within Google Messages.

Then, Google…Googled. It clunked up the Assistant reminders system, killed off its cross-platform capabilities, and eliminated some of its most useful options. (And then — well, y’know.) It also mysteriously removed the Messages reminder feature, with no fanfare and for no apparent reason.

So with that context in mind, I mean it when I say this: A new Pixel-specific reminders system that’s quietly launching on the Pixel 9 devices really is remarkable. It makes me forget all the lost Android reminder options from the past and appreciate the simple, seamless, system-wide ability to set myself a reminder about anything, anytime, at an operating-system level — then rest easy knowing it’ll pop back up to command my attention exactly when I need it.

The system is connected to the new Pixel Screenshots app present on Google’s new Pixel 9 devices. That app, in case you haven’t heard, encourages you to capture screenshots whenever you see something you want to remember and then makes it easy to search through, ask questions about, and generally revisit that info later.

That’s all well and good — and it’s a welcome touch within the Pixel 9 experience. (It’s also one of the few genuinely clever and practical applications of generative AI right now, both within the Google universe and within tech in general.) But it isn’t the Android-wide reminders revelation I most relish.

The feature that’s really won me over is a small, easily overlooked added icon that appears alongside the standard system screenshot pop-up anytime you capture a screenshot on a Pixel 9 — by pressing the phone’s power and volume-down buttons or by using any other Android screenshot shortcut.

See for yourself — it’s the innocuous-looking little bell icon in the lower-left corner of the screen, right alongside the screenshot sharing command and the option for editing.

Google Pixel 9 screenshot reminder: Button
The newly present screenshot reminder button, as seen on a Google Pixel 9 Pro XL phone.

JR Raphael, IDG

Tap that thing and tap it with gusto, and wouldya look what pops right up — no matter where you are on the device or what else you were doing:

Google Pixel 9 screenshot reminder: Pop-up
A universal reminder-for-anything pop-up panel on a Pixel 9 phone.

JR Raphael, IDG

Wha-wha-wha-whaaaat?! I literally did a double-take and had a jaw-dropping-in-astonishment moment when I first noticed this and decided to try tapping it.

When you do, the system does exactly what you’d expect in return: You can select any of the suggested times for your reminder or opt to choose your own, and as soon as that moment arrives, your phone pops up a new notification with whatever you’d captured in your screenshot — including an AI-generated title, based on the screenshot’s contents, and a scaled-down thumbnail of the screenshot itself.

Google Pixel 9 screenshot reminder: Notification
Set a reminder about anything from anywhere, get a context-containing notification when the time is right. Yes, please!

JR Raphael, IDG

Tapping on that notification takes you into the Pixel Screenshots app, which shows your saved screenshot in its entirety along with an AI-aided summary of what the screenshot contains and built-in buttons pointing to any relevant links.

Google Pixel 9 screenshot reminder: Pixel Screenshots app
Tapping a Pixel 9 reminder pulls up even more info about what you captured.

JR Raphael, IDG

And that’s just the mechanical part of this process. The real magic comes from how you put it to use.

The Pixel 9 reminder advantage

As I’ve been learning, the ways you can use this new Pixel reminders system are practically endless:

  • Got an incoming message from Google Messages, Slack, or any other app that you can’t deal with right away but don’t want to forget to revisit — whether later that same day or at some point further in the future?
  • Or maybe it’s an email you encountered and want to be sure to come back to before your workday is up.
  • Maybe there’s a web page you opened and don’t want to forget to peruse more carefully once the evening hours arrive.
  • Or perhaps you missed a call and need to remember to return to it the next morning.

The list just keeps going from there — from travel planning to ticket purchasing, bank transferring to bill paying, even document reviewing or spreadsheet editing, creating a reminder around anything you’re doing on your phone is never more than a press and a tap away.

Snap a screenshot, set a reminder. It doesn’t get any simpler than that.

This is the type of real-life, value-adding benefit that makes Pixels so special. This is the type of subtle but significant productivity-booster that makes technology exciting. And this is the type of advantage that makes people like me want to drop droves of dough on a new phone that’s for all intents and purposes otherwise pretty darn similar to the one I’m already using.

On that note: For the moment, at least, this new reminders system is specific to the new Pixel 9 models. (It’s possible that Google could bring it to other Pixel devices eventually, but so far, the company won’t comment either way about if or when that might happen.) If you’re planning on picking one up — or you’ve already got one in those suspiciously sticky salamander paws of yours — be sure to start snapping screenshots and get in the habit of using that handy new universal option.

And if you don’t expect to be using a Pixel 9 series device anytime soon, don’t despair. I’ve got a special little somethin’ to share soon that might just have you feeling a little less envious of this new organizational superpower.

Look for my next Android Intelligence newsletter issue in your inbox on Friday to be the first to find out — and/or keep an eye on this column for all the illuminating info.

Don’t let yourself miss an ounce of Pixel magic. Start my free Pixel Academy e-course to uncover tons of hidden features for your favorite Pixel phone!

Office 365: A guide to the updates

August 28, 2024 /

Office 365 and Microsoft 365 subscribers get more frequent software updates than those who have purchased Office without a subscription, which means subscribers have access to the latest features, security patches, and bug fixes. But it can be hard to keep track of the changes in each update and know when they’re available. We’re doing this for you, so you don’t have to.

Following are summaries of the updates to Office 365/Microsoft 365 for Windows, with the latest releases shown first. We’ll add info about new updates as they’re rolled out.

Note: This story covers updates released to regular Office 365/Microsoft 365 for Windows subscribers. If you’re a member of Microsoft’s Office Insider preview program or want to get a sneak peek at upcoming features, see the Microsoft 365 Insider blog.

Version 2408 (Build 17928.20156)

Release date: September 10, 2024

This update will remove Flip video support when the service goes offline on October 1, 2024. The build also includes a variety of security updates. Go here for details.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 2408 (Build 17928.20156).

Version 2408 (Build 17928.20114)

Release date: August 26, 2024

This build allows you to disable connected experiences for privacy concerns without impacting data security policies, such as sensitivity labels. Services associated with Microsoft Purview (e.g., sensitivity labels and rights management) are no longer controlled by policy settings to manage privacy controls for Microsoft 365 Apps. Instead, these services will rely on their existing security admin controls in Purview portals.

The build also fixes a variety of bugs, including one in Outlook that caused default SMIME labels to fail to apply when a user replied to or forwarded an unlabeled message, and one for the entire suite in which people couldn’t install Microsoft 365 apps on an enrolled device.

Get more info about Version 2408 (Build 17928.20114).

Version 2407 (Build 17830.20166)

Release date: August 13, 2024

This build includes a variety of security updates for Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Project, Visio, and the entire Office suite. See Microsoft’s Release notes for Office security updates for details.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 2407 (Build 17830.20166).

Version 2407 (Build 17830.20138)

Release date: August 1, 2024

This build fixes a wide variety of bugs, including one in which coauthoring on text boxes in Excel sometimes gave unexpected results, another in PowerPoint in which line widths were not preserved when exporting arrow shapes to PDF, and another in Word in which revisions were sometimes skipped when reviewing using VBA.

Get more info about Version 2407 (Build 17830.20138).

Version 2406 (Build 17726.20160)

Release date: July 9, 2024

This build fixes several bugs, including one in Word and Excel in which characters don’t appear correctly in Text Box Gallery. It also fixes a number of security holes. For details, see Release notes for Microsoft Office security updates.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 2406 (Build 17726.20160).

Version 2406 (Build 17726.20126)

Release date: June 26, 2024

This build fixes a wide variety of bugs, including one in which Excel documents might be unexpectedly edited when a mandatory sensitivity label has not been applied, one that caused Outlook to exit unexpectedly shortly after launch for some users, and one in which pasting data from Word or Excel to an Outlook template as a link would cause an error message to appear.

Get more info about Version 2406 (Build 17726.20126).

Version 2405 (Build 17628.20164)

Release date: June 19, 2024

This build includes a variety of unspecified bug and performance fixes.

Get more info about Version 2405 (Build 17628.20164).

Version 2405 (Build 17628.20144)

Release date: June 11, 2024

This build fixes one bug, which prevented users from sending mail for a few hours after updating add-ins with on-send events. It also fixes a number of security holes. For details, see Release notes for Microsoft Office security updates.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 2405 (Build 17628.20144).

Version 2405 (Build 17628.20110)

Release date: May 30, 2024

This build fixes a wide variety of bugs, including one in Excel in which an embedded workbook in .xls format might not have closed properly, one that that caused Outlook to close when using Copilot Summarize, one in Word in which content controls may have been removed when coauthoring, and one for the entire Office suite in which the Organization Chart Add-In for Microsoft programs was not loading properly.

Get more info about Version 2405 (Build 17628.20110).

Version 2404 (Build 17531.20152)

Release date: May 14, 2024

This build fixes a number of bugs, including one in Word where content controls might be removed when coauthoring, and one that caused Sovereign users to be unable to create ToDo tasks from Outlook.

It also fixes a number of security holes. For details, see Release notes for Microsoft Office security updates.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 2404 (Build 17531.20152).

Version 2404 (Build 17531.20140)

Release date: May 7, 2024

This build fixes two bugs in Outlook, one in which it closed unexpectedly using the Scheduling Assistant when creating a new meeting or viewing an existing meeting, and another that caused add-in developers to hit timeouts when retrieving notifications from an Outlook client context.

Get more info about Version 2404 (Build 17531.20140) .

Version 2404 (Build 17531.20120)

Release date: April 29, 2024

This build reduces workbook size bloat from unnecessary cell formatting with a new “Check Performance” task pane. In addition, it fixes a wide variety of bugs, including one in Excel in which the default font could not be set; one in Outlook in which custom forms from MAPI form servers stopped responding; one in PowerPoint in which online videos did not play in some cases; one in which when opening certain Word documents would cause the error, “Word experienced an error trying to open the file”; and one in which the Office update installer appeared to be unresponsive.

Get more info about Version 2404 (Build 17531.20120) .

Version 2403 (Build 17425.20176)

Release date: April 9, 2024

This build fixes a number of security holes. For details, see Release notes for Microsoft Office security updates.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 2403 (Build 17425.20176).

Version 2402 (Build 17328.20184)

Release date: March 12, 2024

This build fixes three bugs: one in which Access closed unexpectedly, one in which Excel closed unexpectedly when opening files with pivot tables and table design in macro-enabled files, and one in which Word closed unexpectedly when the undo function was used.

This build also fixes a number of security holes. For details, see Release notes for Microsoft Office security updates.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 2402 (Build 17328.20184).

Version 2402 (Build 17328.20162)

Release date: March 4, 2024

This build fixes several bugs, including one that crashed Outlook when a link was clicked on, and another for the entire Office suite in which opened Office apps didn’t automatically start when a laptop was reopened, and an error message appeared after manual relaunch.

Get more info about Version 2402 (Build 17328.20162).

Version 2402 (Build 17328.20142)

Release date: February 28, 2024

This build fixes a variety of bugs, including one that caused Outlook to exit unexpectedly when expanding a conversation in the search results from a search of “All Mailboxes,” and another in which users were not able to create a bullet list with hyphens in PowerPoint.

Get more info about Version 2402 (Build 17328.20142).

Version 2401 (Build 17231.20236)

Release date: February 13, 2024

This build fixes several bugs, including one in which macros were being corrupted when saving Excel files and another that affected the entire Office suite in which add-ins would not load after Click trust for content add-in was selected.

This build also fixes a number of security holes. For details, see Release notes for Microsoft Office security updates.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 2401 (Build 17231.20236).

Version 2401 (Build 17231.20194)

Release date: February 1, 2024

This build fixes a single bug in which expanded groups in the message list collapsed when users changed which column they were arranged by.

Get more info about Version 2401 (Build 17231.20194).

Version 2401 (Build 17231.20182)

Release date: January 30, 2024

This build fixes a wide variety of bugs, including one in which Excel would stop responding when saving changes, one in PowerPoint in which Notes and Slide layout would open with incorrect proportions when a file was opened from a protected view, and one in Word in which comment cards appeared too wide and cut off text when changing or switching the screen in use.

Get more info about Version 2401 (Build 17231.20182).

Version 2312 (Build 17126.20132)

Release date: January 9, 2024

This build fixes a number of security holes. For details, see Release notes for Microsoft Office security updates.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 2312 (Build 17126.20132).

Version 2312 (Build 17126.20126)

Release date: January 4, 2023

This build introduces a new sensitivity toolbar in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint that helps users understand the security policies that apply to their documents. It’s available when users are creating copies of their documents in File / Save As. In addition, Office now had a new default theme, which Microsoft says is “more modern and accessible.”

It also fixes a wide variety of bugs, including one in Excel in which Custom Menu text was truncated when right-clicking in a cell, one in PowerPoint in which restoring a previous version of a presentation was not working as expected when using Version History, and one in Word in which the content control end tag was marked at the end of the document automatically if the document was edited in Word Online and then opened in Word desktop.

Get more info about  Version 2312 (Build 17126.20126).

Version 2311 (Build 17029.20108)

Release date: December 12, 2023

This build fixes one bug in Outlook, in which the message list was blank when switching between the “Focused” and “Other” views.

It also fixes a number of security holes. For details, see Release notes for Microsoft Office security updates.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 2311 (Build 17029.20108).

Version 2311 (Build 17029.20068)

Release date: November 29, 2023

This build automatically inserts image captioning for Excel’s images. When you insert an image into a spreadsheet, accessibility image captioning is automatically generated for you.

It also fixes a wide variety of bugs, including one in Excel in which list box controls would not respond to mouse clicks after scrolling using the mouse wheel, and one in Word in which the language of a presentation was not retained when saving or exporting the presentation to a PDF file.

Get more info about Version 2311 (Build 17029.20068).

Version 2310 (Build 16924.20150)

Release date: November 14, 2023

This build fixes several bugs, including one in which Outlook failed to comply with the default browser settings for some users, and another in which new lines were added to an Outlook signature when pressing Enter in the body of the email.

It also fixes a number of security holes. For details, see Release notes for Microsoft Office security updates.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 2310 (Build 16924.20150).

Version 2310 (Build 16924.20124)

Release date: Oct. 31, 2023

This build fixes a bug that caused Outlook to exit unexpectedly when clicking the More link in the Search results list.

Get more info about Version 2310 (Build 16924.20124).

Version 2310 (Build 16924.20106)

Release date: Oct. 25, 2023

In this build, the Teams Meeting App works in Outlook, too. With it, you’ll be able to configure a meeting app while scheduling an invite in Outlook. The meeting app will be ready to use when you chat or join the meeting on Teams.

A wide variety of bugs have also been fixed, including one in Excel where certain Pivot Tables would load slowly; one in which OneNote would close unexpectedly when rapidly navigating from one .PDF file to another .PDF file between different sections, or when performing an undo operation on a .PDF printout insertion; and one in the entire Office suite that caused unexpected black borders to appear around screen captures added with the Insert Screenshot functionality.

Get more info about Version 2310 (Build 16924.20106).

Version 2309 (Build 16827.20166)

Release date: October 10, 2023

This build fixes two bugs, one in which users were missing their Outlook add-ins, and another in Word in which subheading numbering with a custom Style would disappear if the file was saved and reopened. It also fixes a number of security holes. For details, see Release notes for Microsoft Office security updates.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 2309 (Build 16827.20166).

Version 2309 (Build 16827.20130)

Release date: September 28, 2023

This build introduces two new features, including the ability to disable specific types of automatic data conversions in Excel and support for the “Present in Teams” button to present local files in PowerPoint Live in Microsoft Teams.

Several bugs have also been fixed, including one in which the setting to control how Outlook opens previous items at start-up was missing from the Options window, and another in Word in which the Add-ins tab was not visible when using custom toolbar information.

Get more info about Version 2309 (Build 16827.20130).

Version 2308 (Build 16731.20234)

Release date: September 12, 2023

This build fixes several bugs, including one that caused Outlook to close unexpectedly when viewing an email, and another in PowerPoint in which the presenter view slide section zoomed in and out when zooming in the notes section.

It also fixes a number of security holes. For details, see Release notes for Microsoft Office security updates.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 2308 (Build 16731.20234).

Version 2308 (Build 16731.20170)

Release date: August 28, 2023

This build introduces several new features, including adding AutoComplete functionality to the Data Validation dropdown list in Excel, designed to make data entry and validation more efficient. In Excel, Outlook, Word, and PowerPoint, Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) with 256-bit key length in Cipher Block Chaining mode (AES256-CBC) is now the default Microsoft Purview Information Protection encryption mechanism. (More details here.)

Several bugs in Outlook have also been fixed, including one that that caused Outlook to quit unexpectedly when users executed a search with the “All Mailboxes” scope, and another that caused Outlook to crash when non-HTTP links were clicked.

Get more info about Version 2308 (Build 16731.20170).

Version 2307 (Build 16626.20170)

Release date: August 8, 2023

This build fixes several bugs, including one in Excel in which certain macros used for updating charts caused Excel to close unexpectedly, and another in Outlook that caused Outlook to fail to show Top Search Results in some views. It also fixes a number of security holes. For details, see Release notes for Microsoft Office security updates.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 2307 (Build 16626.20170).

Version 2307 (Build 16626.20134)

Release date: July 27, 2023

This build fixes an extended range of supported characters to prevent display issues in Office apps.

Get more info about Version 2307 (Build 16626.20134).

Version 2307 (Build 16626.20132)

Release date: July 26, 2023

This build includes several new features, including an improved way to recover from errors when collaborating in Word, and the ability to insert a live camera feed in all slides with one click in PowerPoint.

A number of bugs have also been fixed, including one in Excel, PowerPoint, and Word in which sensitivity labeling was unavailable for documents opened from SharePoint on-premises servers, and one in which Outlook would prompt you to save changes to a meeting when no changes were made.

Get more info about Version 2307 (Build 16626.20132).

Version 2306 (Build 16529.20182)

Release date: July 11, 2023

This build fixes an alert to better communicate text support for picture-to-drawing object conversion in Excel and Word. It also fixes a number of security holes. For details, see Release notes for Microsoft Office security updates.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 2306 (Build 16529.20182).

Version 2306 (Build 16529.20154)

Release date: June 26, 2023

This build includes several new features, including adding autocomplete capabilities to Excel’s Data Validation dropdown list, and giving Outlook pop-up messages that warn, justify, or block emails being sent based on sensitivity labels.

A number of bugs have also been fixed, including one in Outlook’s Me control that showed the wrong display name in Office apps, and one in Word in which doing a mail merge displayed the error “Microsoft Word is required to run the Mail Merge Wizard.”

Get more info about Version 2306 (Build 16529.20154).

Version 2305 (Build 16501.20210)

Release date: June 13, 2023

This build fixes a number of security holes. For details, see Release notes for Microsoft Office security updates.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 2305 (Build 16501.20210).

Version 2305 (Build 16501.20196)

Release date: June 1, 2023

This build offers faster filtering when cells contain unique or duplicate rules in Excel, as well as a new accessibility ribbon tab in Outlook and PowerPoint for making emails and presentations more accessible.

It also fixes a variety of bugs, including one in Excel in which Conditional Formatting rules were not being preserved after closing and reopening a workbook, one in Outlook in which people were shown the error “We cannot render Actionable Messages right now” when reading some email messages, and one in Access in which refreshing an ODBC connection to an Access database caused the operation to stop working after refreshing the link several times.

Get more info about Version 2305 (Build 16501.20196).

Version 2304 (Build 16327.20248)

Release date: May 9, 2023

This build fixes several bugs, including one in Outlook that caused users of the Event-Based feature to be unable to utilize some of the new APIs included in Mailbox Requirement Set 1.13, and one in Project in which users were unable to connect Project Client from the desktop to a Project Web Access site in Project Server 2016.

It also fixes a number of security holes. For details, see Release notes for Microsoft Office security updates.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 2304 (Build 16327.20248).

Version 2304 (Build 16327.20214)

Release date: April 25, 2023

This build offers several new features, including adding closed captions to audio objects in PowerPoint and web browser control for Edge in Access. (Access still supports Internet Explorer browser control.)

The build fixes a variety of bugs, including one in which an Excel file could not be previewed in File Explorer if the file’s extension included a capital letter such as XLSX or Xlsx, and one in which PowerPoint sometimes crashed when opening a file.

Get more info about Version 2304 (Build 16327.20214).

Version 2303 (Build 16227.20280)

Release date: April 11, 2023

This build fixes two bugs, one that causes Access to close unexpectedly when exporting from an SAS application to a Microsoft Office format, and another in Outlook that hat caused some users to see the wrong Data Loss Prevention policy annotations in a multi-account profile.

It also fixes a number of security holes. For details, see Release notes for Microsoft Office security updates.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 2303 (Build 16227.20280).

Version 2303 (Build 16227.20258)

Release date: April 4, 2023

This build fixes two bugs in Outlook, one that caused the new labels to fail to appear for some users of the Label Inheritance feature, and another that caused the Suggested Replies feature to not be disabled when connected experiences are disabled.

Get more info about  Version 2303 (Build 16227.20258).

Version 2303 (Build 16227.20212)

Release date: March 28, 2023

This build offers a variety of new features, including the ability to assign a sublabel as the default when a parent label is selected in Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Word. When using built-in sensitivity labels, admins can specify a sublabel to get applied automatically when a parent label is selected.

The build also disables the Azure Information Protection Add-in by default in Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Word. The apps will now automatically disable the legacy Azure Information Protection add-in and use the built-in sensitivity labels to view and apply labels powered by Microsoft Purview Information Protection.

In addition, there is a new Sensitivity toolbar in Excel, PowerPoint, and Word that makes it easier to prevent data leaks. New sensitivity labels powered by Microsoft Purview Information Protection are now displayed alongside the filename in the app’s title bar, allowing you to easily recognize and adhere to your organization’s policies. The sensitivity toolbar is also available while saving new documents or renaming existing ones.

The build fixes a wide variety of bugs, including one that caused Outlook to close unexpectedly when using Loop Components in an email, and another in which the task pane add-in API for Microsoft Project was not returning the proper value for the Summary, Milestone, and Active properties. A bug for the entire Office suite was fixed as well, in which spaces were not inserted properly when inserting text with dictation.

Get more info about Version 2303 (Build 16227.20212).

Version 2302 (Build 16130.20332)

Release date: March 20, 2023

This build fixes two bugs, one in Outlook in which some settings did not roam between machines when switching to Focused Inbox, and another in Project in which the task pane add-in API for Microsoft Project was not returning the proper value for the Summary, Milestone, and Active properties.

Get more info about Version 2302 (Build 16130.20332).

Version 2302 (Build 16130.20306)

Release date: March 14, 2023

This build fixes a variety of bugs, including one in Outlook that caused users to see an inaccurate count of the number of new notifications present when opening the notification pane, and another in which the error message “The last time you opened filename, it caused serious error. Do you still want to open it?” may appear when creating Word documents through automation using templates.

It also fixes a number of security holes. For details, see Release notes for Microsoft Office security updates.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about  Version 2302 (Build 16130.20306).

Version 2302 (Build 16130.20218)

Release date: February 28, 2023

This build offers several new features, including one for Excel, Word, and PowerPoint in which user-defined permissions support domain name restrictions. Now, when you choose a sensitivity label configured for user-defined permissions, domain names can be used to restrict file access to all individuals from that domain.

Three bugs have also been fixed, including one in which when clicking on an email notification of @mention in a comment, the Excel app would close unexpectedly if the workbook was already open and was in a hidden window.

Get more info about Version 2302 (Build 16130.20218).

Version 2301 (Build 16026.20200)

Release date: February 14, 2023

This build fixes a variety of bugs, including one in Excel in which when clicking on an email notification of an @mention in a comment, the Excel app would close unexpectedly if the workbook was already open and was in a hidden window, and one for the entire Office suite that caused users to experience the application to close unexpectedly when clicking on some non-HTTP links.

It also fixes a number of security holes. For details, see Release notes for Microsoft Office security updates.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 2301 (Build 16026.20200).

Version 2301 (Build 16026.20146)

Release date: January 26, 2022

This build makes several improvements in Excel’s pivot tables, including new data support for pivot tables connected to Power BI, as well as new alerts about pivot table compatibility issues and providing documentation and workarounds for them.

It also fixes two bugs, one in Excel in which when you inserted a People Graph add-in in RTL Excel, the application closed unexpectedly, and another in PowerPoint in which you could not add or copy/paste a new slide to the presentation.

Get more info about Version 2301 (Build 16026.20146).

Version 2212 (Build 15928.20216)

Release date: January 10, 2023

This build fixes a number of security holes. For details, see Release notes for Microsoft Office security updates.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 2212 (Build 15928.20216).

Version 2212 (Build 15928.20198)

Release date: January 4, 2022

This build lets you code-sign your Microsoft Access database and VBA code. Signing a database will allow VBA code in the database to be run even if Trust Center settings specify that only digitally signed code should be enabled.

In addition, you can now create tasks and assign them to team members without leaving Word by adding a comment, @mentioning your team member, pressing Ctrl + Enter, and checking Assign.

It also fixes a number of bugs, including one in Excel in which when you right-clicked on a chart and selected Edit, the application closed unexpectedly.

Get more info about Version 2212 (Build 15928.20198).

Version 2211 (Build 15831.20208)

Release date: December 13, 2022

This build fixes a number of security holes. For details, see Release notes for Microsoft Office security updates.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 2211 (Build 15831.20208).

Version 2211 (Build 15831.20190)

Release date: December 6, 2022

This build improves the spacing of the buttons in the Ribbon in Word, PowerPoint, and Excel when tablet posture is being used. It also adds the ability to insert images directly in cells in Excel, and to save media to a file in PowerPoint with closed captions included.

The build also fixes a variety of bugs, including one in Excel in which when toggling the visibility of the Ribbon with sheet tabs hidden, the application would close unexpectedly, and one in Word in which changing the reading speed for Read Aloud would cause Word to stop working.

Get more info about Version 2211 (Build 15831.20190).

Version 2210 (Build 15726.20202)

Release date: November 8, 2022

This build fixes two bugs: One in Word in which when using Admin Managed Plugin and the Group Policy “Block all unmanaged add-ins,” the registry key name was case-sensitive, and one in OneNote that affected scrolling with touch.

It also fixes a number of security holes. For details, see Release notes for Microsoft Office security updates.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 2210 (Build 15726.20202).

Version 2210 (Build 15726.20174)

Release date: October 27, 2022

This build lets you link charts to Dynamic array calculations in Excel, which can produce results of variable length. When the array recalculates, the chart will automatically update to capture all data instead of being limited to a specific number of data points. The build also lets you create e-signature approvals containing signature fields within Teams.

It fixes a number of bugs, including one in Outlook that caused emails to get stuck in the outbox for some profiles with multiple Exchange accounts configured, and another in PowerPoint that caused problems when updating links when the linked file was already open.

Get more info about  Version 2210 (Build 15726.20174).

Version 2209 (Build 15629.20208)

Release date: October 11, 2022

This build fixes a number of bugs, including one in Excel in which some content could have stopped working and not appear correctly after zooming with a touchpad, and another in Outlook that caused emails to get stuck in the outbox for some profiles with multiple Exchange accounts configured.

It also fixes a number of security holes in Word and the entire Office suite. For details, see Release notes for Microsoft Office security updates.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 2209 (Build 15629.20208).

Version 2209 (Build 15629.20156)

Release date: September 26, 2022

This build adds several new features to Teams, including allowing meeting organizers to assign seats to participants in Together Mode, and the ability for people to see up to 49 videos (7×7) on their screen by default without any explicit action.

It also fixes a number of bugs, including one Outlook that caused users to experience a close unexpectedly when switching views in the calendar module, and another that crashed Outlook shortly after a boot.

Get more info about Version 2209 (Build 15629.20156).

Version 2208 (Build 15601.20148)

Release date: September 13, 2022

This build fixes a number of bugs, including one in Outlook that that caused the Customization Quick Access Toolbar file (.exportedUI) to not import when the simplified Ribbon is in use, and one in the entire Office suite that caused issues in Color Picker text selection scenarios with Shapes and SmartArt.

It also fixes a number of security holes in PowerPoint and Visio. For details, see Release notes for Microsoft Office security updates.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about  Version 2208 (Build 15601.20148).

Version 2208 (Build 15601.20088)

Release date: August 31, 2022

This build introduces a variety of new features, including protecting PDFs created using Word, Excel, or PowerPoint, taking voice notes in OneNote, the addition of fourteen new text and array functions in Excel, and the ability to join Teams meeting by meeting ID and passcode from Teams rooms on Windows.

It also fixes a variety of bugs, including one in Access that caused memory leaks when iterating over DAO record sets in VBA code in Excel, one in Word in which you could not copy rows of a table from older versions in Version History to the current version, and one in which Outlook sometimes closed unexpectedly when right-clicking on an app in the new app bar.

Get more info about Version 2208 (Build 15601.20088).

Version 2207 (Build 15427.20210)

Release date: August 9, 2022

This build fixes a bug in Outlook, which would sometimes crash after being opened.

It also fixes a number of security holes in Excel, Outlook, and the entire Office suite. For details, see Release notes for Microsoft Office security updates.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 2207 (Build 15427.20210).

Version 2207 (Build 15427.20194)

Release date: August 3, 2022

This build optimizes Excel recalculation on devices with constrained resources. On resource-constrained devices (two cores or less and eight gigabytes of RAM or less), Excel now by default makes recalculation more optimal by running calculations on a single thread.

In addition, Outlook gets a suggested replies feature that offers you three possible replies to simple messages. Word makes voice dictation easier.

A number of bugs were also fixed, including one in Excel in which cell references in charts were displaying incorrectly, and one in Word in which “paste as link” might not update automatically.

Get more info about Version 2207 (Build 15427.20194).

Version 2206 (Build 15330.20246)

Release date: July 18, 2022

This build fixes one bug in Access, in which when opening an ACCDE/MDE file, users may receive an error message with the text “Requested type library or wizard is not a VBA project.” Go here for more details.

Get more info about Version 2206 (Build 15330.20264).

Version 2206 (Build 15330.20246)

Release date: July 12, 2022

This build fixes one bug, in which Excel closed unexpectedly when interacting with fonts.

It also fixes a Windows Graphics Component Information Disclosure Vulnerability and a Microsoft Office Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability, both for the entire Office suite. For details, see Release notes for Microsoft Office security updates.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 2206 (Build 15330.20246).

Version 2206 (Build 15330.20230)

Release date: July 6, 2022

This build fixes a variety of bugs, including one in which Excel crashed when showing a live preview of a chart, one that caused OneNote to crash, one in Outlook in which users could not add room mailboxes to the calendar, and one in Word in which nested fields in headers displayed incorrectly while scrolling.

Get more info about Version 2206 (Build 15330.20230).

Version 2206 (Build 15330.20196)

Release date: June 29, 2022

This build introduces new Excel features such as the ability to quickly copy data from the status bar, including information from aggregations like “Sum,” “Average,” and “Count.” It also lets you find data more quickly in Excel by speeding up the AutoFilter function. In PowerPoint, you can now anchor comments to specific ranges of text.

The build also fixes a wide variety of bugs, including one in Excel in which shared workbooks in .xls format improperly merged changes, one in Outlook in which users were not able to add room mailboxes to the calendar, and one in Word in which nested fields in headers displayed incorrectly while scrolling.

Get more info about Version 2206 (Build 15330.20196).

Version 2205 (Build 15225.20288)

Release date: June 14, 2022

This build fixes several bugs, including one in Word in which while coauthoring, some replies to comments weren’t shown until the next time a document was opened, and one in Outlook that caused users to see multiple copies of a shared calendar rendered in certain circumstances.

It also fixes a remote code execution vulnerability security for the entire Office suite. For details, see Release notes for Microsoft Office security updates.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 2205 (Build 15225.20288).

Version 2205 (Build 15225.20204)

Release date: May 24, 2022

This build offers new automatic groupings in Teams as suggestions to use in channel posts. For example, you can @TeamOwners in a channel posting and all Team Owners will be notified. It also fixes several bugs, including one in Excel in which the letter “j” was not being properly inserted, one in Outlook that caused users to see the error “Cannot perform the requested operation…” when attempting to expand a local contact group, and one in which the entire Office suite crashed when rendering code.

Get more info about Version 2205 (Build 15225.20204).

Version 2204 (Build 15128.20248)

Release date: May 17, 2022

This build fixes several bugs, including one in Outlook that caused users to see the error “Cannot perform the requested operation…” when attempting to expand a local contact group; one in Word in which the Office “Insert Screenshot” showed blank/incomplete screenshots for Office Apps; and one in the entire Office suite in which font download requests for endpoints that don’t support font service were being issued.

Get more info about Version 2204 (Build 15128.20248).

Version 2204 (Build 15128.20224)

Release date: May 10, 2022

This build fixes several bugs, including one that caused Excel to consume excessive memory, one in Word in which in which a document scrolled to the end after deleting a paragraph mark, and an issue with rendering in Excel and Project when using certain older versions of Windows 11.

It also offers a security update for Excel and one for the entire Office suite. For details, see Release notes for Microsoft Office security updates.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 2204 (Build 15128.20224).

Version 2204 (Build 15128.20178)

Release date: April 26, 2022

This build reduces unwanted fragmenting of conditional formatting rules in Excel, and also improves Power BI dataset request access from Excel.

It also fixes several bugs, including one in Access that that prevented Outlook event-based add-ins from functioning properly, one that caused Outlook to close unexpectedly during launch when connected to a OneDrive for Business endpoint with no service URL, and one for the entire Office suite in which the font drop-down would not accurately reflect what font was selected in a shape.

Get more info about Version 2204 (Build 15128.20178).

Version 2203 (Build 15028.20228)

Release date: April 20, 2022

This build fixes three bugs, one in Access that prevented Outlook Event-Based Add-Ins from functioning properly, one in Outlook that caused EU users to see information missing from person cards, and another in Outlook that caused users to experience a “stop responding” when responding to certain contacts.

(Get more info about Version 2203 (Build 15028.20228).

Version 2203 (Build 15028.20204)

Release date: April 12, 2022

This build fixes several bugs, including one in Outlook in which the “Move to Other” functionality stopped working properly, and another for the entire Office suite in which the font drop-down would not accurately reflect what font was selected in a shape.

It also offers security updates for Excel. For details, see Release notes for Microsoft Office security updates.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 2203 (Build 15028.20204).

Version 2203 (Build 15028.20160)

Release date: March 30, 2022

This build introduces one new feature, a navigation pane for Excel that lets you see the layout of your workbook at a glance and navigate through its elements quickly. The build also fixes a wide variety of bugs, including one in Excel in which using custom command bars could cause Excel to crash, one in Outlook that caused the “Index out of date” message to display too often, one in Word that caused a performance issue when opening Word documents with thousands of track changes, and one for the entire Office suite that caused contact cards to display improperly

Get more info about Version 2203 (Build 15028.20160).

Version 2202 (Build 14931.20132)

Release date: March 8, 2022

This build fixes several bugs, including one in Outlook that caused users to experience performance issues when switching folders due to a corrupt view setting. It also offers security updates for Visio and Word. For details, see Release notes for Microsoft Office security updates.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about  Version 2202 (Build 14931.20132).

Version 2202 (Build 14931.20120)

Release date: February 28, 2022

This build offers a wide variety of new features, including one in Excel that disables Excel 4.0 (XML) macros by default to improve security; one in Word that lets you proofread selected text with Editor; one in Outlook that lets you visualize and explore your company’s internal structure, work teams, and individual roles; and one on PowerPoint that lets you pre-record video with animation. It also has many new Teams features, including enabling Teams app developers to test their monetized apps within Teams clients, and the addition of a new compact view in Chat.

Many bugs were also fixed, including one in Outlook in which the folder hierarchy did not synchronize all folders for very large primary mailboxes with more than 100,00 folders, and another in Word in which SVG images that contain external content weren’t showing up.

Get more info about Version 2202 (Build 14931.20120).

Version 2201 (Build 14827.20198)

Release date: February 16, 2022

This build fixes a single bug in Access that caused errors while running an application.

Get more info about Version 2201 (Build 14827.20198).

Version 2201 (Build 14827.20192)

Release date: February 8, 2022

This build fixes several bugs, including one in which people could not save their files in Project. It also offers security updates for Excel, Visio, and the entire Office suite. For details, see the Release notes for Microsoft Office security updates.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 2201 (Build 14827.20192).

Version 2201 (Build 14827.20158)

Release date: January 26, 2022

This build includes a variety of feature updates, including easier scrolling through Excel spreadsheets that are large or that have very wide cells, new Cortana features for Teams, and an improved address book search in Outlook.

A number of bugs were fixed, including one in Outlook that caused applications to become unresponsive after loading a contact card, one in Word in which “Repeat style” applies Normal instead of repeating the style, and another in Access that caused the Insights add-in to stop working intermittently.

Get more info about Version 2201 (Build 14827.20158).

Version 2112 (Build 14729.20260)

Release date: January 12, 2022

This build includes a variety of bugs and performance fixes.

Get more info about Version 2112 (Build 14729.20260).

Version 2112 (Build 14729.20248)

Release date: January 11, 2022

This build fixes a bug in Excel in which shapes and form controls could not call VBA macros. It also offers security updates for two Microsoft Office Remote Code Execution Vulnerabilities. For details, see “Release notes for Microsoft Office security updates.”

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 2112 (Build 14729.20248).

Version 2112 (Build 14729.20194)

Release date: January 4, 2022

This build offers a variety of new features, including the ability to track only your own changes in Word when collaborating, an improved way to search Outlook’s calendar, and several new features in Teams, including one that lets you “raise your hand” virtually to let people know you want to contribute without interrupting the conversation.

It also fixes a variety of bugs, including one in Access that that caused an application to close unexpectedly when connection to an Access or Jet database using multiple threads, and one in Outlook that caused users to see garbled text in some fields when exporting contacts to a CSV.

Get more info about Version 2112 (Build 14729.20194).

Version 2111 (Build 14701.20262)

Release date: December 16, 2021

This build fixes two bugs, one in Access that prevented multiple users from opening a database on a network file share, and for the entire Office suite related to refreshing elements that may contain text.

Get more info about Version 2111 (Build 14701.20262).

Version 2111 (Build 14701.20248)

Release date: December 14, 2021

This build fixes a variety of bugs, including one in Excel in which opening an XLSM file in the SpreedsheetCompare tool sometimes caused the tool to stop responding, and one in which the teaching callouts (tips) about the new look of Office did not appear in Outlook.

It also offers security updates for Excel and the entire Office suite. For details, see Release notes for Microsoft Office security updates.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 2111 (Build 14701.20248).

Version 2111 (Build 14701.20226)

Release date: December 3, 2021

This build fixes a wide variety of bugs, including one in Excel in which newly created PivotTables could lose custom settings if the data source range was changed; another in PowerPoint and Word in which some pop-up UI elements could not be clicked, such as the Join Meeting pop-up in Outlook or the Welcome Back pop-up in PowerPoint; and another in Project in which some projects would close unexpectedly when loading customized reports.

Get more info about Version 2111 (Build 14701.20226).

Version 2110 (Build 14527.20312)

Release date: December 1, 2021

This build fixes several bugs, including one that wouldn’t allow people to insert their signatures into new emails, replies, or forwards after a restart of Outlook, and another in which the theme picker in Word’s File > Options menu for x64 users didn’t work.

Get more info about Version 2110 (Build 14527.20312).

Version 2110 (Build 14527.20276)

Release date: November 9, 2021

This build fixes a variety of bugs, including one in Excel in which when opening linked tables to Dynamics, numbers may appear as small squares when the data is displayed, and one in Project in which when tasks are rescheduled, manually scheduled tasks may be scheduled earlier than they should be. It also offers security updates for Excel, Word, and the entire Office suite. For details, see Release notes for Microsoft Office security updates.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 2110 (Build 14527.20276).

Version 2110 (Build 14527.20234)

Release date: October 28, 2021

This build fixes several small bugs, including one in Outlook, PowerPoint, and Word in which each app stopped responding when drawing an image.

Get more info about Version 2110 (Build 14527.20234).

Version 2110 (Build 14527.20226)

Release date: October 25, 2021

This build includes a wide variety of new features, including several dozen in Teams, ranging from making Live Transcript available for web users of Teams meetings, a new Question & Answer application for Teams webinars & meetings, and allowing people to join meetings in other clouds anonymously from the Teams desktop app.

Several Office bugs were also fixed, including one in Excel in which a query update caused Excel to stop responding, and one in Outlook that caused a sync failure to occur when generating a preview.

Get more info about Version 2110 (Build 14527.20226).

Version 2109 (Build 14430.20306)

Release date: October 14, 2021

This build offers a variety of unnamed bug fixes and performance fixes.

Get more info about Version 2109 (Build 14430.20306).

Version 2109 (Build 14430.20298)

Release date: October 12, 2021

This build offers security updates for Excel, Visio, Word, and the entire Office suite. For details, see Release notes for Microsoft Office security updates.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 2109 (Build 14430.20298).

Version 2109 (Build 14430.20270)

Release date: October 6, 2021

This build fixes a bug in Outlook that caused some users to experience a stop responding when attempting to retrieve AutoDiscover settings.

Get more info about Version 2109 (Build 14430.20270).

Version 2109 (Build 14430.20234)

Release date: September 28, 2021

This build introduces more than a dozen new Teams features, including one in which you can now define a default number of days to keep Teams meeting recordings saved to OneDrive and SharePoint before they are automatically deleted, and the introduction of the Network Planner for government clouds to help you determine and organize network requirements for connecting Microsoft Teams users across an organization.

It also fixes a wide variety of bugs, including one in Excel, Word, and PowerPoint in which some users could not export documents to PDF or XPS formats, and another in Word in which the insert online video button was disabled.

Get more info about Version 2109 (Build 14430.20234).

Version 2108 (Build 14326.20404)

Release date: September 14, 2021

This build fixes a single small bug and includes security updates. The bug fixed is one that caused a loss of HTML formatting when a draft of an email was saved to disk.

The security updates are for Access, Excel, Visio, Word, and the entire Office suite. For details, see Release notes for Microsoft Office security updates.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 2108 (Build 14326.20404).

Version 2108 (Build 14326.20348)

Release date: September 7, 2021

This build fixes several bugs, including one in Excel in which not all columns appeared when linking to or importing from a Dynamics table, one in Outlook that that caused Room Finder to fail to load, and one in Word in which the print preview was not loading when using Print.

Get more info about Version 2108 (Build 14326.20348).

Version 2108 (Build 14326.20238)

Release date: August 25, 2021

This build introduces many new features for Microsoft Teams, including the ability for meeting participants to transfer calls between desktop and mobile, a “top hits” section added to the top of search autosuggestions, and live captions being made available to users accessing Teams meetings via the web.

The build also fixes a wide variety of bugs, including one in which connecting to a data source from within the PowerPivot window in Excel was not working, one that crashed Outlook while email was being composed, one in Word in which the Insert Online Video button was disabled, and one for the entire Office suite in which some documents failed to load after using some web add-ins.

Get more info about Version 2108 (Build 14326.20238).

Version 2107 (Build 14228.20250)

Release date: August 10, 2021

This build fixes a variety of small bugs and includes security updates. Among the bugs fixed are one in Excel that caused some linked Dynamics tables to stop responding and one in multiple Office apps in which document exports to PDF or XPS formats stopped responding due to recent updates.

The security updates are for Word and the entire Office suite. For details, see Release notes for Microsoft Office security updates.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 2107 (Build 14228.20250).

Version 2107 (Build 14228.20226)

Release date: August 3, 2021

This build fixes two bugs in Outlook. One caused emails resent by a different user to appear to have been sent by the original sender in organizations that enable Send From Alias. The other caused users to see duplicate time entries in the end meeting time drop-down when the start of the meeting and the end of the meeting were on different dates.

Get more info about Version 2107 (Build 14228.20226).

Version 2107 (Build 14228.20204)

Release date: July 26, 2021

This build offers several minor new features and fixes a variety of bugs. Among the new features are one in which you can use the Immersive Reader in Outlook to create custom text spacing, page colors, column width, and line focus, and another in PowerPoint adds Flipgrid video support.

Among the bugs fixed are one Word in which comment cards next to the Word canvas were the incorrect size, and one in which Outlook crashed for some people when performing searches.

Get more info about Version 2107 (Build 14228.20204).

Version 2106 (Build 14131.20332)

Release date: July 20, 2021

This build fixes several small bugs in Outlook, including one that caused some users to experience an unexpected close when Outlook was collecting diagnostic information, and another that caused Cloud Settings users to experience an unexpected close when an incompletely configured account was present in the profile.

Get more info about Version 2106 (Build 14131.20332).

Version 2106 (Build 14131.20320)

Release date: July 13, 2021

This build fixes a variety of small bugs and includes security updates. Among the bugs fixed are one in Outlook that caused some systems to crash while retrieving service-powered search suggestions, and one for the entire Office suite related to instability during DirectX device loss and recovery situations.

The security updates are for Excel, Word, and the entire Office suite. For details, see Release notes for Microsoft Office security updates.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 2106 (Build 14131.20320).

Version 2106 (Build 14131.20278)

Release date: June 29, 2021

This build introduces several new minor features for Outlook, including one that includes the most relevant files related to your search when you type in the Search box, and another alerts you if any suspicious sign-in activity is detected and tells you when and where you last signed into your account.

It also fixes a variety of small bugs, including one in Outlook that disabled translation options for some people, and one in PowerPoint in which people couldn’t to enter credentials into a Windows Security dialog to open a file, because a PowerPoint dialog box obstructed it.

Get more info about Version 2106 (Build 14131.20278).

Version 2105 (Build 14026.20308)

Release date: June 18, 2021

This build fixes several small bugs, including one in Outlook that caused users to experience an unexpected property change prompt when closing a message they had replied to or forwarded, and other for the entire Office suite in which Office crashed when reopening certain files.

Get more info about Version 2105 (Build 14026.20308).

Version 2105 (Build 14026.20270)

Release date: June 8, 2021

This build fixes a variety of small bugs and includes security updates. Among the bugs fixed are one in Excel in which extra entries appeared in the Excel Add-in list for some users, one in Outlook that caused it to close when interacting with Outlook Mail or Calendar Views, and one for the entire Office suite that caused a performance regression on opening SyncBacked files.

The security updates are for Access, Excel, Outlook, and the entire Office suite. For details, see Release notes for Microsoft Office security updates.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 2105 (Build 14026.20270).

Version 2105 (Build 14026.20246)

Release date: May 24, 2021

This build includes nearly two dozen new features in Teams: anonymous users can join a Live Event so that they can present during the event, webinars can be scheduled and delivered for up to 1,000 people at a time, and users can create group chats that include people external to their organization who use Teams.

Word, Excel and PowerPoint now allow documents encrypted with sensitivity labels to be AutoSaved and co-authored with others in real time. (Unencrypted documents have this feature already.)

There are also a wide variety of resolved issues, including fixing a bug in Word in which the Editor Pane didn’t open, and one in PowerPoint in which the Reuse Slides option was not available for some users.

Get more info about Version 2105 (Build 14026.20246).

Version 2104 (Build 13929.20386)

Release date: May 18, 2021

This build fixes two issues with Outlook, one that caused the people picker in Outlook to expand upward rather than downward for users with a perpetual license, and another that caused the feedback option to fail to appear for users of the Office Perpetual 2021 preview.

Get more info about Version 2104 (Build 13929.20386).

Version 2104 (Build 13929.20372)

Release date: May 11, 2021

This build fixes a variety of small bugs and includes security updates. Among the bugs fixed are one in which a major version build rollback could result in crashes when opening files in Excel, Word, and PowerPoint, and one that caused Word to unexpectedly close when the user logged off or restarted their computer.

The security updates are for Access, Excel, Word, and the entire Office suite. For details, see Release notes for Microsoft Office security updates.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 2104 (Build 13929.20372).

Version 2104 (Build 13929.20296)

Release date: April 29, 2021

This build offers a variety of feature updates, including the addition of new linked data types in Excel, improved collaboration and a dark mode in Word, a set of ready-made graphics in Visio, and the ability to create an out-of-office message in Teams.

There are also a variety of bug fixes, including for one in Excel in which some automation add-ins for Excel couldn’t load, another in Excel that caused users to see signatures disappear unexpectedly, one in Project in which users were unable to remove projects from the resource pool, and one in Word in which some texts weren’t visible when using the dark mode theme in reading mode.

Get more info about Version 2104 (Build 13929.20296).

Version 2103 (Build 13901.20400)

Release date: April 13, 2021

This build fixes several small bugs throughout Office and includes security updates. Among the bugs fixed are ones in Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Word that caused a resource contention issue when drawing an image.

The security updates are for Excel, Outlook, Word, and the entire Office suite. For details, see Microsoft’s Release notes for Microsoft Office security updates.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 2103 (Build 13901.20400).

Version 2103 (Build 13901.20336)

Release date: April 2, 2021

This build fixes a bug in Outlook in which a component of Outlook used by MAPI-enabled applications on computers with ARM processors caused searches to fail or put extra load on the computer as background apps restarted repeatedly.

 Get more info about Version 2103 (Build 13901.20336).

Version 2103 (Build 13901.20312)

Release date: March 30, 2021

This build offers several new features, including getting meeting suggestions when you search for someone in Outlook; being able to send a copy of email messages or conversations, including attachments, from Outlook into Teams chats and channels; and drafting documents with your voice in Word.

In addition, a number of bugs were resolved, including fixing an issue that crashed Outlook when it was syncing folder hierarchy changes, and fixing a bug in Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Word in which disabled commands in the Office Ribbon would only have the icon grayed out but not the text in Dark Gray Office Theme.

Get more info about Version 2103 (Build 13901.20312).

Version 2102 (Build 13801.20360)

Release date: March 18, 2021

This build fixes several bugs, including one in Outlook that caused users of the Cloud Settings feature to see customized settings overridden by default setting after configuring Outlook on a new device, and one in Word in which typing at the end of a hidden paragraph cased Word to hang.

Get more info about Version 2102 (Build 13801.20360).

Version 2102 (Build 13801.20294)

Release date: March 9, 2021

This build fixes several small bugs with Outlook and includes security updates. Among the bugs fixed are one that in which newly added calendars didn’t appear in the navigation pane until after Outlook had been restarted, and one in Word in which Narrator skipped over paragraphs.

The security updates are for Excel, PowerPoint, Visio, and the entire Office suite. For details, see Release notes for Microsoft Office security updates.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 2102 (Build 13801.20294).

Version 2102 (Build 13801.20266)

Release date: March 1, 2021

This build introduces a number of new features. In Excel, you can now unhide multiple sheets at a time, and you can also resize Conditional Formatting dialogs. Outlook gets an updated Contacts view list. Teams lets you send “reactions” to others during meetings. In addition, you can add a channel to a calendar tab. Excel, PowerPoint, and Word now require that users apply sensitivity labels to documents if their organization’s policy requires it.

The build also fixes a number of issues. In Excel, an issue was fixed that prevented users from exporting an Excel workbook to PDF. In Outlook, an issue was fixed that caused users to see duplicate calendar groups appearing after creating a new group. In Word, an issue was fixed in resolving conflicts while in coauthoring.

Get more info about Version 2102 (Build 13801.20266).

Version 2101 (Build 13628.20448)

Release date: February 16, 2021

This build fixes several bugs, including one in which Outlook sometimes closed unexpectedly when users were doing a search, and another in Outlook that caused mails to be sent as digitally signed after the user unchecked that option.

It also fixes two bugs for the entire Office suite, including one related to media controller event notifications and another related to media player engine timing.

Get more info about Version 2101 (Build 13628.20448).

Version 2101 (Build 13628.20380)

Release date: February 9, 2021

This build fixes several issues with Outlook and includes security updates for Excel. Among the Outlook bugs fixed are one that caused Cloud Settings users to experience a hang when updating settings, and another that caused issues with displaying the correct default signature in OWA.

The security updates fixed three Excel Remote Code Execution Vulnerabilities. For details, see the release notes for Microsoft Office security updates.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 2101 (Build 13628.20380).

Version 2101 (Build 13628.20274)

Release date: January 26, 2021

This build offers a variety of new features, including allowing government customers to apply sensitivity labels to documents and emails in Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Word. It also automatically sends audit data about that sensitivity labeling to Microsoft 365 administrators. Additionally, in Outlook, you can now delete conversations based on message owners.

There are also a variety of bug fixes, including for a bug in which Excel would fail to launch or close unexpectedly if certain Windows Security exploit protection settings (SimExec, CallerCheck) were in use, another in which Outlook closed unexpectedly in certain search scenarios, and another in Project in which borders weren’t showing up for tasks in the Team Planner view.

Get more info about Version 2101 (Build 13628.20274).

Version 2012 (Build 13530.20440)

Release date: January 21, 2021

This build fixes a handful of bugs, including one in Outlook that caused users that have Shared or Delegated Mailboxes with large hierarchies in their profile to encounter hangs, and other that caused Outlook to close unexpectedly in certain search scenarios.

Get more info about Version 2012 (Build 13530.20440).

Version 2012 (Build 13530.20376)

Release date: January 12, 2021

This build fixes two bugs, one in which Excel would fail to launch or close unexpectedly if certain Windows Security exploit protection settings (SimExec, CallerCheck) were in use, and another in Outlook that that caused an edited signature to fail to save after prompting the user to do so.

There are also a variety of security fixes for Excel, Word, and the entire Office suite.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 2012 (Build 13530.20376).

Version 2012 (Build 13530.20316)

Release date: January 5, 2021

This build lets you change your Outlook settings in the cloud, such as for Automatic Replies, Focused Inbox, and Privacy, and have them available on all of your PCs. PowerPoint gets a new feature called Presenter Coach that helps you helps you prepare to give more effective presentations.

There are also a variety of bug fixes, including for a bug in Outlook that that caused some people to encounter a hang while loading their calendar, and another in PowerPoint in which fonts didn’t properly display inside equations.

Get more info about Version 2012 (Build 13530.20316).

Version 2011 (Build 13426.20404)

Release date: December 21, 2020

This minor build fixes three issues, one in which Excel would incorrectly show in the message bar that a new version of a file is available and force the user to save their changes in a copy of the workbook or discard their changes; another in which Excel left macros disabled without prompting when opening an Excel Add-in file containing Excel 4.0 macros; and one for the entire Office suite, in which a file would be opened as NOT SyncBacked when the URL from cache and the URL from OneDrive did not match.

Get more info about Version 2011 (Build 13426.20404).

Version 2011 (Build 13426.20332)

Release date: December 8, 2020

This minor fixes a single issue for the entire Office suite in which SaveRequestManagerCam was causing the application to close instead of returning an error.

It also has security updates for Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint. Get details here.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 2011 (Build 13426.20332).

Version 2011 (Build 13426.20308)

Release date: December 2, 2020

This minor build fixes several minor issues, including one in Outlook that caused the original attendees of some meetings to receive a cancellation when another attendee forwards the meeting, and another in which installing a newer version of Office over certain older versions caused impaired functionality, such as being unable to use Power Query.

Get more info about Version 2011 (Build 13426.20308).

Version 2011 (Build 13426.20294)

Release date: November 30, 2020

This build fixes two minor issues, one that caused problems when copying and pasting an equation from Word to PowerPoint, and another in Word in which document styles were being replaced with other styles from the template.

Get more info about Version 2011 (Build 13426.20294).

Version 2011 (Build 13426.20274)

Release date: November 23, 2020

This build offers a variety of minor new features, including the ability to paste SVG files from Office into third-party apps, and being able to switch Office themes automatically to match your Windows 10 theme settings. There are also several bug fixes, including fixing an issue in Outlook that caused the To field to be blank when sending a status report on a task, and one in PowerPoint in which some corrupt PowerPoint files were not opening correctly, even after a document repair operation.

Get more info about Version 2011 (Build 13426.20274).

Version 2010 (Build 13328.20408)

Release date: November 17, 2020

This build fixes a handful of minor bugs in Office, including one that broke the MailItem.BeforeAttachmentAdd event in Outlook, and one that affected the entire Office suite in which Save As would fail in certain scenarios.

Get more info about Version 2010 (Build 13328.20408).

Version 2010 (Build 13328.20356)

Release date: November 10, 2020

This build fixes two minor bugs and includes security updates. It fixes an Outlook issue in which users couldn’t grant Editor permission to their delegates, and an issue with the entire Office suite in which files that were transitioned from synced to server-only couldn’t be saved.

There are also security updates for Excel, Word and the entire Office suite. For details, see the release notes for Microsoft Office security updates.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 2010 (Build 13328.20356).

Version 2010 (Build 13328.20292)

Release date: October 27, 2020

This build offers several  new features, including the ability to insert iPhone photos directly into Office apps. You can now also create data types with Power Query from any power source. Outlook can now check your grammar as you type. In Teams, you can pin any message in a channel onto the channel info pane.  

There are also a wide variety of bug fixes, including for a bug in Outlook that that caused Cloud Settings not to be turned on by default, one in which Project could crash when opening files where resource contours were specified in a certain manner, and one for the entire Office suite in which when printing to an inkjet printer, the printer reports “Toner Low” or “No Toner” even though inkjet printers don’t use toner.

Get more info about Version 2010 (Build 13328.20292).

Version 2009 (Build 13231.20418)

Release date: October 21, 2020

This build fixes several minor bugs, including one that closed Outlook unexpectedly when selecting a search result, and one in PowerPoint in which the forms content add-in didn’t render after insertion until the user clicked to another slide to make it show.

Get more info about Version 2009 (Build 13231.20418).

Version 2009 (Build 13231.20390)

Release date: October 13, 2020

This build fixes one minor bug and includes several security fixes. It fixes an issue in which Project may have crashed on opening files where resource contours were specified in a certain manner.

It has security fixes for Access, Excel, Outlook, Word, and the entire Office suite. For details, see the release notes for Microsoft Office security updates.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 2009 (Build 13231.20390).

Version 2009 (Build 13231.20368)

Release date: October 8, 2020

This build fixes several minor bugs and has a security fix. It fixes an issue that caused Outlook to unexpectedly start in an offline state, and one for the entire Office suite in which when printing to an inkjet printer, the printer reports “Toner Low” or “No Toner” even though inkjet printers don’t use toner.

It also fixed a security issue in PowerPoint that disabled IRM protections when opening a PowerPoint file in Protected View.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 2009 (Build 13231.20368).

Version 2009 (Build 13231.20262)

Release date: September 28, 2020

This build offers several minor new features and fixes a number of bugs. In Excel, you can now save shapes as pictures and can create named variables in new or pre-existing formulas. Outlook has a new profile card with an improved organization view, which matches the card style of Outlook on the web.

Among the bugs fixed are an issue with the Style Gallery dialog in Word, one in PowerPoint that caused slow coauthoring on files containing large numbers of the E2o data object, and one for the entire Office suite in which the Export to Animated GIF feature was not working.

Get more info about Version 2009 (Build 13231.20262).

Version 2008 (Build 13127.20508)

Release date: September 22, 2020

This build fixes several small bugs, including one in which Excel could crash when using the Quick Analysis after freezing the top row of the sheet, and another in Outlook that caused users to be unable to close shared calendars by clicking on the “X” in the corner.

Get more info about Version 2008 (Build 13127.20508).

Version 2008 (Build 13127.20408)

Release date: September 9, 2020

This build fixes several small bugs, including one in which Excel could crash in certain circumstances when using the Format Painter, and another in Word in which a user might lose content when resizing a shape.

Get more info about Version 2008 (Build 13127.20408).

Version 2008 (Build 13127.20296)

Release date: August 31, 2020

This build offers a variety of new features and includes several bug fixes. You can now pin folders from the Save dialog in Excel, Word and PowerPoint. Across the entire Office suite, you can switch among multiple panes using a tab on the right side of an app. (The tab only appears if you have two or more panes open.) In Teams, you can use a variety of Cortana voice skills, such as for meetings or collaboration. In Outlook, when you include a link in an email, the file name automatically replaces the URL.

Among the bugs fixed are one that caused crashes when replying to or composing new email in Outlook, and another in Project in which project finish dates weren’t getting updated for projects connected to SharePoint tasks lists.

Get more info about Version 2008 (Build 13127.20296).

Version 2007 (Build 13029.20460)

Release date: August 25, 2020

This build includes a variety of minor bug fixes, including for one in Excel that occurred when trying to save a file that contained a formula with the LET() function, another in Outlook that caused issues when navigating in compact views, and another for the entire Office suite in which a crash could occur when a document was closed while the Share pane was open.

Get more info about Version 2007 (Build 13029.20460).

Version 2007 (Build 13029.20344)

Release date: August 11, 2020

This build includes 13 security updates, including for Remote Code Execution Vulnerabilities for Excel, Access, and the entire Office suite, as well as Information Disclosure Vulnerabilities for Excel, Word, Outlook and the entire Office suite. For details, see the Release notes for Microsoft Office Security Updates.

This build also fixes several small bugs, including one that caused Outlook to fail to retrieve search suggestions, and another that caused devices to occasionally crash when retrieving personal information from Outlook.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 2007 (Build 13029.20344).

Version 2007 (Build 13029.20308)

Release date: July 30, 2020

This build offers a variety of new features and squashes several bugs. You can now create pivot tables from datasets in Power BI within Excel, and also connect to, import, and refresh data from a PDF in Excel.

In Outlook you can create polls with Quick Poll and quickly reopen items from previous sessions. PowerPoint and Word now let you auto-apply or recommend sensitivity labels. Teams gets a variety of changes, including simplified notification settings and turning off previews for your chat notifications.

Among the issues fixed are one that caused and error or hang in Excel when loading a workbook with multiple sheets in page break preview and another in Project in which the task selected in the assign resources dialog wasn’t the same as the task selected in the task board view. A bug was fixed for the entire Office suite that caused a runtime message to show even though the transition to the full product is complete.

Get more info about Version 2007 (Build 13029.20308).

Version 2006 (Build 13001.20498)

Release date: July 28, 2020

This build fixes several minor issues, including one in Word and Outlook that caused problems when copying and pasting SVG images, and a timing issue for the entire Office suite that caused crashes when closing office files.

Get more info about Version 2006 (Build 13001.20498).

Version 2006 (Build 13001.20384)

Release date: July 14, 2020

This build squashed a number of bugs and includes security updates. Among the issues resolved are one in Access that caused a problem when inserting linked SQL tables that include an identity (e.g., autonumber) field, and one in Excel that could cause a crash when trying to create a data connection if you have signed out from your account.

Among the security updates are ones that fixed a Remote Code Execution Vulnerabilities in Excel, Outlook, Project, Word and the entire Office suite, among others. For details and a complete list, see the Microsoft 365 Apps Security Updates release notes.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 2006 (Build 13001.20384).

Version 2006 (Build 13001.20266)

Release date: June 30, 2020

This build offers a variety of new Office feature and squashes a number of bugs. Excel now supports OneDrive/SharePoint files with names and paths of up to 400 characters. Among other changes, PowerPoint has improved streaming video performance, Teams gets a simplified way to manage channel notification settings, and Outlook offers an option to disable @ mention suggestions when you’re composing mail in Outlook.

Among the issues resolved are one that which caused CustomUI XML for a custom ribbon tab to be removed when saving to SharePoint/OneDrive, one that caused users of the Shared Calendar improvements to see calendar failures in Outlook, and another that wouldn’t allow projects to be opened in the Project desktop client from Project Web App if the URL ended in .com.

Get more info about Version 2006 (Build 13001.20266).

Version 2005 (Build 12827.20470)

Release date: June 24, 2020

This build fixes a variety of issues throughout Office 365/Microsoft 365. In Excel, a bug that caused CustomUI XML for a custom ribbon tab to be removed when saving to SharePoint/OneDrive was fixed. Among the several Outlook problems resolved are one that caused users to see Outlook continuously prompt them to run the Inbox Repair tool. Word resolved an issue that may have caused a crash when dragging some content from the app. In PowerPoint an issue that caused the suggestion pane to crash was fixed.

Get more info about Version 2005 (Build 12827.20470).

Version 2005 (Build 12827.20336)

Release date: June 9, 2020

This build fixes a number of issues and has several security updates. In Excel, a bug was fixed in which Excel could crash when PivotTables were inserted into a chart sheet. In Project, an issue was fixed in which the ProjectBeforeTaskChange event didn’t fire when there was a change to the project summary task.

This build includes security fixes for two Microsoft Excel Remote Code Execution Vulnerabilities, a Microsoft Outlook Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability, a Microsoft Project Information Disclosure Vulnerability, and a Microsoft Office Remote Code Execution Vulnerability. For details, see these release notes.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 2005 (Build 12827.20336).

Version 2005 (Build 12827.20268)

Release date: June 2, 2020

This build offers multiple feature updates and fixes a number of issues. In Excel, when you type a data value that resembles a stock or a geographic location, Excel offers to convert it to the right data type, either Stocks or Geography. Outlook’s Calendar has gotten a makeover that makes it easier to scan. PowerPoint lets you use Surface Earbuds to control your presentation. Teams has many new features, including one that allows participants to raise a virtual hand in meetings, and another that lets them customize meeting video backgrounds. Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint and Word can now use animated GIFs.

Among the resolved issues are one in which Excel could become unresponsive after using Ctrl+Shift+Arrow keys to scroll when the Excel window is shared through Teams, one in Outlook that caused users to experience a crash when submitting feedback from an Admin Notification, and one throughout the Office suite in which in Visual Basic for Applications in Microsoft Office, certain VBA projects that contained references to code libraries with DBCS characters in the library name or library path would be viewed by the Office application as corrupt on load.

Get more info about Version 2005 (Build 12827.20268).

Version 2004 (Build 12730.20352)

Release date: May 21, 2020

This minor build fixes several bugs, including one in Excel in which the external link stopped working after the file was reopened if the file path was too long, one in Outlook that that caused users to experience crashes when submitting feedback from an Admin Notification, and one that affected the entire Office suite, in which Visual Basic for Applications projects with references that were expected to be found by searching locations specified in the PATH environment variable would not be found properly at runtime, leading to VBA runtime errors.

Get more info about Version 2004 (Build 12730.20352).

Version 2004 (Build 12730.20270)

Release date: May 12, 2020

This build fixes an Outlook issue that caused users to experience a crash when displaying toast notifications. It also includes a security fix for a Microsoft Excel Remote Code Execution Vulnerability. For details about the security fix, see these release notes.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 2004 (Build 12730.20270).

Version 2004 (Build 12730.20250)

Release date: May 4, 2020

This minor update fixes an issue in Visual Basic for Applications throughout Microsoft Office in which certain VBA projects that contain references to code libraries with DBCS characters in the library name or library path were viewed by the Office application as corrupt on loading.

Get more info about Version 2004 (Build 12730.20250).

Version 2004 (Build 12730.20236)

Release date: April 29, 2020

This update includes a variety of minor updates and bug fixes. Excel no longer supports external data connections that use the Facebook connector, Outlook now lets you join meetings without leaving your Inbox, and Access offers several new improvements to help be more productive working in Query Designer, SQL view, and the Relationships window. Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint and Word now have access to thousands of royalty-free stock images, icons, and stickers.

Among the bugs fixed are one that caused cause Excel to crash in some cases after copying a sheet containing a PivotTable, another that caused some users to experience a hang while exiting Outlook, and one that affected the entire Office suite, preventing users from restricting access and protecting files with a password simultaneously.

Get more info about Version 2004 (Build 12730.20236).

Version 2003 (Build 12624.20466)

Release date: April 15, 2020

This update includes “various bug and performance fixes,” which Microsoft has not detailed.

Get more info about Version 2003 (Build 12624.20466).

Version 2003 (Build 12624.20442)

Release date: April 14, 2020

This release includes a variety of security updates and several small bug fixes. Among the security vulnerabilities fixed are a Microsoft Excel Remote Code Execution Vulnerability, a Microsoft Word Remote Code Execution Vulnerability and a Microsoft Office Remote Code Execution Vulnerability for the entire suite. Get more details in the Release Notes for Office 365 Security Updates. 

Among the bugs fixed are an issue that caused users to occasionally experience a crash when using the “X” button on their mouse in Word and Outlook, and Application.Evaluate (VBA) not working for user-defined functions in some cases in Excel.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 2003 (Build 12624.20442).

Version 2003 (Build 12624.20382)

Release date: March 31, 2020

This update improves OneNote’s sync and server stability and fixes an issue in Project in which users were unable to enter time-phased Baseline Work when the setting to protect actual work is on.

Get more info about Version 2003 (Build 12624.20382).

Version 2003 (Build 12624.20320)

Release date: March 25, 2020

This update introduces several new features and fixes a number of bugs. In Outlook, you can now drag email to a group, and also more easily log into Wi-Fi networks. Co-authoring in Word has been sped up so that collaborators see changes more quickly. And throughout the Office suite, you can now apply sensitivity labels to prompt you for custom permissions.

Among the bugs fixed are one in which Excel crashed in certain cases when reopening a workbook embedded in Word or PowerPoint, and another in which copying a shape in PowerPoint slide might fail.

Get more info about Version 2003 (Build 12624.20320).

Version 2002 (Build 12527.20278)

Release date: March 10, 2020

This update has a single bug fix and addresses several security issues in Word. It fixes an issue in Project in which the OnUndoOrRedo event doesn’t fire without first running the OpenUndoTransaction method. It also plugs four Remote Code Execution Vulnerabilities in Word. Find more details in the security release notes.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 2002 (Build 12527.20278).

Version 2002 (Build 12527.20242)

Release date: March 1, 2020

This update has only a single, minor change: an Outlook bug that that wouldn’t allow third-party applications to send email has been fixed.

Get more info about Version 2002 (Build 12527.20242).

Version 2002 (Build 12527.20194)

Release date: February 25, 2020

This update includes a few minor new features and fixes several bugs. In Excel and Word, you can now save objects as such as charts, shapes, ink, icons and pictures as an SVG (scalable vector graphics file). Click here for details. In Excel, you can also get at-a-glance analysis of the data in your columns, identify error and empty values, and see distribution histograms using the Query Editor.

In Excel, an issue was fixed in which CUBEVALUE functions would sometimes return an incorrect result. Among several Outlook bug fixes are one that that caused commas in the location field of a meeting to turn into semicolons, and another that could cause a crash when viewing the same item in multiple windows.

Get more info about Version 2002 (Build 12527.20194).

Version 2001 (Build 12430.20288)

Release date: February 19, 2020

This update includes “various bugs and performance fixes,” which Microsoft has not detailed.

Get more info about Version 2001 (Build 12430.20288).

Version 2001 (Build 12430.20184)

Release date: January 30, 2020

This update includes new features for Excel, Outlook and Word, along with bug fixes. In Excel, you can now respond to comments and mentions from within email without opening the workbook. Excel also gets a new XLOOKUP function that lets you search in a table by range or row. A new group naming policy in Outlook lets IT admins standardize and manage the names of groups created by users in an organization. Word now lets you save shapes as pictures and use the Lasso tool on the Draw tab to help select objects drawn with ink.

A bug has been fixed in Access that can cause Access to fail to identify an Identity Column in a linked SQL Server table, which can cause rows to be reported as deleted incorrectly. Also fixed was a bug in Excel and Outlook that caused users to experience crashes when renaming a signature.

Get more info about Version 2001 (Build 12430.20184).

Version 1912 (Build 12325.20344)

Release date: January 22, 2020

This very minor update resolves a single issue in which Microsoft Access failed to identify an Identity Column in a linked SQL Server table, which could have caused rows to be reported as deleted incorrectly.

Get more info about Version 1912 (Build 12325.20344).

Version 1912 (Build 12325.20298)

Release date: January 14, 2020

This security update addresses security issues in Excel and the entire Office suite. It plugs holes in three Microsoft Excel Remote Code Execution Vulnerabilities, and one in a Microsoft Office Memory Corruption Vulnerability. Find more details in the security release notes.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 1912 (Build 12325.20298).

Version 1912 (Build 12325.20288)

Release date: January 8, 2020

This update includes a new feature that can create looping GIFs in PowerPoint, and new accessibility features for Outlook and PowerPoint. In PowerPoint, the new Accessibility Checker helps you arrange objects on your slides with screen readers in mind. And Outlook now displays an alert reminding you to make your content accessible when sending mail to a user who prefers accessible content.

There are also a variety of minor bug fixes, including fixing an issue in Outlook that caused users to experience hangs in Outlook when retrieving Cloud Settings, and an issue in Word in which the building blocks organizer had displayed an invalid alert: “You have modified styles, building blocks.”

Get more info about Version 1912 (Build 12325.20288).

Version 1911 (Build 12228.20364)

Release date: December 10, 2019

This update offers a few minor bug fixes and several security updates. It fixes the right-click menu for Excel’s Pivot Charts to enable the “Show Detail” option and also fixes an issue in Outlook that allowed web add-ins to access Digital Rights Managed messages.

Among the security updates are those that fix an Excel Information Disclosure Vulnerability, a Word Denial of Service Vulnerability and a PowerPoint Remote Code Execution Vulnerability. For details, see the security update release notes.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 1911 (Build 12228.20364).

Version 1911 (Build 12228.20332)

Release date: December 3, 2019

This update offers a few minor features and fixes a variety of bugs. Six new functions have been added in Excel: FILTER, SORT, SORTBY, UNIQUE, SEQUENCE and RANDARRAY. Excel also now has a data visualizer add-on that can create flow charts in Visio. Word’s co-authoring capabilities have been improved, making it more likely changes will be seen by others in real time.

Among the bugs fixed are one that caused crashes when users searched for recent files in Excel while no workbook was open, and another in which Office updates unexpectedly downloaded files from the Office CDN instead of the intended source, such as a local or network share or Configuration Manager-provided location.

Get more info about Version 1911 (Build 12228.20332).

Version 1910 (Build 12130.20410)

Release date: November 22, 2019

Microsoft isn’t saying much about this update except that it includes “various [unnamed] bugs and performance fixes.”

Get more info about Version 1910 (Build 12130.20410).

Version 1910 (Build 12130.20390)

Release date: November 18, 2019

This update includes unnamed bug and performance fixes in Microsoft’s description. It also fixes two issues with Outlook, one that caused users to see the location field in meetings change unexpectedly, and another that caused users to see an empty message box with an “OK” button when trying to contact support from the Account Creation context.

Get more info about Version 1910 (Build 12130.20390).

Version 1910 (Build 12130.20344)

Release date: November 12, 2019

This security update comprises two fixes for Excel, including Remote Code Execution Vulnerability CVE-2019-1448 and Information Disclosure Vulnerability CVE-2019-1446, and two for the entire Office suite, including ClickToRun Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability CVE-2019-1449 and Information Disclosure Vulnerability CVE-2019-1402.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 1910 (Build 12130.20344).

Version 1910 (Build 12130.20272)

Release date: October 30, 2019

This update introduces a wide variety of minor new features, including one for Excel, Word and PowerPoint that checks PDFs you create for accessibility issues and offers fixes, and another for Excel, Word, Outlook and PowerPoint that applies sensitivity labels to your documents and emails to keep them compliant with your organization’s information protection policies. Word also gets coauthoring improvements.

Get more info about Version 1910 (Build 12130.20272).

Version 1909 (Build 12026.20344)

Release date: October 22, 2019

This very minor non-security update fixes a bug in Microsoft Project, in which users could get several messages when opening a read-only project. And in order to protect Office users’ security, Microsoft Office updates are now being signed using the SHA-2 algorithm exclusively.

Get more info about Version 1909 (Build 12026.20344).

Version 1909 (Build 12026.20334)

Release date: October 14, 2019

This very minor non-security update fixes a single bug that affects the entire Office suite. The bug didn’t allow people to save Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents when they tried to create a new file and bring up the “Save as Model Dialog” option after clicking on the Save icon or pressing Ctrl + S.

Get more info about Version 1909 (Build 12026.20334).

NOTE: On Oct. 15, 2019, Microsoft released an unnamed update that temporarily disables the Cloud Save dialog to address the saving issue addressed on Oct. 14. Microsoft says the feature will be re-enabled soon.

Version 1909 (Build 12026.20320)

Release date: October 8, 2019

This build includes a security update and a number of minor bug fixes. In Outlook, several bugs were squashed, including one that wouldn’t allow people to open some instances of recurring calendar items, and another that caused Outlook to crash when a profile was being created. PowerPoint had an issue fixed that caused data loss when coauthoring and offline editing.  For the entire Office suite, several issues were fixed, including one that crashed Office when files were opened. In addition, Microsoft Updates are now signed using the SHA-2 algorithm exclusively in order to improve security.

There are also fixes for two Excel Remote Code Execution Vulnerabilities, detailed in CVE-2019-1327 and CVE-2019-1331.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 1909 (Build 12026.20320).

Version 1909 (Build 12026.20264)

Release date: September 30, 2019

This build offers a variety of new features and fixes several bugs. In Outlook, it’s now easier and faster to update shared calendars. In addition, when you search through your mail, the most relevant email messages are now grouped at the top of the results.

PowerPoint lets you save illustrations as SVG files, and you can now animate an ink drawing so that it replays either forward or backward during the presentation. In Excel, Word, and PowerPoint you can now more easily share files by using the “recently used” list without having to open the file.

Get more info about Version 1909 (Build 12026.20264).

Version 1908 (Build 11929.20300)

Release date: September 10, 2019

This build offers several minor bug fixes and a security update. In Outlook, a bug was fixed that caused some users to encounter authentication errors when trying to retrieve their cloud settings. In PowerPoint, an issue was fixed that prevented some animations from starting. For the entire Office suite, an issue was fixed that caused large tree views to fail.

There are also security fixes for Excel and the entire Office suite, including a Microsoft Excel Information Disclosure Vulnerability, a Microsoft Excel Remote Code Execution Vulnerability, a Jet Database Engine Remote Code Execution Vulnerability affecting the entire suite, and a Microsoft Office Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability affecting the entire suite.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 1908 (Build 11929.20300).

Version 1908 (Build 11929.20254)

Release date: August 26, 2019

This build offers a several new minor features throughout Office. You now have more control over text boxes and borders in Excel, Word and PowerPoint, and you can also more easily insert and manage icons in those applications as well as in Outlook. The entire Office suite also gets new icons. In addition, there are a variety of bug fixes.

Get more info about Version 1908 (Build 11929.20254).

Version 1907 (Build 11901.20218)

Release date: August 13, 2019

This build offers two minor bug fixes and a variety of security updates for Outlook, Word and the entire Office suite. Among the security issues fixed are remote code execution vulnerabilities in Outlook and Word and a Jet database engine remote code execution vulnerability in the entire Office suite. (See the security release notes for details.)

The non-security changes include fixing an issue in Outlook in which users having their mailbox upgraded from basic to modern authentication were ending up with the wrong account associated with their Outlook profile.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 1907 (Build 11901.20218).

Version 1907 (Build 11901.20176)

Release date: July 29, 2019

This build offers a variety of new features for Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint and Word. It’s now easier to code using Power Query in Excel, with enhancements including autocomplete and syntax coloring. In Outlook, when you type a person’s name in the Search box, the most relevant email messages will now be included alongside your search suggestions. PowerPoint lets you save a video to Microsoft Stream, which lets you insert a streaming video instead of the entire file into a presentation to reduce file sizes. Word now has two different sized erasers so you can fix small inking imperfections.

In addition, Excel, PowerPoint and Word make it easier to create map charts, and also let you decide whether links to Office documents should open in the appropriate app or instead in a browser.

Get more info about Version 1907 (Build 11901.20176).

Version 1906 (Build 11727.20244)

Release date: July 9, 2019

This build has security updates for Excel, Outlook, Skype for Business and the entire Office suite. For details, see these release notes. In addition, there is a fix to an Outlook bug that caused the current folder search to intermittently fail.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 1906 (Build 11727.20244).

Version 1906 (Build 11727.20230)

Release date: June 27, 2019

This extremely minor build has only a single change: It fixes an issue that caused a subset of POP3 users to see all of their emails formatted as plain text, regardless of their settings. Users who want to see their messages formatted with HTML can now do so.

Get more info about Version 1906 (Build 11727.20230).

Version 1906 (Build 11727.20210)

Release date: June 24, 2019

This build offers a variety of new features for several Office applications, primarily Outlook. Outlook gets a simplified Ribbon that tames its frequently complex interface. (The simplified Ribbon has been available in a preview for quite some time, but now is officially launched.) In addition, you can now synchronize more than 500 folders when syncing shared mailboxes. The previous limit was 500. The quick action menu can also be customized.

You can now insert 3D animated graphics into Excel. In Word, multiple people can co-author documents in the open, XML-based.docm format. And in Skype, you can crop video in a meeting on a 4K monitor when the “Crop and Center my video in meetings” setting is turned on.

There are also a number of undocumented bugs and performance fixes, according to Microsoft.

Get more info about Version 1906 (Build 11727.20210).

Version 1905 (Build 11629.20246)

Release date: June 11, 2019

This build addresses two security holes in Word, remote code execution vulnerabilities CVE-2019-1034 and CVE-2019-1035.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 1905 (Build 11629.20246).

Version 1905 (Build 11629.20214)

Release date: June 4, 2019

This build fixes a single, minor issue, one in which some add-ins caused unexpected errors to appear around shapes in PowerPoint charts.

Get more info about Version 1905 (Build 11629.20214).

Version 1905 (Build 11629.20196)

Release date: May 29, 2019

This build introduces minor new features to multiple Office applications. In Word, PowerPoint and Excel, if you @mention people in document comments, they will automatically receive an email notification that they’ve been mentioned, so they can check out the comments. Across all Office applications except Outlook, a new account manager is available; it displays all Office 365 work and personal accounts in a single location, making it easier to switch among them.

In addition, in PowerPoint, presenters’ words are automatically shown on screen as captions and can be translated into subtitles in the language of your choice. In Outlook, it’s now easier to add Outlook.com and Gmail accounts that use two-factor authentication.

Get more info about Version 1905 (Build 11629.20196).

Version 1904 (Build 11601.20204)

Release date: May 14, 2019

This build includes security fixes for a Microsoft Word Remote Code Execution Vulnerability, a Microsoft Office Access Connectivity Engine Remote Code Execution Vulnerability and a Microsoft Office Access Connectivity Engine Remote Code Execution Vulnerability. Go to the release notes for Office 365 ProPlus Security Updates for more details.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 1904 (Build 11601.20204).

Version 1904 (Build 11601.20178)

Release date: May 8, 2019

This build includes “various bugs and performances fixes,” in Microsoft’s words, that Microsoft hasn’t provided any details on.

Get more info about Version 1904 (Build 11601.20178).

Version 1904 (Build 11601.20144)

Release date: April 29, 2019

This build includes a few minor updates. The most notable is the ability to find files by typing into the Search box on the File > Home page in Excel, PowerPoint and Word. The entire Office 365 suite sports a new set of icons, and the suite also gets an updated set of privacy controls, covering things such as the types of diagnostic data sent to Microsoft. Administrators, not Office users, have control over setting them. Here’s an overview of the new settings.

Get more info about Version 1904 (Build 11601.20144).

Version 1903 (Build 11425.20244)

Release date: April 23, 2019

This build includes “various bugs and performances fixes,” in Microsoft’s words, that Microsoft hasn’t provided any details on.

Get more info about  Version 1903 (Build 11425.20244).

Version 1903 (Build 11425.20228)

Release date: April 17, 2019

This build includes “various bugs and performances fixes,” in Microsoft’s words, that Microsoft hasn’t provided any details on.

Get more info about Version 1903 (Build 11425.20228).

Version 1903 (Build 11425.20218)

Release date: April 16, 2019

This build includes “various bugs and performances fixes,” in Microsoft’s words, that Microsoft hasn’t provided any details on.

Get more info about Version 1903 (Build 11425.20218).

Version 1903 (Build 11425.20204)

Release date: April 9, 2019

This build includes security updates for Excel and the entire office suite. Among the holes fixed are the Microsoft Excel Remote Code Execution Vulnerability, the Microsoft Graphics Components Remote Code Execution Vulnerability, and the Microsoft Office Access Connectivity Engine Remote Code Execution Vulnerability. For details, go to the security update’s release notes.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied soon. Over the next few days, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 1903 (Build 11425.20202).

Version 1903 (Build 11425.20202)

Release date: April 1, 2019

This build includes minor updates for Excel, PowerPoint and Word. All three of them now have an accessibility checker which examines documents to see how accessible they are, and offers suggestions if they’re not. Go to Review > Check Accessibility to try it out. In addition, PowerPoint gives you more control over how its Morph feature works.

Get more info about  Version 1903 (Build 11425.20202).

Version 1902 (Build 11328.20158)

Release date: March 12, 2019

This build includes very minor bug and performance fixes — so minor that Microsoft has not detailed what they are.

Get more info about Version 1902 (Build 11328.20158).

Version 1902 (Build 11328.20146)

Release date: March 4, 2019

This build adds a variety of features to several Office applications. It’s now easier in PowerPoint to insert videos from YouTube and Vimeo. You can also hand-draw math expressions in PowerPoint and have them turned into standard characters.

Outlook lets you set meetings to end five to ten minutes early by default, so that people can easily attend back-to-back meetings. Outlook can now also read mail aloud. Excel lets you use @mentions in comments to let co-workers know when you’re looking for their input. And a new Ideas button in Excel lets you look for patterns in your data and uses them to create personalized suggestions for how to use the data.

Access now clearly lets you see the active tab, easily drag tabs to rearrange them, and close database objects with a click.

Get more info about Version 1902 (Build 11328.20146).

Version 1901 (Build 11231.20130)

Release date: January 31, 2019

This minor build includes small changes to Excel, Outlook, Visio and the entire Office suite. A reply box has been added to Excel, making it easier to make comments during collaboration. Outlook now lets you use animated GIFs in your emails. Visio gets a series of Azure stencils so you can design a cloud app or plan a cloud architecture. And the entire Office suite now allows Office add-ins to insert graphics in SVG format.

Get more info about Version 1901 (Build 11231.20130).

Version 1812 (Build 11126.20266)

Release date: January 14, 2019

This minor build addresses performance issues.

Get more info about Version 1812 (Build 11126.20266).

Version 1812 (Build 11126.20196)

Release date: January 8, 2019

This build includes both security fixes and a minor bug fix. The bug was an issue in Project in which you couldn’t uncheck the Critical, Late and Slack bar styles for the Gantt chart after you had checked one of them.

Security patches include closing an information disclosure vulnerability in Outlook, fixing a remote execution vulnerability and an information disclosure vulnerability in Word, and closing a remote code execution vulnerability for the entire Office suite.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied soon. Over the next few days, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about non-security changes in Version 1812 (Build 11126.20196) and security fixes in Version 1812 (Build 11126.20196).

Version 1812 (Build 11126.20188)

Release date: January 3, 2019

This build offers minor improvements to several Office applications. In Word, you can now use a feature called line focus that lets you move through a document with one, three, or five lines in view at a time. A new feature also lets you create a web page from a Word document by going to File > Transform > Transform to Web Page.

PowerPoint now lets you convert your ink to standard shapes and text, then get smart slide-design ideas from PowerPoint Designer. Outlook has new options for encrypting messages. And Word, Excel and PowerPoint all now let you keep track of accessibility issues in your documents without having to keep the accessibility checker open all the time.

Get more info about Version 1812 (Build 11126.20188).

Meta will use geothermal energy to run its data centers

August 27, 2024 /

Meta has signed an agreement with Sage Geosystems to purchase up to 150 megawatts of geothermal energy to power its US data centers. The first phase of the project is expected to be operational in 2027, according to Reuters. And, according to Meta, it will significantly increase the use of geothermal energy in the United States.

Geothermal energy is renewable energy that uses the heat stored in the earth’s crust, which originates in the earth’s formation and decay of radioactive elements.

The new agreement is part of Meta’s ongoing efforts to meet the increasing demand for energy that has arisen with the company’s major investment in generative AI (genAI) technology, which is very energy-intensive. The financial terms of the agreement were not released.

Meta will use geothermal energy to run its data centers

August 27, 2024 /

Meta has signed an agreement with Sage Geosystems to purchase up to 150 megawatts of geothermal energy to power its US data centers. The first phase of the project is expected to be operational in 2027, according to Reuters. And, according to Meta, it will significantly increase the use of geothermal energy in the United States.

Geothermal energy is renewable energy that uses the heat stored in the earth’s crust, which originates in the earth’s formation and decay of radioactive elements.

The new agreement is part of Meta’s ongoing efforts to meet the increasing demand for energy that has arisen with the company’s major investment in generative AI (genAI) technology, which is very energy-intensive. The financial terms of the agreement were not released.

What to expect at Apple’s Sept. 9 ‘Glowtime’ special event

August 27, 2024 /

Apple on Monday confirmed its next big public event will be Sept. 9, when it is expected to introduce the new iPhone 16 range, new Apple Watch models, and AirPods 4, with a focus on artificial intelligence (AI) hinted at by the event slogan, “It’s Glowtime.”

The event will be live-streamed as in past years across YouTube, Apple TV, Apple’s Developer app, and via the company website. The event begins at 10 a.m. PT/ 1 p.m. ET.

Why Glowtime?

When the company introduced Apple Intelligence at WWDC in June, it unveiled an all-new Siri behavior. While for now Siri shows itself to be working on a query by displaying a round pulsing shape on the screen, the new Siri simply glows around the edges of the device. Most Apple commentators believe this is the reference made in the invitation to the event.

That attention to AI is expected to be the big focus this year. Apple knows it has a chance to build the world’s biggest active AI ecosystem across all the devices that comprise its platforms. That’s a real opportunity for the company. But given that competitors are also racing in the same direction, Apple knows it must make a big impression with September news.

While not all of the new Apple Intelligence features are expected to be available when iOS 18 ships, we do anticipate more will arrive later in fall, when new Macs and iPads are also expected to arrive.

What to expect from iPhone 16 range?

As previously discussed, the iPhone 16 range will include the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max. (Recent speculation has claimed a much thinner high-end model, and an entry level iPhone SE upgrade will debut next year.) All the new devices — including the latter — are expected to be capable of running Apple Intelligence, which otherwise requires an iPhone 15 or later.

Big changes in all the iPhones might include a new camera layout, Action and Capture buttons, along with a 5x telephoto zoom on the Pro range. The Pro devices will also get bigger, 6.3- and 6.9-in. displays and improved cameras; there is also talk of the Pro range gaining solid-state buttons, which will make them even more resilient and waterproof.

Apple might also put more memory into the iPhones to provide better support for Apple Intelligence, enabling more complex generative AI (genAI) features to take place on the device. Other tasks will run on Apple’s own secured servers, though users can choose third-party services such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT directly from their iPhone. New colors and a higher 2TB capacity option are also expected.

What’s important is that both the outgoing iPhone 15 range and incoming iPhone 16 models will immediately be the world’s first mass-market AI smartphones, equipped with powerful AI features to help get more work done. Not only that, but up to 25% of the iPhones shipped across the next 12 months might be made in India.

What to expect from the Apple Watch?

The Apple Watch Ultra 3 may once again be the most lusted-after smartwatch. While the internal components will change and the device should become much faster with a new processor, externally it will seem similar, reports claim. It might be available in more colors.

The Apple Watch Series 10 will see more obvious improvements; slimmer, it will also host a bigger display. It is notable that this will be the 10th anniversary of the Apple Watch. Finally, the Apple Watch SE3 could be a lower-cost plastic model available in multiple colors and aimed at younger users, particularly as a way to keep in contact with kids in schools that ban use of smartphones. We could see new heath sensors introduced, but ongoing legal disputes might slow their introduction.

What about AirPods 4?

Though AirPods are not an enterprise product (yet), we know that wherever you have iPhones, you’ll often find AirPods. Now with USB-C charging, the new AirPods will become a range, with both lower-end and mid-range variants, leaving the AirPods Pro as the high-end choice. The AirPods 4 are expected to gain noise cancellation, which will be a great upgrade for many, particularly commuters, travellers, and workers seeking to focus at their desk.

What about iPads?

We’re not expecting iPad Pro news, though there is latespeculation Apple could introduce a new iPad mini and iPad model. These would be good upgrades, as they should host new chips, perhaps even the A17 processor used in the iPhone 15. Inclusion of new Apple processors is essential since the company will want to run Apple Intelligence on these devices.

While AI is the big marketing push, the inclusion of these new processors should make these entry-level iPads significantly more powerful than before. (The current 10th generation iPad runs an A14 Bionic chip.)

There are implications for workplaces deploying iPads across their teams, as the upgraded devices will deliver much more bang per buck, (and computational cycles per watt).

What about Siri?

The Apple invitation’s reference to Siri hints that Apple will reveal even more AI features. That suggests the company hopes to make Siri a far more viable AI assistant than it is at present. Expect more personalization, smarter and more contextual intelligence, and predictive help. 

What about Europe?

Apple’s recent moves to tweak its approach to Europe’s DMA show the company has been in consultation with regulators there. While we can’t expect miracles, perhaps the company will be better able to explain its Apple Intelligence rollout plans for the region during the announcement.

More from Jonny Evans

Please follow me on Mastodon, or join me in the AppleHolic’s bar & grill and Apple Discussions groups on MeWe.

What to expect at Apple’s Sept. 9 ‘Glowtime’ special event

August 27, 2024 /

Apple on Monday confirmed its next big public event will be Sept. 9, when it is expected to introduce the new iPhone 16 range, new Apple Watch models, and AirPods 4, with a focus on artificial intelligence (AI) hinted at by the event slogan, “It’s Glowtime.”

The event will be live-streamed as in past years across YouTube, Apple TV, Apple’s Developer app, and via the company website. The event begins at 10 a.m. PT/ 1 p.m. ET.

Why Glowtime?

When the company introduced Apple Intelligence at WWDC in June, it unveiled an all-new Siri behavior. While for now Siri shows itself to be working on a query by displaying a round pulsing shape on the screen, the new Siri simply glows around the edges of the device. Most Apple commentators believe this is the reference made in the invitation to the event.

That attention to AI is expected to be the big focus this year. Apple knows it has a chance to build the world’s biggest active AI ecosystem across all the devices that comprise its platforms. That’s a real opportunity for the company. But given that competitors are also racing in the same direction, Apple knows it must make a big impression with September news.

While not all of the new Apple Intelligence features are expected to be available when iOS 18 ships, we do anticipate more will arrive later in fall, when new Macs and iPads are also expected to arrive.

What to expect from iPhone 16 range?

As previously discussed, the iPhone 16 range will include the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max. (Recent speculation has claimed a much thinner high-end model, and an entry level iPhone SE upgrade will debut next year.) All the new devices — including the latter — are expected to be capable of running Apple Intelligence, which otherwise requires an iPhone 15 or later.

Big changes in all the iPhones might include a new camera layout, Action and Capture buttons, along with a 5x telephoto zoom on the Pro range. The Pro devices will also get bigger, 6.3- and 6.9-in. displays and improved cameras; there is also talk of the Pro range gaining solid-state buttons, which will make them even more resilient and waterproof.

Apple might also put more memory into the iPhones to provide better support for Apple Intelligence, enabling more complex generative AI (genAI) features to take place on the device. Other tasks will run on Apple’s own secured servers, though users can choose third-party services such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT directly from their iPhone. New colors and a higher 2TB capacity option are also expected.

What’s important is that both the outgoing iPhone 15 range and incoming iPhone 16 models will immediately be the world’s first mass-market AI smartphones, equipped with powerful AI features to help get more work done. Not only that, but up to 25% of the iPhones shipped across the next 12 months might be made in India.

What to expect from the Apple Watch?

The Apple Watch Ultra 3 may once again be the most lusted-after smartwatch. While the internal components will change and the device should become much faster with a new processor, externally it will seem similar, reports claim. It might be available in more colors.

The Apple Watch Series 10 will see more obvious improvements; slimmer, it will also host a bigger display. It is notable that this will be the 10th anniversary of the Apple Watch. Finally, the Apple Watch SE3 could be a lower-cost plastic model available in multiple colors and aimed at younger users, particularly as a way to keep in contact with kids in schools that ban use of smartphones. We could see new heath sensors introduced, but ongoing legal disputes might slow their introduction.

What about AirPods 4?

Though AirPods are not an enterprise product (yet), we know that wherever you have iPhones, you’ll often find AirPods. Now with USB-C charging, the new AirPods will become a range, with both lower-end and mid-range variants, leaving the AirPods Pro as the high-end choice. The AirPods 4 are expected to gain noise cancellation, which will be a great upgrade for many, particularly commuters, travellers, and workers seeking to focus at their desk.

What about iPads?

We’re not expecting iPad Pro news, though there is latespeculation Apple could introduce a new iPad mini and iPad model. These would be good upgrades, as they should host new chips, perhaps even the A17 processor used in the iPhone 15. Inclusion of new Apple processors is essential since the company will want to run Apple Intelligence on these devices.

While AI is the big marketing push, the inclusion of these new processors should make these entry-level iPads significantly more powerful than before. (The current 10th generation iPad runs an A14 Bionic chip.)

There are implications for workplaces deploying iPads across their teams, as the upgraded devices will deliver much more bang per buck, (and computational cycles per watt).

What about Siri?

The Apple invitation’s reference to Siri hints that Apple will reveal even more AI features. That suggests the company hopes to make Siri a far more viable AI assistant than it is at present. Expect more personalization, smarter and more contextual intelligence, and predictive help. 

What about Europe?

Apple’s recent moves to tweak its approach to Europe’s DMA show the company has been in consultation with regulators there. While we can’t expect miracles, perhaps the company will be better able to explain its Apple Intelligence rollout plans for the region during the announcement.

More from Jonny Evans

Please follow me on Mastodon, or join me in the AppleHolic’s bar & grill and Apple Discussions groups on MeWe.

BCG execs: AI across the company increased productivity, ‘employee joy’

August 27, 2024 /

With more than 100 offices and 32,000 employees, Boston Consulting Group leaders knew their decision to roll out several artificial intelligence (AI) platforms over the past two years meant not only deploying the technologies but training the firm’s workforce to use them.

While some organizations have chosen to train up a portion of their employees who might most benefit from using AI, BCG opted to train its entire workforce on using generative AI (genAI) platforms. It believed offering the tech to everyone would allow efficiency and productivity gains to grow organically.

Massive upskilling is essential to delivering broad efficiency gains from genAI. And a program that conveys how fundamental the technology is to employees’ effectiveness and longer-term career growth can be key to winning their hearts and minds.

The investments paid off. BCG execs say employees are more innovative, they’re finding their own efficiencies, and overall are more happier about how they work through the productivity gains of AI.

Foundational to BCG’s AI efforts was its enterprise GPT strategy. Beginning in October 2023, ChatGPT was rolled out internally to every employee. But the technology was kept in house, meaning all data remains under BCG’s control.

BCG allows its consultants to build their own GPTs for specific customer interactions, which has fostered an atmosphere of innovation. To date, more than 6,000 GPTs have been created by BCG’s employees to perform tasks such as summarizing documents and video meetings, and automatically generating email responses to clients.

BCG also developed Gene, a conversational AI chatbot that can interact with humans. Gene was originally used as a co-host for BCG’s “Imagine This” podcast, but it evolved into a client engagement and content creation tool. Gene’s memory banks are stocked with research and insights on genAI from some of BCG’s top analysts.

Alicia Pittman, BCG global people chair, and Scott Wilder, BCG managing director and partner, answered questions from Computerworld about the firm’s AI strategy, what it took to implement, and what the benefits have been. The interview has been lightly edited for clarity.

alicia pittman and scott wilder from boston consulting group

Boston Consulting Group’s Alicia Pittman, global people chair, and Scott Wilder, managing director and partner

Boston Consulting Group

I understand that BCG rolled out AI tools such as enterprise GPT and Gene to assist your workforce in performing its tasks. Can you explain how those AI tools are being used at BCG?

Alicia Pittman: “Our philosophy around genAI at BCG is ‘early and often.’ We understood from those first days that genAI would be transformational in how we work. And we knew that to help our clients transform in this space, we needed to first transform ourselves. We rolled out best-in-class tools in the market — including ChatGPT Enterprise for all our staff — and also built our own, including a tool called Deckster to help generate slides and a natural language query search for our knowledge base.

“To date, our people have created over 6,000 custom GPTs for various tasks and client work to enhance productivity and simplify administrative duties. And since our global launch of Deckster in March 2024, it has helped us create or edit slides over 450,000 times. We want our people to be ahead of the curve so we can be at the cutting edge as the technology evolves and expands the art of the possible. Being at the forefront is a promise we make to our people and our clients — and we’ve invested accordingly.”

What is a “custom GPT” and what are examples of tasks they can tackle?

Scott Wilder: “A custom GPT is a powerful feature within ChatGPT that allows someone to build a reusable mini genAI application that users define themselves through natural language. This is done through a combination of custom instructions, files you can load (e.g., best examples, or data, etc.), and an ability to program interactions to address specific tasks. Our teams have developed and shared more than 1,000 custom GPTs on everything from how to improve ChatGPT prompts to scheduling meetings across time zones to generating more creative talk tracks for trainings.

“There are a little over 6,000 custom GPTs total. Within this pool of custom GPTs are about 5,000 private ones for individual BCGers and about 1,000 that are shared among BCG teams. Private GPTs can only be accessed by the person that made it (to solve for something specific or niche that only they were dealing with). Shared GPTs mean that the maker can share them with whoever they want, but only within BCG. They can select specific people across case teams or make them ‘public’ within BCG.”

When did BCG begin its internal rollout/deployment of AI? What was the purpose of the rollout?

Wilder: “We started evaluating genAI tools in late January 2023 and, in tandem, assessed the top activities to drive greater efficiency within, when genAI was first taking the world by storm. Our first major release under the rollout was ChatGPT Enterprise in October 2023. At the time, it was ChatGPT 3.5. We also custom-built tools like Deckster around that time to deploy in beta to help save time creating and editing slides.”

In what ways did ChatGPT and other AI tools increase performance and efficiency?

Pittman: “We are seeing a wide range of applications across our business and with our clients — from how we ramp up new team members on complex cases, to accelerating market research, to more rapidly customizing client collateral for higher-impact implementation. For instance, with one client we are equipping the sales force to roll out new methodologies. We might have typically provided one script for each of the 8 to 10 different client segments for the sales team to then customize. With genAI, we can provide 100, 200, or even 500 custom scripts at the customer level.

“Equally, genAI is upping our game in how we develop people. New managers at BCG are using avatars to practice giving high-quality feedback. GenAI also helps our people synthesize multiple types of feedback to sharpen their skills and focus areas. Our teams use a mix of off-the-shelf and custom-built tools.”

Wilder: “Putting all this together, genAI is really improving the quality of our insights as we have more time for more important tasks, improving the breadth and depth of what we can provide to our clients, and accelerating the learning curve, which will have quality benefits for years to come.”

How did BCG measure AI performance/efficiency metrics?

Pittman: “We have three primary KPIs [key performance indicators] when it comes to our genAI transformation: increase productivity, enhance the quality of our work and insights, and increase employee joy by reducing time spent on toil. We are seeing high impact across each of these, which is exciting for our people, for our clients, and therefore for our business. As we ramp up this year, we are also measuring usage and inputs carefully. In particular, we are measuring what features and habits spur stickiness in usage.”

How did BCG go about retraining its workforce to use its new tools?

Pittman: “We started by doing a 360 review to understand the capabilities, desired outcomes, and potential risks of the tools we were experimenting with to ensure the right guardrails were in place before fully rolling them out to our employees. Responsible and ethical use of AI is something we take very seriously, so that was an important early consideration. We have strict data control measures and set up various trainings. We keep those updated on a rolling basis as the technologies evolve.

“Approaching the rollout, we took our own advice and really invested in what we call ‘the 70.’ We have found that successful AI transformations typically dedicate 10% of their AI effort to algorithms, 20% to data and technological backbone, and 70% — the lion’s share — to business and people transformation.

“So, we have had to fundamentally rethink the ways that we work. That looks different for everyone based on the nature of someone’s day-today job and what they are looking to do. Some BCGers find the technology most useful for creative content generation, others for getting new team members up to speed quickly, and others for knowledge gathering. For example, one of our executive assistants (EA) built a tool to automate tasks for himself and other EAs. The underlying need dictates which of our tools they turn to.

“We deployed an ecosystem of training and upskilling that includes everything from our formal required curriculum for BCGers at all levels, to on-demand virtual trainings, to one-on-one reverse mentorship for our superusers to help them coach others. It’s been an intentional mix, recognizing that different people learn in different ways.

“Our work is so team-based, we knew that just working with individuals would not be enough. We have team coaches that help our teams find and develop applications in real time. We also believe that change happens at the rock face, so we have individual and team coaches available to help people on the spot in their day-to-day work.

“And we work to make it fun. Our workforce includes some of the brightest and most innovative talent out there. So, we let that shine. We ran a ‘GenAI Olympics’ to identify the best ideas bubbling up from our teams using these tools at the rock face. We are constantly learning and adapting as we go — in addition to building the big upskilling programs necessary to make the change stick, at all levels of the organization.”

Did you retrain your entire workforce, and how did training differ depending on worker roles?

Pittman: “We made a deliberate decision to make our tools accessible to all roles out of the gate. We then created customized communications and training programs for job types and cohorts — we want these tools to be useful, and similar job cohorts often have more similar needs.

“That said, we also encouraged significant peer-to-peer learning and sharing. We rapidly built a GenAI Enablement Network across various job types that champions local innovation and training. This network is made up of 1,200 BCG employees from around the world who have volunteered to be a part of activating genAI across BCG. They represent each of our offices across 50 countries, as well as each of our businesses and functions. Their activities include mentoring, hosting upskilling sessions, and sharing innovations. 

“The Enablement Network is a cadre of passionate genAI users who promote local and global genAI initiatives while driving adoption and transforming our ways of working across the firm. We are all on this journey together, and learning and expertise can come from all directions.”

What were the largest hurdles you experienced in rolling out generative AI at BCG? 

Pittman: “BCG has a strong culture of innovation and learning. So, our broader challenge has been to roll out AI and other associated tools fast enough! Broadly speaking, our people are eager to experiment and gain expertise, and that has certainly been the case for genAI as well.

“Two areas that we have put extra focus on within our rollout are responsible AI and ensuring that the adoption of this technology is inclusive. We have an incredible responsible AI team that developed strong guidelines for when and how AI can be used and specific areas where we will not use AI. All new AI use cases for our clients must be reviewed by this team. As we look at how our people are adopting AI, we also track how inclusive the usage is. Our external research shows a gap between women and men at more junior levels when it comes to genAI usage. We see similar trends across various cohorts and are working with our employee affiliation groups to help close any gaps.”

What is the one piece of advice would you offer other organizations piloting or going all in with AI?

Pittman: “Ultimately, transforming with AI should all be in pursuit of delivering value for your stakeholders. Set that as your north star and then build the governance, partnership ecosystem, tools, and new businesses you need to get there.   

“Also, this technology is fundamentally exciting and engaging. It’s about bringing more facts and ideas together, spurring creativity, freeing up time from the must-do’s that can be a drag on our time and energy. As we say, ‘less toil, more triumph.’ So, make it fun and use AI as an opportunity to unlock the creative capacity and energy of your people.”

The phrase ‘Open Source AI’ gets a definition

August 26, 2024 /

While the term “Open Source AI” has been used extensively in recent years, exactly what it means has never been clear — until now.

The Open Source Initiative (OSI) has released a proposed definition it hopes the tech world will accept. According to the new definition, it involves AI systems that consist of components that can be examined and studied. It must also be possible to freely modify the systems for any purpose and share them with other users, according to MIT Technology Review.

By that definition, the AI ​​models from Open AI, Anthropic, Google and Meta cannot be classified as “Open Source AI” because users are not allowed to do what they want with them.

Facebook and Spotify warn Europe could lag in AI due to complex regulations

August 26, 2024 /

In a stark warning to policymakers, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Spotify CEO Daniel Ek have emphasized that Europe could fall behind in the global race for AI leadership due to its fragmented and inconsistent regulatory landscape.

“With more open-source developers than America has, Europe is particularly well placed to make the most of this open-source AI wave,” Zuckerberg and Ek said in a joint statement.  “Yet its fragmented regulatory structure, riddled with inconsistent implementation, is hampering innovation and holding back developers.”

According to the two tech leaders, while AI holds the potential to transform industries and drive economic growth worldwide, Europe’s current regulatory environment could impede its ability to innovate and compete on the global stage.

“Instead of clear rules that inform and guide how companies do business across the continent, our industry faces overlapping regulations and inconsistent guidance on how to comply with them. Without urgent changes, European businesses, academics, and others risk missing out on the next wave of technology investment and economic growth opportunities,” the joint statement read

It can be recalled that in June, Meta had to postpone the launch of its Meta AI models in Europe as the Irish privacy regulator, Data Protection Commission (DPC), had asked it to delay harnessing Facebook and Instagram user’s data, to train its models.

“We’re disappointed by the request from the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC), our lead regulator, on behalf of the European DPAs, to delay training our large language models (LLMs) using public content shared by adults on Facebook and Instagram — particularly since we incorporated regulatory feedback and the European DPAs have been informed since March,” Meta said in a statement in June. “This is a step backwards for European innovation, competition in AI development and further delays bringing the benefits of AI to people in Europe.”

The Irish DPC’s move came after NOYB, a Vienna-based digital rights advocacy group, complained to DPAs (data protection authorities) in 11 countries including Austria, Belgium, Spain, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, and Norway, to “immediately stop Meta’s abuse of personal data for AI.”

“Regulating against known harms is necessary, but pre-emptive regulation of theoretical harms for nascent technologies such as open-source AI will stifle innovation. Europe’s risk-averse, complex regulation could prevent it from capitalizing on the big bets that can translate into big rewards,” the joint statement by Meta and Spotify said referring to the Irish regulator’s decision.

Europe’s regulatory challenges and their global impact

Despite Europe’s strong tradition in open-source development, Zuckerberg and Ek argue that the region’s inconsistent regulatory framework is stifling innovation. They cite the uneven application of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) as a prime example of regulatory uncertainty that is hindering progress.

“This landmark directive was meant to harmonize the use and flow of data, but instead EU privacy regulators are creating delays and uncertainty and are unable to agree among themselves on how the law should apply,” the two CEOs said in the statement.

Both the companies are of the opinion that these regulatory challenges are not just a European issue but have global implications. Restrictive policies in Europe could lead to a fragmented AI landscape, where innovations and technologies developed in other regions may not be easily integrated or adopted in Europe.

“Given the current regulatory uncertainty, Meta won’t be able to release upcoming models like Llama multimodal, which has the capability to understand images. That means European organizations won’t be able to get access to the latest open-source technology, and European citizens will be left with AI built for someone else,” Zuckerberg warned in the statement.

“The stark reality is that laws designed to increase European sovereignty and competitiveness are achieving the opposite,” the statement added.

Balancing innovation and regulation

To address these challenges, Zuckerberg and Ek called for a more streamlined and harmonized regulatory approach that balances the need for innovation with the necessity of protecting user rights and privacy. “With the right regulatory environment, combined with the right ambition and some of the world’s top AI talent, the EU would have a real chance of leading the next generation of tech innovation,” Zuckerberg stated.

“In short,” the joint statement pointed out, “Europe needs a new approach with clearer policies and more consistent enforcement. With the right regulatory environment, combined with the right ambition and some of the world’s top AI talent, the EU would have a real chance of leading the next generation of tech innovation.”

The best Notion templates for business productivity

August 26, 2024 /

Notion is hands-down one of the best and most versatile productivity apps around right now, no matter what platform or type of device you might be using. But it’s also one of the most overwhelming services to wrap your head around — because it’s so versatile and so packed with potential that it’s almost like a blank canvas. And unless you’re already an accomplished painter in this particular domain, that makes it difficult to know where to begin.

We’ve talked before about specific ways Notion can make you more efficient and how the service can step up your game both with team collaboration and when it comes to personal productivity. But even with those concepts in mind, it can be challenging to figure out how to go from that blank canvas to a fully fleshed-out work of (metaphorical) art.

That’s where Notion’s rich library of templates comes into play. Templates are exactly what they sound like: a series of starting points and frameworks for all sorts of things you can use the service to do.

And goodness gracious, does Notion have a lot of ’em — hundreds, maybe even thousands, created and shared both by the company itself and by Notion power-users around the world. With pages upon pages of endless-seeming options, it can be impossible to even know where to begin. (Sensing a theme yet?!)

Think of this as your cheat sheet. I’ve sifted through and tested out numerous Notion templates to find the best and most broadly useful choices available for business productivity purposes. The 12 templates below are all clear, simple, and thoughtfully designed. And they can all be imported into your own Notion workspace with a single click — then customized and fleshed out as you see fit.

And while some Notion templates do come at a cost, the ones on this page are all completely free and just waiting to be called into action.

A quick Notion template primer

Before we get into the meat of this efficiency-enhancing sandwich, let’s take a sec to go over some quick logistics about how, exactly, these Notion templates work.

First, as you’d expect, you’ll need to sign into Notion — or create an account with the service, if you aren’t already using it. (Notion itself is free at its base level, with an optional $10-per-user-per-month Pro plan that adds in extra features and a $15-per-user-per-month Business plan for additional team management capabilities.)

Then, once you’ve clicked through on one of the template recommendations from this page, you’ll see a “Get template” button in the upper-right corner of its entry.

Click that and follow the prompt to select where you want the template to be saved within your Notion workspace — and a moment later, you’ll be staring at your own custom copy of the template, ready for customization and editing!

new template in Notion

A freshly imported Notion template creates a sketched-in canvas for you to customize and control. (Click image to enlarge it.)

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new template in Notion

A freshly imported Notion template creates a sketched-in canvas for you to customize and control. (Click image to enlarge it.)

JR Raphael

new template in Notion

A freshly imported Notion template creates a sketched-in canvas for you to customize and control. (Click image to enlarge it.)

JR Raphael

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JR Raphael

From there, working with the template is really no different than working with any other Notion page. You can click on any text, field, or card to edit it — or, if you’d rather blast away all the demo data and give yourself a completely fresh start, you can use your keyboard’s arrows and Shift key to highlight multiple items at once then hit Del to erase them. (You can also right-click on any item and then select “Delete” from the pop-up menu to accomplish the same thing on a case-by-case basis.)

To add a new entry, meanwhile, look for the “+ New” option within any area of a typical Notion template.

Anytime you’re editing an existing entry or creating a new one, you’ll see a side panel show up with all the available fields and options. You can click on any of those fields to edit its contents — either by typing in new text or selecting from a dropdown list of available options, depending on the field type.

notion template element being edited in sidebar

You can edit the text or select from a dropdown list of options for any entry within a Notion template.

JR Raphael

You can add your own new properties into the mix, too, by clicking the “+ Add a property” option within a copied-over Notion template. (Depending on the template and how many properties it already has present, you might have to first click an option to expand and display all of the existing properties before you’ll see that.)

adding a property to a notion template

Adding new properties takes just a couple quick clicks within any Notion template you’ve selected.

JR Raphael

Beyond that:

  • To change views — in templates that offer multiple format choices — look for the horizontal list at the top of the template.
  • To add new columns into tables and boards, scroll all the way over to the right and look for the “+” symbol.
  • To edit an existing column, click on its name. To edit or move an existing row, hover over it and look for the six-dot icon that appears along its leftmost edge.
popup menu for item in notion template

Edit an existing row by clicking the six-dot icon alongside it — or move a row by clicking and dragging on that same icon.

JR Raphael

Got it? Good! Now, let’s get to the fun part.

Notion template #1: Projects and tasks tracker

One of Notion’s most potential-packed possibilities is in the area of organization — and at the most basic level, that means keeping track of your work-related projects and tasks, whether personally or across an entire team or department.

The aptly named Projects & Tasks template provides an admirable framework for setting up and starting a system to accomplish exactly that. It gives you carefully crafted tables for both projects and tasks (surprise, surprise!), complete with columns for tracking each item’s status, owner, priority, and completion estimate.

projects and tasks template in notion

Notion’s Projects and Tasks template provides a ready-to-roll framework for tracking your work-related endeavors.

JR Raphael

All you’ve gotta do is copy the template to your workspace and then start filling in the blanks.

Notion template #2: Product roadmap

When you’re diving deep into a new product or project at work, having a proper place to keep all the progress organized can be the difference between messy confusion and a smoothly executed plan.

The Product Roadmap Notion template is a smart ‘n’ easy way to orchestrate any endeavors you and/or your colleagues are tackling at any given moment. It offers up a timeline-style “Projects” calendar view for mapping out all your in-progress projects and then a Kanban table for breaking down the status of specific tasks within each project.

product roadmap template in notion

Organizing work-related projects is painless with the Product Roadmap Notion template. (Click image to enlarge it.)

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product roadmap template in notion

Organizing work-related projects is painless with the Product Roadmap Notion template. (Click image to enlarge it.)

JR Raphael

product roadmap template in notion

Organizing work-related projects is painless with the Product Roadmap Notion template. (Click image to enlarge it.)

JR Raphael

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JR Raphael

You can tweak and customize the setup as needed, but by and large, it should just work right out of the box for most common purposes.

Notion template #3: Product wiki

Once you’ve got a project finished, the Product Wiki template will help you keep its many moving pieces organized and optionally also keep other people on the same page about any procedures and processes around it. It’s your own personal wiki, in other words — for yourself, your company, or maybe even external sharing.

product wiki template in notion

The Product Wiki template acts as a neatly organized home for any project or procedure.

JR Raphael

The specific format may end up varying from one project to the next, but this basic framework will provide a strong starting point for practically any purpose imaginable.

Notion template #4: IT issue tracker

If there’s one type of ongoing project that absolutely requires its own specific space and system, it’s the ever-popular gallery of glitches — a.k.a. the place where you report, store, and track any and all IT-related issues. (Yay, technology!)

The IT Issue Tracker template is all you need to get your hell helpful home for such matters started. It features a premade board for filing and managing tech troubles of any variety as they move from being observed and submitted to — hopefully, allegedly, theoretically — being fixed.

it issue tracker template in notion

You may not be able to make tech troubles go away easily, but you can at least keep track of ’em with the handy IT Issue Tracker template.

JR Raphael

I might just suggest adding in one extra field for the reliably relevant measure of “likelihood to cause insanity.”

Notion template #5: Editorial planner

No matter what manner of work you’re doing these days, odds are, you’ve got some sort of capital-C Content to contend with — be it company blogs, editorial articles, or maybe even just meandering social media musings.

The Notion Editorial Calendar template is a terrific place to create an approachable system for keeping track of all such matters.

editorial calendar template in notion

The Editorial Calendar template can be useful for any type of content you might be crafting — from blogs to articles and short social media posts. (Click image to enlarge it.)

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editorial calendar template in notion

The Editorial Calendar template can be useful for any type of content you might be crafting — from blogs to articles and short social media posts. (Click image to enlarge it.)

JR Raphael

editorial calendar template in notion

The Editorial Calendar template can be useful for any type of content you might be crafting — from blogs to articles and short social media posts. (Click image to enlarge it.)

JR Raphael

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JR Raphael

Customize the fields and options to match the parameters that make sense to you, and you’ll be up and running in mere minutes.

Notion template #6: People directory

Give everyone on your team an easy way to find and learn about colleagues, clients, or even competitors with the delightfully simple People Directory Notion template.

The template is set up to showcase such details as location, title, and time with the company along with more elaborate contact info within each individual card — but, as with any of these templates, you can take total control and shake things up to meet whatever purposes you might need once you’ve copied this over into your workspace.

people directory template in notion

The People Directory template can be used for practically any person-organizing purpose.

JR Raphael

Your co-workers have never looked so presentable.

Notion template #7: Company events calendar

In addition to its prowess with charts, tables, and databases, Notion is great at maintaining graphical calendars for event organization.

And the Events Calendar template serves up a simple starting point for creating your own calendar view and then filling it in with whatever significant stuff you’ve got on your agenda.

events calendar template in notion

The Events Calendar template is simultaneously as basic and effective as can be.

JR Raphael

With the ability to switch to a more detailed list- or card-based view and to link each item to its own separate page (like, say, a product roadmap!), this template will fit right into your growing hub for info and organization.

Notion template #8: Job application tracker

Certain tasks deserve their own dedicated spaces, and that’s certainly the case with the complex chore of searching for a new job.

The Notion Job Application Tracker template is perfectly qualified for the role. It’s a simple and effective setup for storing positions you want to apply for and then keeping tabs on your journey as you move further along with each new item, all within a convenient Kanban-board-style, card-centric pipeline.

job application tracker template in notion

The Job Application Tracker Notion template makes the job of searching for a new job a little easier to manage.

JR Raphael

With a separate section for action items also already present and waiting, you’ll be ready to find that perfect next gig in no time.

Notion template #9: Read later

My favorite Notion productivity secret is how incredible the service is at acting as an interactive link library and read-it-later service. Honestly, it’s better than any dedicated read-it-later app I’ve ever used.

And the Read Later template is all you need to understand why. Pair it with the Notion Web Clipper browser extension or the standard mobile sharing function from any other app into Notion (on either Android or iOS), and it’ll serve as a warm and inviting home for anything and everything you save.

read later template in notion

Notion is surprisingly great at saving links for later reading, and the Read Later template is a top-notch way to get the party started.

JR Raphael

Anything you save into that space will automatically show up as its own card, complete with a title, image, and URL — and, in the most important twist, the entire text of the article waiting inside, optimally formatted and with all ads and other distractions stripped away.

You can read or share the info right then and there and even edit, annotate, or mark it up in any way you want. Whether you’re saving work-related articles for your own future perusal or creating a repository of relevant resources for your entire team — for general purposes or maybe for specific individual projects — it’s an invaluable way to collect important info and keep it readily available for later revisiting.

Notion template #10: Reading list

In addition to organizing online articles, Notion can be supremely effective at helping you organize actual books you intend to read — be they printed editions or e-book equivalents.

That’s what the Reading List template is all about. It’s a meticulously mapped-out structure for storing info on books you want to tackle — for work purposes or even for personal, brain-recharging pleasure — and then having a complete collection of everything you’ve read for future reference as well.

reading list template in notion

Turn Notion into your own personal reference desk with the free Reading List template.

JR Raphael

With ready-to-fill fields for summaries, categories, and even your current page-turning progress, you’ll never lose track of anything important again.

Notion template #11: Sticky notes

For all of our fancy-schmancy modern organizing systems, sometimes a good old-fashioned Post-it Note is exactly what you need.

The Notion Sticky Notes Board template brings that same analog style into the digital domain with a virtual bulletin board for all manners of on-the-fly notes — organized into different categories with a comfortingly Post-it-like appearance.

sticky notes template in notion

The Sticky Notes template adds a simple spot for Post-it-like note-taking into your Notion environment.

JR Raphael

All that’s missing is the adhesive.

Notion template #12: AI text generator

Last but not least in our list of commendable Notion templates is a little somethin’ that ties into our current generative-AI obsession — and that’s an AI text generator for your own articles, memos, emails, and more.

It’s called the AI Blog Post Generator template, and it has spaces to add in a summary of the topic you’re thinking about along with a series of bullets for the main points you want the text to address. Fill in those fields, click the “Generate” button, and boom: Notion’s built-in AI will cough up some custom prose for your purposes.

sticky notes template in notion

Create AI-generated text right within Notion with the AI Blog Post Generator template.

JR Raphael

As with any AI-generated creation, the text likely won’t be perfect and is bound to need plenty of finessing to feel interesting, original, and in the right voice for your organization. But if AI generation is in any way appealing to you, it could be a useful way to get something off the ground, at least, and give yourself some ideas for how to get going.

It’s one more tool to keep in your productivity toolbox — and thanks to the template, it’ll be right there within Notion, just waiting to be called into action whenever the right moment arises.