Microsoft Roadmap, messagecenter en blogs updates van 19-09-2024

Updated September 18, 2024: We have updated the rollout timeline below. Thank you for your patience.

As communicated in MC816207 Microsoft Forms now supports live data sync to Microsoft Excel with more functionality (July 2024), Microsoft Forms is introducing a new data sync solution with higher reliability to sync Forms response data to Microsoft Excel for the web. Before this rollout. Forms supported an older version of live data sync to Excel. The older version of live data sync will be replaced by the newer solution on January 13, 2025. This message describes the support that we will provide for migrating from the older solution to the newer solution. 

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 410988.

[When this will happen:]

General Availability (Worldwide): Support for migrating the older data sync to the new solution will begin rolling out late September 2024 (previously late August), and we expect to complete by mid-January 2025 (previously early October).

[How this will affect your organization:]

Users who rely on the older version to sync data from Forms to Excel will need to manually update the data sync to the new solution after January 13, 2025 (previously October 20, 2024). After this date, existing Excel files with the older data sync will be retained but will no longer receive automatic data updates from Forms.

The older version of the data sync exists in two types of Forms:  

• Forms created from Microsoft OneDrive and Excel for the web
• Group forms created with SharePoint Online, Microsoft Teams, and Microsoft 365 Groups.

For these two types of Forms, we will provide this support to migrate to the new solution:

• Users who own Forms with the older version of the data sync will get notifications through email, Forms, and Excel for the web.
• In Forms, users will be able to recreate the data sync with the new solution. A new worksheet will be created in the same workbook as the older data sync. The new worksheet will be connected to the latest data from Forms.
• After the older solution is retired, the user can still recreate a new data sync to the Excel workbook.

For workflows that connect to Excel data from Forms responses (such as Power Automate workflows), users will need to update the workflow to the Forms connector for new response updates. Learn more: Create an automated workflow for Microsoft Forms – Microsoft Support

Note: The new data sync can only be triggered in Excel for the web. If users want to receive new Forms response data in the Excel desktop app, open the file in Excel for the web, and then wait for the desktop app file to sync from the web file. (Support for other versions of Excel is in progress.)

The new data sync solution will be on by default and available to all Forms and Excel for the web customers. 

Notification in Forms to update workbook to continue syncing with Forms:

Notification in Excel for the web to update the data sync to new solution:

Excel workbook is successfully updated to new solution:

[What you need to do to prepare:]

• Send a notification to impacted users and groups to migrate their data syncs to new solution.
• Share the migration solution if users report they cannot get Forms data updated in Excel.
• Learn more: Introducing Forms data sync to Excel – Microsoft Community Hub

This rollout will happen automatically by the specified date with no admin action required before the rollout. You may want to notify your users about this change and update any relevant documentation.

Before rollout, we will update this post with revised documentation.


We’re making some changes to the handling of ActiveX objects in the Microsoft Office client apps.

Starting in new Office 2024, the default configuration setting for ActiveX objects will change from Prompt me before enabling all controls with minimal restrictions to Disable all controls without notification. This change applies to the Win32 desktop versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Visio.

[When this will happen:] 

For new Office 2024, this change will happen immediately when it’s released in October 2024.

For Microsoft 365 apps, this change will rollout in stages beginning in April 2025.

[How this will affect your organization:]

Users will no longer be able to create or interact with ActiveX objects in Office documents when this change is implemented. Some existing ActiveX objects will still be visible as a static image, but it will not be possible to interact with them. In non-commercial SKUs of Office, users will see this notification when an ActiveX object is blocked by the new default behavior:

The new default setting is equivalent to the existing DisableAllActiveX group policy setting.

[What you need to do to prepare:]

When this change takes effect, if you need to use ActiveX controls in Office documents, you can change back to the previous default behavior using any one of the following methods:

• In the Trust Center Settings dialog, under ActiveX Settings, select the Prompt me before enabling all controls with minimal restrictions option.
• In the registry, set HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\Common\Security\DisableAllActiveX to 0 (REG_DWORD).
• Set the Disable All ActiveX group policy setting to 0.

• Manage Copilot in Windows 
• Updated Windows and Microsoft Copilot experience 
• FAQ: Microsoft Copilot updates and enterprise data protection 
• Enterprise data protection in Copilot for Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Copilot 

The Copilot experience on Windows is changing in response to your feedback. Moving forward, users with work or school accounts will access Microsoft Copilot through the Microsoft 365 app. In addition, Microsoft Copilot will offer enterprise data protection (EDP) at no additional cost for all users signed in with an Entra account. This means that security, privacy, and compliance controls and commitments available for Microsoft 365 Copilot will extend to Microsoft Copilot prompts and responses.

[When will this happen?]

The update to Microsoft Copilot to offer enterprise data protection is rolling out now—and is replacing the current Copilot in Windows experience. The shift to the Microsoft 365 app as the entry point for Microsoft Copilot is coming soon. Changes will be rolled out to managed PCs starting with the optional non-security preview release on September 24, 2024, and following with the monthly security update release on October 8 for all supported versions of Windows 11. These changes will be applied to Windows 10 PCs the month after.

[How this will affect your organization:]

If your organization hasn’t enabled Copilot in Windows (in preview), your existing preferences will be respected. Neither the Microsoft Copilot app nor the Microsoft 365 app are pinned to the taskbar.

If you had previously activated Copilot in Windows (in preview) for your workforce, to provide the best Copilot experience for your employees moving forward, we won’t automatically pin the Microsoft 365 app to the taskbar in Windows. Rather, we’ll ensure that you have control over how you enable the Copilot experience within your organization. If you want your users to have uninterrupted access to Microsoft Copilot after the update, use the configuration options to pin the Microsoft 365 app to the taskbar as the Copilot in Windows (preview) icon will be removed from the taskbar as part of the update.

Users signing into new PCs with work or school accounts can access Microsoft Copilot using the Microsoft 365 app, which comes pre-installed with all Windows PCs. For additional details, see Users signing in to new PCs with Microsoft Entra accounts.

[What you need to do to prepare:]

You can enable the Microsoft Copilot experience for your users now by using the TurnOffWindowsCopilot policy and pinning the Microsoft 365 app using the existing policies for Taskbar pinning.

Additional resources

For more information on this change, please read Enhanced data protection with Windows and Microsoft Copilot. For details on how to enable and manage Microsoft Copilot for your users, please see the following resources:

• Manage Copilot in Windows
• Updated Windows and Microsoft Copilot experience
• FAQ: Microsoft Copilot updates and enterprise data protection
• Enterprise data protection in Copilot for Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Copilot 

We are excited to announce an important update designed to enhance the privacy and security of your organization. Before this rollout, admins had the capability to download voice and face data for their users who have opted in to enroll their voice and/or face on the Recognition tab in Microsoft Teams. With this rollout, to better protect user data, we are shifting this capability to users. This change will ensure that users have more control over their own voice and face data, aligning with our commitment to privacy and security. This change reduces the risk of unauthorized access or sharing, as users will handle their own data export requests and admins will not have access to this data. This message applies to Teams for Windows desktop and Teams for Mac desktop.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 413709.

[When this will happen:]

General Availability (Worldwide, GCC): We will begin rolling out mid-October 2024 and expect to complete by late October 2024.

[How this will affect your organization:]

With this rollout, we will remove the download button from the Teams admin center (TAC) > User > Manage user > select any user > Account:

Users can go to Teams > Settings > Recognition and select the Export button to access their data and download it to their Download folder:

The new Export feature is on by default.

[What you need to do to prepare:]

This rollout will happen automatically by the specified date with no admin action required before the rollout. You may want to notify your admins and users about this change and update any relevant documentation.

Learn more: Overview of voice and face enrollment – Microsoft Teams | Microsoft Learn (will be updated before rollout)

Coming soon to Microsoft Viva: Pulse admins can adjust Viva Pulse notification settings for users in their tenant by setting the notification delivery methods where users receive Pulses. For example, admins can turn off the capability for Pulse notifications to be delivered through the Microsoft Teams Activity feed, which means that users will only receive Pulse survey notifications in email and Teams Chat. This rollout applies to Viva Pulse on the web and to the Viva app in Microsoft Teams.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 408163.

[When this will happen:]

General Availability (Worldwide): We will begin rolling out early October 2024 and expect to complete by late November 2024.

[How this will affect your organization:]

Before this rollout, it is not possible for Pulse admins adjust Pulse notifications for users in their tenant.

After this rollout, Pulse admins can adjust how users receive Pulse notifications (Email, Teams Activity feed, and Teams chat) at Viva Pulse > Manage > Notifications:

This feature is on by default

[What you need to do to prepare:]

As a reminder, if users in your tenant want to receive Teams Chat notifications from Viva Pulse, please ensure that you install the Viva Pulse Teams app for users in your tenant through a Teams app setup policy or encourage users to download the Viva Pulse Teams app from the Teams app store.

Learn more: Set up the in-app Viva Pulse experience | Microsoft Learn

Coming soon to Microsoft Teams: Write search queries quickly and efficiently with enhanced people query suggestions. This message applies to Teams on Windows and Mac desktops.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 413112.

[When this will happen:]

Targeted Release: We will begin rolling out early October 2024 and expect to complete by mid-October 2024.

General Availability (Worldwide): We will begin rolling out mid-October 2024 and expect to complete by late October 2024.

[How this will affect your organization:]

Before this rollout: Users often recall information in the context of a specific person and write queries based on their past conversations with that person:

After this rollout, users will be able to start typing a person’s name in the Search bar and get query suggestions that are most relevant to a person they frequently interact with, helping the user recall content related to the person.

These screenshots provide examples of query suggestions in the search bar for the most common query types.

Left: A person query. Right: A person + keyword query:

Search results page after the user selects a suggestion:

This feature is on by default.

[What you need to do to prepare:]

This rollout will happen automatically by the specified date with no admin action required before the rollout. You may want to notify your users about this change and update any relevant documentation. Review your current configuration to determine the impact for your organization.

Learn more: Search for messages and more in Microsoft Teams – Microsoft Support (will be updated before rollout).

Coming soon for Microsoft Teams: When users join a Teams meeting with their laptop in bring your own device (BYOD) meeting rooms, they will appear in the In-room participant section of the roster, which enables individual identification and meeting intelligence capabilities. As communicated in MC814577 (Updated) Microsoft Teams: Roster grouping for in-room participants through Proximity Join for Teams Rooms on Windows (July 2024), we will launch this same experience in September 2024 for joining a nearby meeting with a Microsoft Teams Room and a companion device.

Unique to BYOD meeting rooms, the roster group will be displayed as Meeting space if the connected device is NOT identified in the Teams Pro Management Portal (PMP). If the device is identified in the PMP, the roster group will display the configured meeting room name.

This message applies to Teams for Windows and Mac desktops.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 413711.

[When this will happen:]

Targeted Release: We will begin rolling out early October 2024 and expect to complete by mid-October 2024.

General Availability (Worldwide): We will begin rolling out mid-October 2024 and expect to complete by late October 2024.

General Availability (GCC, GCCH, DoD): We will begin rolling out mid-October 2024 and expect to complete by late November 2024.

[How this will affect your organization:]

Before this rollout: Users joining a Teams meeting from a BYOD meeting room will be displayed as an individual participant in the Participants roster. Room node treatments will only be applicable to users joining from a Microsoft Teams Room.

After this rollout, this update will be available by default for all users joining a Teams meeting from a BYOD meeting room. After joining, in-room participants will automatically be grouped under the room node on the Participant roster. The two scenarios in which in-room participants can be ungrouped from the room node are:

• Raised hand: We will continue to follow the sequential order of raised hands on the roster. In-room participants who use their companion device to raise their hand will appear on the roster in the order in which they raised their hand.
• Role assignment: For changes in roles (presenters and attendees), in-room participants can be broken up and placed in the appropriate category on the roster. (This is an existing feature before this rollout.)

In both scenarios, room information will be listed below participant name.

[What you need to do to prepare:]

This rollout will happen automatically by the specified date with no admin action required before the rollout. You may want to notify your users about this change and update any relevant documentation.

Before rollout, we will update this post with revised documentation.

• New alerts for Windows updates in Microsoft Intune
• Missing devices in Windows Update for Business reports?
• Microsoft Intune troubleshooting 
• Configure Windows diagnostic data in your organization (Windows 10 and Windows 11)  
• Enable use of Windows diagnostic data by Intune