Microsoft is changing how Microsoft 365 and Office 2024 handle documents with ActiveX content. Currently, Office displays a prompt that informs users that ActiveX content found in the document is disabled and that they may enable it.
Going forward, Office simply shows “The ActiveX content in this file is blocked” instead, with no option to enable it from the prompt directly. The notification includes a link that opens this support page.
Here are the highlights:
- ActiveX controls are disabled by default going forward.
- Users may not interact with existing elements or create new ones by default.
- This change applies to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Visio.
- Users may still enable ActiveX controls.
Microsoft recommends that Office users answer the three questions before they consider enabling ActiveX controls again:
- Were you expecting to receive a file with ActiveX?
- Are you being encouraged to change your ActiveX settings by someone you do not know?
- Are you being encouraged to change your ActiveX settings by a pop-up message?
How to enable ActiveX Controls in Office again
Here are the required steps to enable the controls again. Please note that the change applies to all affected Office applications and all documents that you open in them. In other words, you cannot just enable ActiveX controls for a single document.
The workaround in this case would be to enable the controls and disable them again once you are done with the document in question.
To enable ActiveX Controls:
- Select File in Office and then Options.
- Switch to Trust Center.
- Select the Trust Center Settings button.
- Activate the ActiveX Settings option on the page.
- Make sure “Prompt me before enabling all controls with minimal restrictions” is set on the page.
- Select OK.
- Select OK again.
Tip: if you never access documents with ActiveX Controls, set the preference to “Disable all controls without notification” instead.