It’s the first Tuesday of the month and according to the new schedule it’s time for non-security updates to Microsoft Office.
Translation: more bug fixes.
Microsoft hasn’t published a list of these fixes. The ‘Sustained Engineering Blog’ is silent.
Below is a list of the Office 2016 for Windows updates (for Office 365 / Click to Run) separately but first let’s look at a very strange update …
The Nothing Patch
Microsoft Office bug fixes often have obscure and deliberately vague language but KB3114694 is a new low in corporate transparency. There is NO explanation of what the patch does at all – not even a vague mention.
The only clue is that Policytips.dll (Microsoft.office.policytips.dll) is involved.
Policy Tips are the messages that can appear atop emails to remind users about company rules and practices. It’s part of DLP (data loss prevention) in Exchange Server.
But what the patch does to policy tips is a Microsoft secret.
Office 365 / Click to Run
Office for Windows is now at 16.0.6769.2015 (check that at File | Account | Office Updates). The changes (as explained by Microsoft) pushed out from 4 April 2016 are:
Office
- Add a Select button to the ribbon in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint to allow users to switch whether a pen is used for ink annotations or for mouse emulation.
Excel
- Power Query enhancements:Enhanced connectivity capabilities and new transformations added. More information
- Fix an issue where, after creating subtotals, the selected range doesn’t expand to include the subtotals.
- Fix an issue where a file on an FTP server can’t be opened.
Outlook
- Fix an issue where images in HTML signatures appear as gray boxes when sending new messages or replying.
- Fix an issue where the search folder for read items also shows unread items.
PowerPoint
- PowerPoint Designer enhancements:Design suggestions for multiple images, color extractor, and facial recognition. More information
- Fix an issue where not all font options are shown when trying to customize bullet points.
Visio
- Fix an issue where shapes placed on a CAD drawing aren’t exported in the correct size.
