Configuration profile to set preferences for Office on Mac

Preferences for Office for Mac is a collection of configurable settings that allow customization of Microsoft 365 applications on macOS devices. These preferences can be used to modify various settings related to security, privacy, and user experience for Mac.

For instance, IT administrators can use the configuration profile provided in this document to configure these preferences. It includes disabling or limiting certain features such as the execution of Visual Basic macros, the collection of diagnostic data, etc. This helps ensure that the Microsoft 365 applications are tailored to meet the organization’s specific needs.

The custom configuration profile can be deployed using Hexnode’s Deploy Custom Configuration feature.

Setting preferences for Office

In the provided configuration profile, the following key-value pairs are used to modify the different suite-wide preferences for Office 365:

• AllowVisualBasicToBindToSystem: Set to true, this allows Visual Basic macros to use the DECLARE statement to bind to the system() OS API, enabling the macros to execute external processes and pass data on the command line.
• DefaultsToLocalOpenSave: Set to true, this sets the default location for opening and saving files to the local file system, forcing the open/save panel to default to ‘On My Mac’ instead of ‘Online Locations’.
• DiagnosticDataTypePreference: Set to “BasicDiagnosticData“, this key configures Office applications to collect only basic diagnostic data, limiting the data sent to Microsoft for diagnostic and telemetry purposes. Diagnostic data helps keep Office secure and up to date, detect and fix issues, and improve the product. Allowed values are:
  • BasicDiagnosticData (Required Data Only)
  • FullDiagnosticData (Required and Optional Data)
  • ZeroDiagnosticData (Zero Diagnostic Data)
• DisableVisualBasicExternalDylibs: Set to true, this prevents Visual Basic macros from utilizing non-Microsoft dynamic libraries.
• DisableVisualBasicMacScript: Set to true, this prevents Visual Basic macros from using legacy MacScript.
• DisableVisualBasicToBindToPopen: Set to true, this prevents Visual Basic macros from communicating with other processes through pipes.
• OfficeAutoSignIn: Set to true, this suppresses the first-run windows for Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote.
• OfficeExperiencesAnalyzingContentPreference: Set to false, this disables Office features that analyze document content. However, when set to ‘true’, these connected experiences provide design recommendations, editing suggestions, and data insights, and similar features based on your Office content, such as PowerPoint Designer or Researcher in Word.
• OfficeExperiencesDownloadingContentPreference: Set to false, this disables Office features that download content from the internet. However, when set to ‘true’, these connected experiences allow you to search and download online content, including templates, images, 3D models, videos, and reference materials, to enhance your documents, such as Office templates or PowerPoint QuickStarter.
• OptionalConnectedExperiencesPreference: Set to false, this disables optional connected experiences in Office applications. However, when set to ‘true’, these optional features provide additional functionalities that users may choose to access. Examples include the LinkedIn features of the Resume Assistant in Word or the Weather Bar in Outlook, which utilizes MSN Weather.
• ShowDocStageOnLaunch: Set to false, this hides the document gallery selector when launching Office applications.
• ShowWhatsNewOnLaunch: Set to false, this suppresses the “What’s New” messages for all Office applications (Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook, and OneNote) when they are launched.
• DisableCloudFonts: Set to false, which allows users to select and download cloud-based fonts.
• NPSSurveyDisabled: Set to true, which prevents the NPS (Net Promoter Score) survey from being shown to users.
• VBAObjectModelIsTrusted: Set to true, this allows macros to modify Visual Basic projects. Consequently, the ‘Trust access to the VBA project object model’ option under Developer Macro Settings will be enabled and greyed out in Word Preferences > Security.

  

• VisualBasicEntirelyDisabled: Set to true, this prevents all Visual Basic code from running, including code from trusted locations like the default template.
• VisualBasicMacroExecutionState: Set to “DisabledWithoutWarnings“, this prevents the execution of Visual Basic macros without displaying warnings. Consequently, the ‘Disable all macros without notification’ option under Macro Security will be enabled and greyed out in Word Preferences > Security.

  

  This setting controls whether macros are ever allowed to execute and determines the user experience when opening a file containing a macro. By default, macros trigger an alert when opening a file containing macros, giving the user the choice to allow or deny their execution. Allowed values for this setting include:

  • DisabledWithoutWarnings: This setting prevents the execution of Visual Basic macros without displaying warnings.
  • DisabledWithWarnings: This setting prevents the execution of Visual Basic macros but displays warnings when attempted.
  • EnabledWithoutWarnings: This setting enables the execution of Visual Basic macros without displaying warnings.