MC855682 - Microsoft Word: The Acronyms feature will retire September 2024

Service

Microsoft 365 suite
Microsoft 365 apps

Published

Aug 8, 2024

Tag

Major change
User impact
Retirement

Summary

The Acronyms feature in Microsoft Word will retire on September 11, 2024, affecting Word for Windows and on the web. Users are advised to use alternative options like Microsoft Search, SharePoint.com, Bing for Work, or Copilot in Word for decoding acronyms.

More information

The Acronyms feature in Microsoft Word will retire on September 11, 2024. After that date, users will not be able to access the feature from the References tab on the ribbon or from the Acronyms section in the Editor pane on the right of the screen. This message applies to Word for Windows and on the web.

The Acronyms feature on the References tab:

user controls

The Acronyms feature in the Editor side pane:

user controls

Microsoft is dedicated to enhancing your Enterprise Office 365 subscription. From time to time, we retire features and benefits that are redundant to similar options available to customers. Users can decode acronyms with other similar or better options, such as the Search feature in Microsoft Office.com, in Sharepoint.com, and Bing for Work.

We also offer Copilot in Microsoft Word, a premium option that can decode common acronyms from business and worldwide scenarios.

How this will affect your organization:

You are receiving this message because your organization may be using Acronyms in Word. 

What you need to do to prepare:

This change will happen automatically and without admin action on September 11, 2024. Consider sharing the support articles with your help desk team so they have additional context and alternative solutions ready if users reach out for assistance.

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