Semi-Annual Channel (Targeted)
September 12, 2017
Version 1708 (Build 8431.2079)
Note: "First Release for Deferred Channel" is now named "Semi-Annual Channel (Targeted)".
Access: Feature updates
This channel release contains the following feature updates:
- Label Name property: Enhance accessibility by associating a label with a control on a form.
- Editing a new item is more accessible: Use a quick keyboard shortcut (Ctrl+E) to edit a new item from a Combo Box or List Box.
- Dynamics connector: Import data from or link to data stored in Microsoft Dynamics. More information
- Salesforce connector: Import data from or link to data stored in Salesforce. More information
Excel: Feature updates
This channel release contains the following feature updates:
- “Add Column from Examples” enhancements: Supports more Date/Time, Math, and Index Column transformations.
- Performance improvements: Excel opens complex workbooks with multiple sheets faster, so you can crunch formulas with large ranges, filter lots of rows, or copy and paste quicker.
- Collaborative editing: Work with others at the same time in your workbook. More information
- Insert online pictures: New landing page for selecting images and attribution information is automatically inserted with the image.
- Azure Data Lake Store connector: Users can now import data from Azure Data Lake Store.
- "Add column from Examples" enhancements: Supports suggestions, more Date/Time operations, and additional transformations.
- Data tab: Ribbon buttons on the Data tab have been rearranged into two new groups: Get & Transform Data and Queries & Connections.
- Share queries: Export any query definition into an Office Database Connection (ODC) file, and then share it across workbooks or with others.
- Load data: Load data from a query directly into PivotTables or PivotCharts without having to save the data into the Data Model.
- Shared file activity: Choose the Activity button in the upper right corner of the file to see when a file shared in OneDrive for Business or SharePoint was shared, edited, renamed, or restored.
- Safe links: When a user clicks on a link, Office 365 Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) inspects the link to see if it’s malicious. If the link is deemed malicious, the user is redirected to a warning page instead of the original target URL. More information
- Enhanced data import functionality: Easily import and shape data from various sources. Manage workbook queries and connections with the Queries & Connection side pane, and share queries with others via ODC files. More information
- Changes in shared files: View who has made changes in shared workbooks, and restore earlier versions. More information
- Lasso Select with a pen button: Use supported digital pen buttons to Lasso Select ink without visiting the ribbon.
Excel: Security updates
This channel release contains security updates covered in the following CVEs:
Excel: Non-security updates
This channel release contains the following non-security updates:
- Fix an issue where Excel temporarily hangs when you expand or collapse a PivotTable and the PivotTable headers move off the screen.
- Fix an issue where tabs are ignored when copying and pasting tab delimited text from Word, resulting in the text not being parsed into columns.
- Fix an issue where Excel crashes when opening the Publish as Web Page dialog box.
- Fix an issue where a data refresh doesn't succeed or Excel crashes when using data from a SQL Server Analysis Services server, and the locale of Excel and the locale of the SQL Server Analysis Services server differ.
- Fix an issue where errors appear when trying to save changes to documents synchronized with the OneDrive client.
- Fix an issue where changes can't be made anywhere in a worksheet when there is a PivotTable with fields in the Filter area, but no fields anywhere else.
Outlook: Feature updates
This channel release contains the following feature updates:
- Accessibility improvements: We've made it easier to read and edit text, tables, lists, and images in email when you're using a screen reader.
- New account configuration: Set up new accounts with a new wizard that requires fewer manual steps.
- Attach dialog for links: When attaching a link using Attach File on the ribbon, you can select whether to add it as a link or as an attachment. If you don’t want to see this dialog each time, go to File > Options > General and specify how you want links to be attached under “Attachment options.”
- Support for on-premises attachments: Files from on-premises SharePoint Server show up as recent files under Message > Attach File, on-premises OneDrive for Business and SharePoint team sites appear under Attach File > Browse Web Locations, and local files can be uploaded to on-premises OneDrive for Business sites.
- Business classifications for groups: A business classification level defined by the tenant admin, such as Confidential, can be assigned when creating or editing a group, and that classification appears in the group header.
- Guest access to Office 365 groups: Collaborate with people outside the organization by granting them access to group conversations, files, calendar invitations, and the group notebook. More information
Outlook: Security updates
This channel release contains security updates covered in the following CVEs:
- CVE-2017-8571: Microsoft Office Outlook Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability
- CVE-2017-8572: Microsoft Office Outlook Information Disclosure Vulnerability
- CVE-2017-8663: Microsoft Office Outlook Memory Corruption Vulnerability
Outlook: Non-security updates
This channel release contains the following non-security updates:
- Fix an issue where you're unable to configure an IMAP account in Outlook.
- Fix an issue that causes an intermittent crash when opening Outlook.
PowerPoint: Feature updates
This channel release contains the following feature updates:
- Insert online pictures: New landing page for selecting images and attribution information is automatically inserted with the image.
- Closed captions for videos: Add closed captions to a video to make it more accessible. More information
- Narrate a recording: Include video of yourself narrating when you make a recording of a presentation. Recordings can include animations, ink, audio, and video.
- QuickStarter: Automatically builds an outline to help users get started researching a subject of their choosing. More information
- Shared file activity: Choose the Activity button in the upper right corner of the file to see when a file shared in OneDrive for Business or SharePoint was shared, edited, renamed, or restored.
- Alt text creation: A cloud-based service automatically generates alternative text for pictures in a presentation.
- Safe links: When a user clicks on a link, Office 365 Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) inspects the link to see if it’s malicious. If the link is deemed malicious, the user is redirected to a warning page instead of the original target URL. More information
- Designer improvements: Recommends professional design ideas for action-oriented lists.
- Changes in shared files: View who has made changes in shared presentations, and restore earlier versions. More information
PowerPoint: Security updates
This channel release contains security updates covered in the following CVEs:
PowerPoint: Non-security updates
This channel release contains the following non-security updates:
- Fix an issue where end-user defined characters (EUDCs) that are linked to fonts fail to display.
Project: Non-security updates
This channel release contains the following non-security updates:
- Fix an issue where opening certain files from Project Online causes Project to crash.
- Fix an issue where Actual Start may be wrongly cleared when you set remaining work.
- Fix an issue where Assignment Actual Start Date may show different data than was reported by the resource through statusing in Project Web App.
- Fix an issue where actual work may be rescheduled if the task's finish date is changed.
- Fix an issue where if you copy and paste cost fields, the pasted values might not exactly match the copied values due to a rounding issue.
- Fix an issue where timephased data for Budget resources isn't copied when you save from one baseline into another one.
- Fix an issue where the status field doesn't always calculate correctly for summary tasks.
- Fix an issue where actual work wrongly gets transferred to an enterprise resource when it replaces a local resource and protected work is enabled.
- Fix an issue where Project crashes if you have a table where the first column is Task Name, the column is locked, and you click on a task.
- Fix an issue where you can assign the same resource multiple times to the same task through the Task Usage view.
- Fix an issue where values in the number custom fields may be lost when opening XML files.
- Fix an issue where top-level task indentation doesn't sync properly from Project to a SharePoint tasks list.
- Fix an issue where if you import task, resource, or assignment information from an Excel workbook, the values in the work field may be ignored.
- Fix an issue where timephased Baseline values don't match the initial values when you save a project to the XML file format.
- Fix an issue where the Project client won't open a project since it thinks the project is checked out when it really isn't.
- Fix an issue so that opening Project files from a file server with high latency open faster.
Skype for Business: Security updates
This channel release contains security updates covered in the following CVEs:
- CVE-2017-8676: Windows GDI+ Information Disclosure Vulnerability
- CVE-2017-8695: Graphics Component Information Disclosure Vulnerability
- CVE-2017-8696: Microsoft Graphics Component Remote Code Execution
Skype for Business: Non-security updates
This channel release contains the following non-security updates:
- Add dialog explaining why a user is unable to join a meeting when certain ports are blocked or IPs are not whitelisted.
- Fix an issue where unread messages in persistent chat rooms are marked as read when you click IM conversation tabs.
- Fix an issue where incoming IM toasts experience a several second delay.
- Fix an issue where an AD contact is displayed as a phone number instead of contact name when sync with Exchange is disabled.
- Fix an issue where anonymous join users are blocked from joining when federation is disabled and anonymous join is not explicitly blocked by meeting organizer.
- Fix an issue where the number of invitees is incorrectly displayed to meeting organizer for meetings that exceed the limit.
- Fix an issue where phone number is not displayed in toast on inbound PSTN calls.
- Fix an issue where, when using the Delete key while renaming a contact list group, the entire group is deleted.
- Fix an issue where the sharing notification in an IM conversation is dismissed before sharing stops.
- Fix an issue where the sign-in screen is blank for some non-English languages.
- Fix an issue where non-English characters in chat and chat history are garbled.
- Display the caller's phone number for an incoming call handled by the Organizational Auto Attendant if the user's name isn't known.
- Add an inband setting allowing restriction of "Anyone (no restrictions)"as an option for "These people don't have to wait in the lobby."
- Add ability to turn on or off self-video for P2P video calls in VDIv2.
- Fix an issue where duplicate numbers display for contacts in the call drop-down menu.
- Fix an issue where delegates are removed for users who move between Skype for Business and Skype for Business Basic.
- Fix an issue where Appear Offline is not visible when using the Enable Appear Offline and Custom State URL client policies.
- Widen the Meeting Join button to fix truncation of some localized languages.
- Increase the prominence of High Importance messages in chat.
- Add Office and Skype for Business file extension types to allowable file transfer blocklists.
- Localization corrections in Outlook meeting invitations for meeting footer text set in non-English.
- Fix an issue where sender names can be switched in conversations of multiple users.
- Fix an issue where the blank conversation window fails to appear until a meeting is joined successfully.
- Fix an issue where the department field information in a contact card is empty in search results if the title field is empty.
- Fix sign-in failures for users migrated from on-premises to online due to firewall rules
Visio: Feature updates
This channel release contains the following feature updates:
- Make diagrams from Excel data: Automatically create a Basic Flowchart or a Cross-Functional Flowchart from Excel data by using new Data Visualizer templates. More information
- Safe links: When a user clicks on a link, Office 365 Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) inspects the link to see if it’s malicious. If the link is deemed malicious, the user is redirected to a warning page instead of the original target URL. More information
Visio: Non-security updates
This channel release contains the following non-security updates:
- Fix an issue where COM add-ins don't receive document opened events when a Visio file is opened by a double-click on a file icon or file name.
Word: Feature updates
This channel release contains the following feature updates:
- Insert online pictures: New landing page for selecting images and attribution information is automatically inserted with the image.
- Alt text creation: A cloud-based service automatically generates alternative text (alt text) for pictures in a document.
- Shared file activity: Choose the Activity button in the upper right corner of the file to see when a file shared in OneDrive for Business or SharePoint was shared, edited, renamed, or restored.
- Safe links: When a user clicks on a link, Office 365 Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) inspects the link to see if it’s malicious. If the link is deemed malicious, the user is redirected to a warning page instead of the original target URL. More information
- Changes in shared files: View who has made changes in shared documents, and restore earlier versions. More information
Word: Non-security updates
This channel release contains the following non-security updates:
- Fix an issue where Word closes unexpectedly while loading the Grammarly add-in.
- Fix an issue where, under certain conditions, Word crashes while trying to recover cloud-based files.
- Fix an issue where shapes within drawing canvas can't be rotated.
- Fix an issue where, when typing in Korean, consonants and vowels are incorrectly separated.
Office suite: Security updates
This channel release contains security updates covered in the following CVEs:
Office suite: Non-security updates
This channel release contains the following non-security updates:
- Fix an issue that prevents the What's New dialog from appearing.
- Fix an issue where clicking on the Draw tab causes the application to crash for some users.
- Fix an issue where hovering over a Common Control that has a tooltip on it causes the application to crash.
- Fix an issue where a licensing error message appears when using Common Controls.
- Fix an issue with how some program files are signed, causing anti-virus programs to flag those files as well as problems protecting or accessing data under Windows Information Protection (WIP).
- Add support.to allow users working in 64-bit versions of Office to open macro files that contain mscomctl.ocx controls.
- Improve accessibility of controls used in mscomctl.ocx.
- Fix an issue where commands are missing from the Ribbon or the Quick Access Toolbar customization dialogs.
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