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Microsoft 365 Apps Group Policy settings

2,420 settings · 5568.1000 · 10 Aug 2026

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Microsoft Word 2016 › Word Options › Security › Trust Center

Dynamic Data Exchange

UserNeeds changes for IntuneL_AllowDDE

Supported on SUPPORTED_Windows7 (defined in the Windows templates)

What it does

This policy setting controls the ability to use Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) in Word. By default, DDE isn’t allowed in Word. Allowing DDE isn’t recommended because of security concerns.   If you enable this policy setting, you can select either of the following options:   -Limit Dynamic Data Exchange -Allow Dynamic Data Exchange   If you choose “Limit Dynamic Data Exchange,” DDE requests made to an already running program are allowed.  But, DDE requests that require another executable program to be launched aren’t allowed.   If you disable or don’t configure this policy setting, DDE isn’t allowed.

What it writes

Hive
HKEY_CURRENT_USER
Registry key
software\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\word\security
Why it needs changes for Intune
  • Policy references a Windows supportedOn definition.
  • ADMX-INTUNE-WINDOWS-SUPPORTEDON-REFERENCE

Security baselines

Microsoft's Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise 2512 configures this, in its GPO “MSFT Microsoft 365 Apps v2512 - DDE Block - User”.

Dynamic Data Exchange setting
Deletes the allowdde value, so nothing is set there and the product's own default applies.

Read from the registry.pol files in the baselines' GPO backups, downloaded from Microsoft's Security Compliance Toolkit. All baselines

Options

OptionTypeRegistry valueAllowed values
Dynamic Data Exchange settingDefault: Limited Dynamic Data Exchange Drop-down list allowdde
  • Limited Dynamic Data Exchange1
  • Allow Dynamic Data Exchange2

Configure and deploy

Choose a state and the option values; the output below is generated from the template for exactly that.

State
Options used when Enabled

Enabled · User · template defaults

Registry file (.reg)

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\software\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\word\security]
"allowdde"=dword:00000001


PowerShell

$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'

function Set-RegistryValue {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $PropertyType,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][object] $Value
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        New-Item -Path $Path -Force | Out-Null
    }

    New-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -PropertyType $PropertyType -Value $Value -Force | Out-Null
}

function Remove-RegistryValue {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name
    )

    if (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path) {
        Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    }
}

function Clear-RegistryKeyValues {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        return
    }

    foreach ($propertyName in (Get-Item -LiteralPath $Path).Property) {
        Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $propertyName -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    }
}

# Policy: Dynamic Data Exchange
# Name: L_AllowDDE
# Scope: User
# State: Enabled
# Source: word16.admx

Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_CURRENT_USER\software\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\word\security' -Name 'allowdde' -PropertyType 'DWord' -Value 1
  • The OMA-URI is an inferred ADMX-backed Policy CSP candidate derived from the source ADMX file name and policy name.
  • Some Microsoft policies use built-in Policy CSP pages whose area names don't match the ADMX file name, so verify the candidate against Microsoft Learn before deployment.

ADMX profile candidate (OMA-URI)

./User/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/ADMX_word16/L_AllowDDE

ADMX SyncML candidate

<SyncML xmlns="SYNCML:SYNCML1.2">
  <SyncBody>
    <Replace>
      <CmdID>1</CmdID>
      <Item>
        <Meta>
          <Format>chr</Format>
          <Type>text/plain</Type>
        </Meta>
        <Target>
          <LocURI>./User/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/ADMX_word16/L_AllowDDE</LocURI>
        </Target>
        <Data>&lt;enabled/&gt;
&lt;data id="L_AllowDDEDropID" value="1"/&gt;</Data>
      </Item>
    </Replace>
    <Final/>
  </SyncBody>
</SyncML>
Intune remediation scripts

Detection

$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'
$reasons = [System.Collections.Generic.List[string]]::new()

function Test-RegistryValueExists {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        return $false
    }

    return $null -ne (Get-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue)
}

function Test-RegistryValueEquals {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Kind,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][object] $Expected
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        return $false
    }

    $valueObject = Get-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    if ($null -eq $valueObject) {
        return $false
    }

    $actual = $valueObject.$Name
    switch ($Kind) {
        'String' { return [string]$actual -ceq [string]$Expected }
        'ExpandString' { return [string]$actual -ceq [string]$Expected }
        'DWord' { return [uint32]$actual -eq [uint32]$Expected }
        'QWord' { return [uint64]$actual -eq [uint64]$Expected }
        'MultiString' {
            $actualArray = @($actual)
            $expectedArray = @($Expected)
            if ($actualArray.Count -ne $expectedArray.Count) { return $false }
            for ($index = 0; $index -lt $actualArray.Count; $index++) {
                if ([string]$actualArray[$index] -cne [string]$expectedArray[$index]) { return $false }
            }
            return $true
        }
        'Binary' {
            $actualArray = [byte[]]$actual
            $expectedArray = [byte[]]$Expected
            if ($actualArray.Length -ne $expectedArray.Length) { return $false }
            for ($index = 0; $index -lt $actualArray.Length; $index++) {
                if ($actualArray[$index] -ne $expectedArray[$index]) { return $false }
            }
            return $true
        }
        default { return [string]$actual -ceq [string]$Expected }
    }
}

# Policy: Dynamic Data Exchange
# Name: L_AllowDDE
# Scope: User
# State: Enabled
# Source: word16.admx

$isMatch = Test-RegistryValueEquals -Path 'Registry::HKEY_CURRENT_USER\software\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\word\security' -Name 'allowdde' -Kind 'DWord' -Expected 1
if (-not $isMatch) {
    $reasons.Add('Value mismatch: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\software\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\word\security\allowdde') | Out-Null
}

if ($reasons.Count -eq 0) {
    Write-Output 'Compliant'
    exit 0
}

$reasons | ForEach-Object { Write-Output $_ }
exit 1

Remediation

$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'

function Set-RegistryValue {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $PropertyType,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][object] $Value
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        New-Item -Path $Path -Force | Out-Null
    }

    New-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -PropertyType $PropertyType -Value $Value -Force | Out-Null
}

function Remove-RegistryValue {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name
    )

    if (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path) {
        Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    }
}

function Clear-RegistryKeyValues {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        return
    }

    foreach ($propertyName in (Get-Item -LiteralPath $Path).Property) {
        Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $propertyName -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    }
}

# Policy: Dynamic Data Exchange
# Name: L_AllowDDE
# Scope: User
# State: Enabled
# Source: word16.admx

Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_CURRENT_USER\software\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\word\security' -Name 'allowdde' -PropertyType 'DWord' -Value 1

History 1 retained release

  1. 5568.100010 Aug 2026
    • Already present in the first release ChangeIntel keeps.

Template

Internal name
L_AllowDDE
Namespace
word16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows
Template file
word16.admx
Release
Microsoft 365 Apps 5568.1000 · file set 8be05d876aae137d…
Definition, editor controls and support

Definition

<policy Area="Security Baseline" AreaCategory="DDE" class="User" displayName="$(string.L_AllowDDE)" explainText="$(string.L_AllowDDEExplain)" key="software\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\word\security" name="L_AllowDDE" presentation="$(presentation.L_AllowDDE)" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="word16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:L_TrustCenter" />
      <supportedOn ref="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:SUPPORTED_Windows7" />
      <elements>
        <enum id="L_AllowDDEDropID" valueName="allowdde">
          <item displayName="$(string.L_DDENoAppLaunch)">
            <value>
              <decimal value="1" />
            </value>
          </item>
          <item displayName="$(string.L_DDEEnabled)">
            <value>
              <decimal value="2" />
            </value>
          </item>
        </enum>
      </elements>
    </policy>

Editor controls

<presentation id="L_AllowDDE" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
        <dropdownList defaultItem="0" noSort="true" refId="L_AllowDDEDropID">Dynamic Data Exchange setting</dropdownList>
      </presentation>

Supported platforms and category

word16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:category:L_MicrosoftOfficeWord
<category displayName="$(string.L_MicrosoftOfficeWord)" name="L_MicrosoftOfficeWord" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions" />
word16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:category:L_Security
<category displayName="$(string.L_Security)" name="L_Security" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="word16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:L_WordOptions" />
    </category>
word16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:category:L_TrustCenter
<category displayName="$(string.L_TrustCenter)" name="L_TrustCenter" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="word16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:L_Security" />
    </category>
word16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:category:L_WordOptions
<category displayName="$(string.L_WordOptions)" name="L_WordOptions" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="word16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:L_MicrosoftOfficeWord" />
    </category>
word16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:unresolved:Microsoft.Policies.Windows:SUPPORTED_Windows7
<unresolved reference="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:SUPPORTED_Windows7" />
word16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:category:L_MicrosoftOfficeWord
<category displayName="$(string.L_MicrosoftOfficeWord)" name="L_MicrosoftOfficeWord" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions" />
<strings><string id="word16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:L_MicrosoftOfficeWord">Microsoft Word 2016</string></strings>
word16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:category:L_Security
<category displayName="$(string.L_Security)" name="L_Security" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="word16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:L_WordOptions" />
    </category>
<strings><string id="word16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:L_Security">Security</string></strings>
word16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:category:L_TrustCenter
<category displayName="$(string.L_TrustCenter)" name="L_TrustCenter" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="word16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:L_Security" />
    </category>
<strings><string id="word16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:L_TrustCenter">Trust Center</string></strings>
word16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:category:L_WordOptions
<category displayName="$(string.L_WordOptions)" name="L_WordOptions" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="word16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:L_MicrosoftOfficeWord" />
    </category>
<strings><string id="word16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:L_WordOptions">Word Options</string></strings>
ChangeIntel

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Sources read 19 Oct 22:29 UTC · 258 of 260 readable · 256 fully read · documentation 417/444 current