Ignore other applications

UserNeeds changes for IntuneL_Ignoreotherapplications

Supported on SUPPORTED_Windows7 (defined in the Windows templates)

5568.1000

What it does

This policy setting controls whether Excel can exchange data with other applications that use Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE). If you enable this policy setting, Excel does not allow the exchange of data with other applications that use DDE. In addition, the "Ignore other applications that use Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE)" user interface option under Excel Options | General is selected and users cannot change it. Enabling this policy setting can cause disruptions for users who rely on the DDE functionality in Excel to update information in workbooks. These users will have to use some other method to update information provided by other applications. If you disable or do not configure this policy setting, Excel can use the Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) protocol to exchange messages and data with other applications. For example, a cell in an Excel workbook can be dynamically linked to a value provided by another application, such as weather or stock price information. When the value provided by the other application changes, Excel can automatically update the value in the workbook. Note: users can change this behavior by selecting the "Ignore other applications that use Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE)" user interface option under Excel Options | General.

What it writes

Hive: HKEY_CURRENT_USER
Registry key: software\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\excel\options\binaryoptions
Value name: fddeenabled_6_1
When enabled: DWORD 0
When disabled: DWORD 1

Why it needs changes for Intune

Policy references a Windows supportedOn definition.
ADMX-INTUNE-WINDOWS-SUPPORTEDON-REFERENCE

Configure and deploy

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

Enabled · User · template defaults

Registry file (.reg)

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\software\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\excel\options\binaryoptions]
"fddeenabled_6_1"=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: Ignore other applications
# Name: L_Ignoreotherapplications
# Scope: User
# State: Enabled
# Source: excel16.admx

Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_CURRENT_USER\software\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\excel\options\binaryoptions' -Name 'fddeenabled_6_1' -PropertyType 'DWord' -Value 0

Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_CURRENT_USER\software\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\excel\options\binaryoptions' -Name 'fddeenabled_6_1' -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_excel16/L_Ignoreotherapplications

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_excel16/L_Ignoreotherapplications</LocURI>
        </Target>
        <Data>&lt;enabled/&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: Ignore other applications
# Name: L_Ignoreotherapplications
# Scope: User
# State: Enabled
# Source: excel16.admx

$isMatch = Test-RegistryValueEquals -Path 'Registry::HKEY_CURRENT_USER\software\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\excel\options\binaryoptions' -Name 'fddeenabled_6_1' -Kind 'DWord' -Expected 0
if (-not $isMatch) {
    $reasons.Add('Value mismatch: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\software\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\excel\options\binaryoptions\fddeenabled_6_1') | Out-Null
}

$isMatch = Test-RegistryValueEquals -Path 'Registry::HKEY_CURRENT_USER\software\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\excel\options\binaryoptions' -Name 'fddeenabled_6_1' -Kind 'DWord' -Expected 1
if (-not $isMatch) {
    $reasons.Add('Value mismatch: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\software\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\excel\options\binaryoptions\fddeenabled_6_1') | 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: Ignore other applications
# Name: L_Ignoreotherapplications
# Scope: User
# State: Enabled
# Source: excel16.admx

Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_CURRENT_USER\software\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\excel\options\binaryoptions' -Name 'fddeenabled_6_1' -PropertyType 'DWord' -Value 0

Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_CURRENT_USER\software\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\excel\options\binaryoptions' -Name 'fddeenabled_6_1' -PropertyType 'DWord' -Value 1

History 1 retained release

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

Template

Internal name: L_Ignoreotherapplications
Namespace: excel16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows
Template file: excel16.admx
Release: Microsoft 365 Apps 5568.1000 · file set 8be05d876aae137d…

Definition, editor controls and support

Definition

<policy class="User" displayName="$(string.L_Ignoreotherapplications)" explainText="$(string.L_IgnoreotherappsExplain)" key="software\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\excel\options\binaryoptions" name="L_Ignoreotherapplications" valueName="fddeenabled_6_1" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="excel16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:L_Advanced" />
      <supportedOn ref="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:SUPPORTED_Windows7" />
      <enabledValue>
        <decimal value="0" />
      </enabledValue>
      <disabledValue>
        <decimal value="1" />
      </disabledValue>
    </policy>

Editor controls

Supported platforms and category

excel16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:category:L_Advanced
<category displayName="$(string.L_Advanced)" name="L_Advanced" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="excel16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:L_ExcelOptions" />
    </category>
excel16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:category:L_ExcelOptions
<category displayName="$(string.L_ExcelOptions)" name="L_ExcelOptions" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="excel16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:L_MicrosoftOfficeExcel" />
    </category>
excel16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:category:L_MicrosoftOfficeExcel
<category displayName="$(string.L_MicrosoftOfficeExcel)" name="L_MicrosoftOfficeExcel" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions" />
excel16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:unresolved:Microsoft.Policies.Windows:SUPPORTED_Windows7
<unresolved reference="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:SUPPORTED_Windows7" />
excel16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:category:L_Advanced
<category displayName="$(string.L_Advanced)" name="L_Advanced" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="excel16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:L_ExcelOptions" />
    </category>
<strings><string id="excel16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:L_Advanced">Advanced</string></strings>
excel16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:category:L_ExcelOptions
<category displayName="$(string.L_ExcelOptions)" name="L_ExcelOptions" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="excel16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:L_MicrosoftOfficeExcel" />
    </category>
<strings><string id="excel16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:L_ExcelOptions">Excel Options</string></strings>
excel16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:category:L_MicrosoftOfficeExcel
<category displayName="$(string.L_MicrosoftOfficeExcel)" name="L_MicrosoftOfficeExcel" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions" />
<strings><string id="excel16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:L_MicrosoftOfficeExcel">Microsoft Excel 2016</string></strings>