Excel Web – ActiveX & Form Controls Not Working After Recent Update

Question

Excel Web – ActiveX & Form Controls Not Working After Recent Update

Nikhil Nishant 20

Hello, We are facing an issue with a macro-enabled Excel template (.xlsm) that is shared with external users via a SharePoint link. Until recently, the template used ActiveX checkboxes and controls to help with customer enrollment. But since April 2025, after Microsoft’s update where ActiveX is disabled by default in Microsoft 365, these controls no longer work. Now, when the file is opened in Excel for the Web, users see the following message:

"Excel for the web does not support running or interacting with Form Controls. To use Form Controls, open this file with the desktop app."

Questions:

Is there any supported workaround to make such templates work in Excel for the Web (SharePoint/OneDrive scenario)?
Can Form Controls or any other alternatives replace ActiveX controls for web compatibility?
What are Microsoft’s recommended approaches (e.g., Office Scripts, Office.js add-ins, Power Apps, or other modernization paths) to migrate away from ActiveX so the template works in a web-based environment?
Are there any official migration tools or guidance from Microsoft for moving ActiveX-based Excel solutions to modern technologies?

Any insights or references would be greatly appreciated, since this impacts external customer use of our Excel template. Thanks in advance!

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Answer 1

Dear @Nikhil Nishant,

Good day! Welcome to Q&A forum!

Thank you for your information.

Regarding your situation, ActiveX controls and Form Controls aren’t supported in the browser version of Excel. That’s why you're seeing the message that those controls should be opened with the desktop app.

About Question 1: Is there any supported workaround to make such templates work in Excel for the Web (SharePoint/OneDrive scenario)?

Unfortunately, there is no supported workaround exists to make ActiveX-enabled templates work in Excel for the Web. It is because ActiveX is a legacy, desktop-only technology that isn’t compatible with web browsers and poses security risks.

From this article: Upgrading an Existing ActiveX Control | Microsoft Learn User's image About Question 2: Can Form Controls or any other alternatives replace ActiveX controls for web compatibility?

Form Controls, while more stable and secure than ActiveX for desktop use, are also not supported in Excel for the Web. The same error message applies to both.

For web compatibility, Microsoft recommends modern alternatives like Office Scripts, Office.js add-ins, or Power Apps, depending on your needs (just as you have listed)

About Question 3: What are Microsoft’s recommended approaches (e.g., Office Scripts, Office.js add-ins, Power Apps, or other modernization paths) to migrate away from ActiveX so the template works in a web-based environment?

While Microsoft has not released a migration tool for ActiveX-to-modern conversion, but they do recommend the following:

With Office scripts: You could automate simple tasks and workflows in Excel for the Web.
With Office.js add-ins: It is best for creating rich, interactive experiences inside Excel.
With Power Apps: It is for building standalone apps that connect to Excel data.

About Question 4: Are there any official migration tools or guidance from Microsoft for moving ActiveX-based Excel solutions to modern technologies?

Microsoft does not offer an automated migration tool for converting ActiveX-based Excel solutions to modern technologies.

You could find some more useful information via these articles:

ActiveX controls are disabled by default in Microsoft 365 and Office 2024 - Microsoft Support

Edit a workbook that contains features unsupported by Excel for the web - Microsoft Support

Overview of forms, Form controls, and ActiveX controls on a worksheet - Microsoft Support

Create a canvas app based on Excel data - Power Apps | Microsoft Learn

I hope the information that I gave you helps clarifying this matter.

Kindly let me know when there are updates or if you need further assistance. Any updates you’re able to share would be really helpful. I appreciate your time and look forward to hearing how things are going!

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Nikhil Nishant 20 Reputation points

2025-08-18T16:04:28.9966667+00:00

Thanks for the detailed responses so far. I understand that VBA/ActiveX/Form Controls are not supported in Excel for the Web and that the long-term recommendation is to migrate to alternatives like Power Apps, Power Automate, or Office Scripts.

However, at this point, I’m looking for a short-term or temporary fix/workaround so that business users can continue using the existing macro-enabled template without disruption.

Specifically, is there any way to temporarily allow this file to run, such as:

Configuring SharePoint/OneDrive document library as a Trusted Location via Group Policy so macros and ActiveX controls are not blocked.

Forcing the file to always open in the desktop version of Excel (instead of Excel Online).

Adjusting Excel Trust Center or registry settings to bypass the recent patch that disabled ActiveX by default (April 2025 update).

Are any of the above feasible as a short-term workaround, or is there another temporary method you’d recommend until we can build a long-term replacement?

This is a business-critical issue since external users rely on this template for customer enrollments. We need a temporary workaround to keep operations running while we work on a long-term replacement.
Julie-Hu 5,105 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-08-19T15:04:20.77+00:00

Dear @Nikhil Nishant,

Regarding your situation, please raise a support ticket in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center because we are forum moderators and we can’t access the logs or backend tools needed to fix this issue.

A Microsoft Technical Support Engineer can:

Start a remote session to investigate further on what you want to do

Check your tenant settings and backend configuration

Escalate to the product team if needed

What your Global Admin should do:

Sign in to the Microsoft 365 Admin Center

Go to Support > New service request

For detailed instructions on how to get support, please refer to Get support - Microsoft 365 admin.

Thank you for your kindness and understanding!

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