[German]I'm going to quickly mention something I just came across here in the blog. The download section of the Microsoft website does not offer ADMX templates for Microsoft Office for download – an error message appears. Here is my (changing and supplementary) summary. Addendum: The broken link has been fixed and there is a new ADMX version.
The download should be available here
The current ADMX/ADML template files for the Microsoft Office versions that are still supported (Office 2016 to Office 365) should be available in the Microsoft download section. I last mentioned this at the beginning of June 2025 in the German blog post Microsoft Office: Administrative Templates (ADMX/ADML) aktualisiert.
There, the administrative template files from May 29, 2025, in version 5506.1000 for Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise, Office LTSC 2024, Office LTSC 2021, Office 2019, and Office 2016 were offered as MSI installation files. The MSI file also contains the OPAX/OPAL files for the Office Customization Tool (OCT) for Office 2016.
The download is broken (7. Aug. 2025)
Anyone who now visits the relevant Microsoft download page *https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=49030 will only be greeted with an error message informing them that the download is "gone."
The only thing left on the page is "Copilot for Free" as a mobile app. I became aware of the problem through this German reader comment.
Is Google lying to me?
I then searched Google using various terms. Google then tells me in a search – in the "AI section" with the search results – that Microsoft has integrated the ADMX templates for Office into the general Windows ADMX templates.
This would mean that in order to find the Office-specific policy settings, you would have to download and install the Windows ADMX templates for the Windows version you are using (for Windows 10, for example, here). The Office group policies should then appear in the Group Policy Editor.
Is that true? Nope!
I didn't download and install an MSI file (due to time and effort constraints) and then check in gpedit.msc whether the above Google AI statement is correct. There are enough administrators among my German blog readers who could test this quickly. I asked the folks, whether somebody can check that.
Google AI hallucinated – Microsoft messed up
The feedback was: No, Windows ADMX templates doesn't have Office GPO templates included? Google AI is lying to me. Later I wasn't able to get this answer from Google – instead their AI told me "go to the MS Download section to get the files" (but there are only broken links).
There are even older downloads
Please note the German comment by Bernhard Franz Köck, who states that the direct links for downloading the ADMX template files from Microsoft Office still work. He has extracted the links on his website inxperts4all.at. There you can download Office templates version 5497.1000 from March 28, 2025. At least it's a stopgap measure to get the penultimate version.
The ADMX from May 2025 is available as snapshots
German blog reader Bolko took the trouble to ask the Wayback Machine whether there are snapshots of the Microsoft download area with the ADMX template files. In fact (I didn't expect this), the ADMX templates appear to be available as MSI files as snapshots in the cache. Bolko has listed the links below in this German comment. Please also note his subsequent comments.
Many thanks to my German readers for their cooperation – once again, we are acting as a repair service for Microsoft. But perhaps this post will help an administrator who is urgently searching for a solution.
New ADMX available (8. August 2025)
Addendum: Microsoft released the new version of the ADMX templates on August 8, 2025. These can be downloaded from this Microsoft page.
Explained: ADMX template files
Because it was asked about or criticized in the comments of my initial German blog post: The ADMX template files contain the definitions of group policies for the relevant "target" software (in this case, various Office versions, from Office 2016 to Office 365, but there are also ADMX templates for Windows, etc.).
The ADMX templates must be installed via .msi files. They can then be applied using tools such as gpedit.msc. Such group policy tools use administrative template files to apply policy settings in the user interface. This allows administrators to manage registry-based policy settings.
