Microsoft applications shortcuts issue resolved

An issue that prevented some Microsoft computer users from being able to access program shortcuts has been resolved by the Digital Technology Services (DTS) team.

The issue was caused by an automatic Microsoft update on Friday (13 January) and affected users worldwide. It caused application shortcuts, such as Outlook, Word and Excel, to disappear from the Taskbar, Start Menu and Desktop of some devices.

DTS colleagues have been investigating the issue as a priority since it was reported.

Where are we now?

Microsoft has fixed the issues with its update and released a new update which recreates application Start Bar shortcuts.

DTS has been testing the update and adding further fixes for some apps that are commonly used at the University, including Pulse Secure, Google Chrome and Acrobat Reader.

These updates began to be rolled out on Monday (16 January) to more than 1,000 devices known to be affected.

DTS expects almost all affected devices will have had their Start Menu restored within the next 48 hours.

Next steps

DTS is working on fixes for more University-specific application shortcuts, such as Frame and Acrobat Pro (including Photoshop & Illustrator), which will be rolled out to all affected devices within the next 48 hours. Fixes are also being developed for any other missing shortcuts.

You can monitor progress using the DTS Status Hub.

Do I need to do anything?

The updates being rolled out will resolve this issue automatically in almost all cases, so colleagues do not need to do anything.

Anyone still experiencing an issue with shortcuts after 48 hours should report this to DTS.

While Start Menus will be repaired by the update, Desktops and Taskbars are user controlled and so shortcuts must be pinned to them again once they are fixed. Advice on pinning shortcuts is available in this Microsoft support article.

Users can continue using the workaround explained in this DTS support article to open applications still without shortcuts.

We thank colleagues for their patience during this investigation. DTS will continue to reply to colleagues who have raised tickets, and catch up on work that has been delayed as a result of this issue.