Advertising in Microsoft Excel
Key topics
Just under the ribbon bar, where little notifications bars sometimes show useful information such as when a file is read-only or if a file needs to be Checked-Out to edit, a grey notification bar popped up an Information icon (blue circle with an 'i' in it) with the following text:
TAKE YOUR FILES WITH YOU View, share and edit files wherever you are with the OneDrive mobile app.
Followed by a button labelled "Download OneDrive".
This is on my work laptop, which has OneDrive installed and running.
I don't like this. Maybe I'm oversensitive because I also don't like OneDrive and I don't like advertising. Is this new? Slippery slopes aren't a valid point of argument, but this is yet another step, of many, down said slope.
The author is unhappy about seeing an ad for OneDrive Mobile in Microsoft Excel, sparking a discussion about the prevalence of ads in software and users' reactions to them.
Snapshot generated from the HN discussion
Discussion Activity
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10-12h
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Key moments
- 01Story posted
Sep 16, 2025 at 9:37 PM EDT
4 months ago
Step 01 - 02First comment
Sep 16, 2025 at 11:44 PM EDT
2h after posting
Step 02 - 03Peak activity
2 comments in 10-12h
Hottest window of the conversation
Step 03 - 04Latest activity
Sep 17, 2025 at 3:23 PM EDT
4 months ago
Step 04
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I'd rather bash Ubuntu for more controversial actions, like pushing snapd by default. Or pretending apps are .deb packages while they are snaps in disguise.
No, Office has been like this since 2016, where you can only autosave on OneDrive.