Year designation in office 2016 and office 365 client apps will be removed from start menu entries

Starting this Spring 2018, the 'year' designation in Office 2016 and Microsoft 365 client apps will be removed from Start menu entries. For example, Word 2016 will become Word. This change will be gradually rolled out to Insiders during March 2018 and make its way to Monthly, Semi-Annual Targeted, and Semi-Annual update channels at the expected cadence for these channels in the next few months. This change applies to one-time (non-subscription) purchases of Office 2016 and Microsoft 365 delivered via Click-to-Run and Windows Store Desktop Bridge. This change doesn't affect older versions or versions of Office delivered via MSI technology.

This change won't affect in-app elements where the number designation will continue being shown to describe the product being used; for example, Office 2016 or Microsoft 365 designation will be shown in the splash screen when launching the app, in the app's Backstage under File > Account, and on any purchase or install pages.

This change doesn't have any impact on licensing terms, support policy, or in-app functionality.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will this break my existing pinned shortcuts in my task bar or desktop?

No. Existing user-created shortcuts will continue working after this change.

Will this convert my Office to subscription?

No. This is a visual change on the Start menu only and has no impact on the rest of the installation. License terms, support policy, and in-app functionality aren't affected.

Does this affect MSI installs of Office?

No. This only applies to Office 2016 and Microsoft 365 versions of Office delivered via Click-to-Run and Windows Store Desktop Bridge.