"We are sorry, but this feature is deprecated" (Smart Lookup on Word for Mac)

Anonymous
2024-12-13T22:08:50+00:00

I just right-clicked on a word to use the "Smart Lookup" feature, and I received this message, "We are sorry, but this feature is deprecated." I am a current subscriber and logged in.

I appreciate your help!

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | Other | MacOS

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

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Stefan Blom 353K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
2024-12-16T22:31:07+00:00

As stated in this thread and elsewhere in the forums, Smart Lookup has been discontinued. The official notice is in the article at https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/get-insights-into-what-you-re-working-on-with-smart-lookup-debf2083-5ac0-4739-8667-ae2467bec044.

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You can send feedback to Microsoft developers by using the feedback facility in your version of Word. See https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/how-do-i-give-feedback-on-microsoft-365-2b102d44-b43f-4dd2-9ff4-23cf144cfb11#platform=macOS.

Also/alternatively, post in the portal at https://feedbackportal.microsoft.com/feedback/forum/fb6d67e3-301c-ec11-b6e7-0022481f8472.

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  1. Bob Jones AKA CyberTaz MVP 437.7K Reputation points
    2025-01-14T19:21:29+00:00

    Thanks for the update but please note the date of that reply. The feature was active in OneNote as of that posting. Had I not verified what I wrote I would not have written it. Apparently it since has been removed.

    I agree that all traces of a deprecated feature should be removed but the fact that it still is present in menus & the Ribbon suggests that a revised version is in the works. Whether that's the case I certainly don't know.

    Don't hesitate to voice your thoughts to Microsoft by using Help> Feedback in the program's menu bar or by clicking the Help Improve Office tool at the right end of the Title Bar.

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  2. Bob Jones AKA CyberTaz MVP 437.7K Reputation points
    2025-01-11T01:37:42+00:00

    Neither do I intend to argue semantics nor defend Microsoft, but simply want to point out that deprecate is one of those terms which can be defined in somewhat different ways based on the context in which it is used.

    This excerpt is from Wikipedia but correlates with the definitions in the Merriam Webster & Dictionary.com sources:

    Software While a deprecated software feature remains in the software, its use may raise warning messages recommending alternative practices. Deprecated status may also indicate the feature will be removed in the future. Features are deprecated, rather than immediately removed, to provide backward compatibility and to give programmers time to bring affected code into compliance with the new standard.

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  3. Anonymous
    2025-01-02T17:20:35+00:00

    In the middle of writing my dissertation, I discovered that the fundamental "search function" has been "deprecated." What in the world? No explanation that I can find. ??? Word seems to become less user friendly with each update. Is there a good alternative to Word that will similarly incorporate EndNote?

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  4. Bob Jones AKA CyberTaz MVP 437.7K Reputation points
    2024-12-27T16:32:57+00:00

    It means exactly how it reads — the feature has been removed. No reason has been given. Neither is there any indication of if/when it will be replaced or restored.

    In the meanwhile there are numerous 3rd party lexicons available including the Dictionary.app provided with macOS. Even your browser can be used quite effectively.

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