First Published 3 Oct 2025                 Last Updated 5 Oct 2025


Preamble

The title of this article is a deliberate allusion to a famous newpaper headline (possibly apochryphal) from the 1930s by Claud Cockburn: Small Earthquake in Chile. Not Many Dead
This is often cited as the most boring newspaper headline ever!

The same jounalist was also responsible for the advice to "believe nothing until it has been officially denied".



Two Sharepoint Options Being Retired

If you or your clients use Sharepoint lists with Access databases, then it is worth checking whether any depend on two optional features: Alerts and Workflows.


Both of these optional features are being 'retired' i.e. deprecated in the coming months.


a)   Alerts

Clicking the Alert Me option will open your Sharepoint site to a New Alert page. This now shows a warning banner:


Starting in October 2025, the Alerts feature will gradually be turned off and will be completely removed in July 2026

For more details and a timeline, click on the Learn More About the Sharepoint Alerts Retirement link. This opens an MS Support article: SharePoint Alerts retirement


b)   Workflows

Clicking the Modify Workflow option will open your Sharepoint site to a Workflow Settings page. This also now displays a warning banner with a very specific date / time:


Starting on 2 April 2026, the Sharepoint 2013 Workflow feature will be retired and users will no longer be able to run or create this

For more details and a timeline, click on the Learn More link. This opens another MS Support article: SharePoint 2013 workflow retirement


NOTE:
In both cases, Microsoft is recommending users move to solutions based on the Power Automate platform or SharePoint Rules

I have never used either of the features being retired and cannot comment on the suitablility of either of the alternatives suggested.
From my limited conversations with another MVP, it seems likely that neither feature is widely used by other developers.



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Colin Riddington           Mendip Data Systems                 Last Updated 5 Oct 2025

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