Microsoft has added a new and important feature to the version of its Excel spreadsheet app made for Apple"s iPad tablet. For the first time, the Excel iPad app now has sheet protection features.
For people who may not know what this feature is, sheet protection is a feature in some spreadsheet apps that, when enabled, keeps any of the data that"s in a spreadsheet from being changed or deleted. In the specific case of Excel for the iPad, it can now be enabled with either the app"s Sheet tab or the Ribbon.
The new version of the app for the iPad lets users tap on the Sheet tab with the lock icon. Then, they can tap on the "Protection…” selection that appears in the floating user interface. Users can also go to the Ribbon part of the app and then tap on Review, followed by Protection.
The iPad Excel app lets you tap on the Pause Sheet Protection option to disable the feature, and then you can tap on the Resume Sheet Protection selection to set it back up again. You can also set up a password that will need to be put in the app to go through these options with the Manage Sheet Protection selection. It can also be used to make other changes to your protection options, along with a way to add, edit, or remove edit ranges. The sheet protection feature is now available for people who use Excel on iPad with Version 2.90.930.0 or later.
Earlier today, Microsoft announced that Apple"s popular Handoff feature, which lets users work on a file on one device and keep working on the same file when switching to another device, is now available for Excel, Word, and PowerPoint apps for the iPad, iPhone, and Mac devices for the first time.