What's New in Excel 2.0 for iPhone and iPad
Published Apr 14 2017 03:53 PM 9,034 Views
Microsoft

Hi Excel Fans,

On April 10, 2017, Microsoft released a new version of Excel for iOS that’s a significant update, as indicated by the version number, which is 2.0! Having a consistent experience in Excel regardless of which type of device you’re using is something we’re striving for, whether you’re using an iPad or an iPhone, an Android phone or tablet, or a Windows mobile device, and it begins now. 

 

We’re happy to announce some very important new features in this version of Excel.  Some were mentioned in the “What's New” message that appears when you launch the new version for the first time, but there’s even more to tell you about. Read on for more details about the many new features now at your fingertips. As always, we encourage you to visit Excel.uservoice.com to request and vote for other features that you’d like to see in Excel for iPhone and iPad.

 

The major new features are:

  1. Collaborative editing - Work with others at the same time in your workbook, also known as “co-authoring”. That's right, you can now edit a workbook at the same time with other people for files stored in SharePoint Online, OneDrive and OneDrive for Business.  Amazing!

 

  1. Shared document notifications - Now you don't need to keep checking your shared documents, workbooks, or presentations. We will send you a notification on your iPhone or iPad when there's activity.

 

  1. New types of charts - Now you can view, create and edit new types of charts, including Waterfall, Histogram, Box & Whisker, Pareto, Treemap, Funnel, and Sunburst to visualize your data in the most effective ways.
    Picture1.png

 

  1. New worksheet functions - Shorten the formulas you write using the new logical functions IFS() and SWITCH(). Read more about IFS and SWITCH on the Office blog.

 

 

In addition to the major features mentioned above, there are numerous other features that are new to Excel on iOS.  Here are the highlights:

 

  1. In-cell editing - You can edit right in the cell, so you no longer need to switch your focus to the formula bar when editing.
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  2. Functions organized by category - When inserting a function by tapping the Fx button, it is easier to find the right function, because they're grouped in categories rather than one very long list.image005.png

     

  1. "Find" will now find text within formulas, not just cell values.

 

  1. More cell border options - there are more built-in border styles to choose from. You can also choose the line color and line style.image007.png

     

  1. Easier to insert hyperlinks - you can now insert links by tapping a button on the Insert tab, and keep the display value that was already in the cell. Previously, you had to type the link address into the cell first, then edit the display value if you wanted to show something other than the link address.

 

  1. Fill in any direction – you can now drag-fill in any direction and there's a tooltip with a preview of the values that will fill into the new cells. Previously, you could only fill down or to the right.
    image009.png

     

     

  2. Table insert options - when you insert a table using existing data, you can choose whether to use the first row as the column headers.image011.png

     

  3. Filter improvement - you can now search to find values in in filters. If you have a long list of filter values, just type what you’re looking for in the Search field and you’ll find it in the list.image013.png

     

     

  1. Drag and drop to move rows and columns - just tap and hold on a row or column header, then drag to move it.image015.png

     

  1. Autocomplete improvements - When editing, you'll be given autocomplete suggestions sooner to make editing faster.

 

 

We think it's great that we've been able to add all the features mentioned above, but we realize that some changes may not have a good impact on how you use Excel.  There may be some things that work a bit differently than what you’ve come to expect, and there may be a few buttons or options found in different places. Unfortunately, we had reason to stop supporting some features, even though we tried very hard to avoid doing so. We realize that this can have an impact on how you use Excel on iOS, and we don’t take it lightly.  One such change is that Excel now requires the use of our online service to perform a few actions, such as printing, exporting files to PDF format, and opening workbooks saved in the legacy “XLS” file format.  We realize that performing these actions directly on your device is a very nice convenience, but using an online service offers several advantages, most notably a consistent experience for all types of devices.

 

We’ll be listening carefully for feedback so that we can make things better, and you can help. Tell us what's important to you, so we can improve Excel in ways that really matter.  Please use the “Send Feedback” button and send us your thoughts and concerns.

 

image017.png 

For information about What's New in the latest release for Excel on iOS and other platforms, as well as all the Microsoft Office applications, go to Office.com.  Again, please visit Excel.uservoice.com to make your voice heard in the conversation about what features you hope to see next.

 

Thanks!

17 Comments
Copper Contributor

2.0 seem to have complete broken on iOS, working spread sheet anything bigger than 100kb is nearly impossible, and that's on an iPad pro, and opening an user template has simple been instant crash. I need this app for work every single day, please fix ASAP, or maybe just allow users to revert to the last version. I've been having to use Numbers the last few days and I want excel back!!!

Microsoft

Hi Sam - There was an issue with version 2.0 that was fixed in version 2.0.1 which was released last week. Please install the update and respond back to say whether it resolves the issue.

Copper Contributor

 I did have the 2.0.1 (170412) build, and it was just as "crashy", I did find the main cause to be hidden rows and colums. When I unhide them on the desktop version and reopen them in iOS, the seem to be much more stable, but there are still occasional unexplained crashes, especially when opening .xltx files.

 

Also, why is internet require to generate a PDF from the worksheet. Generating PDFs and sharing them with other apps and devices while offline is a cruical part of my workflow, seems like a huge downgrade from 1.31

 

other minor complains:

 

Double tapping a cell does not highlight its contents to be overwritten. In 1.31 cells with calculated values could be quickly overwritten by double tapping and entering in new values. Now the process requires either deleting the entire formula, or double tapping to bring up the keyboard, then tap elsewhere, and then tap back to the desired cell and overwrite with the "new" in cell editing function. 

-  Please add a option to hightlight the entire cell content with a double tap 

 

PDF generation and Print layout options selections are not saved. Having to select orienation and scaling options each time I want to generate a PDF is a pain, another function present in 1.31

-  Please save the previsouly selected layout options selections so future prints and PDF generation are defaulted to the previously slected options

 

Please either just give us 1.31 back, or fix these issues ASAP!

Copper Contributor

Is the wrap text function in a different place than before? It no longer shows up as the last option when highlighting the cell.

Microsoft

Hi Jake - the "wrap text" has been moved to the ribbon and you can find it under the cell Alignment button in the Home tab.

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Not applicable
How do I enable shared document notifications?
Microsoft

To enable the notifications, just go to your iOS Settings > Notifications, and enable notifications for your Office apps.  You'll receive notifications when someone shares a document with you, and there will be notifications for other activities in the future.  For example, you may be notified when someone edits a document that you've shared with them.

Deleted
Not applicable

Thanks Steve. I figured that was the place to look but didn't see an option to control Excel's notifications specifically (like I can with Outlook, Teams, Delve, OneDrive).  I also didn't see the ability to control Word or PowerPoint specifically either.  Should I be looking to turn on Notifications for OneDrive?


Microsoft

Hi Joel - thanks for reporting this.  Excel, Word and PowerPoint should appear in the list of apps in the Notification settings.  I'll investigate. In the meantime, I think enabling notifications for OneDrive will work for you.  It would help to know what happens if you uninstall and reinstall one of the apps, just be aware that if you have documents stored on your iPad, they'll be deleted when you uninstall the app.  It's recommended to store documents in a cloud location such as OneDrive to avoid such loss if you ever have reason to uninstall the app.

Deleted
Not applicable

Thanks again Steve. I think I got it solved with your recommendation above to delete and re-install the app.  All docs were stored in OneDrive so no problems there and it did let me select the option to turn notifications on after re-installing and opening the app. Will do the same for Word and PowerPoint.

Copper Contributor

Hello,

Windows Phone having been abandonned and Android being what it is, I recently bought an iPhone. I must install excel and One Drive on it in order to update files from my phonbe as well as my computer. But the only excel version I can find requires iOS 11, when I only have iOS 10.
I am sure that I still can download a version of Excel that works right with iOS 10. Please tell me where I can get it.

Copper Contributor

Would love if they allow features like VLOOKUP in the mobile versions.

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FH

Copper Contributor

Hi, Joel Thanks for reporting.

 I m still using iOS 10 but I m unable to download the latest version of Excel that works right with iOS 10. Please tell me where I can get it.

 

Thank You

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TB

Copper Contributor

I use an Android device ever since Windows phones were abandoned. Excel on Android is pretty good, except that it doesn't handle macros (neither functions nor procedures). I understand that the power of a cell phone, even with a quad core or more, is insufficient for Excel macros, forget Access.

But is somebody in Redmind wirking on it?

Copper Contributor

I've used both iOS and Android, and I've to say this, the Excel app works seamlessly, especially with OneDrive backup system. I can change my device whenever I want, and I'll still find my document there, all thanks to the autosave feature in Excel and Word. However, this thing was introduced way before in iOS, but still, I'd say Microsoft has done a great job. If you want to learn about the iCloud backup system, and how is it compare to Microsoft OneDrive, then check out this post here.

Copper Contributor

2.0 appears to be completely broken on iOS; working with spreadsheets larger than 100kb is virtually difficult, even on an iPad Pro, and loading a user template has just resulted in an abrupt crash. I rely on this programme for work every day; please repair it as soon as possible, or enable users to restore to the previous version. I've had to use Numbers for the past three days, and I want Excel back!!!

 

PrepMyCareer

Copper Contributor

Hello, Joel Thanks for reporting.

 

I'm still using iOS 10 but I m not able to download the most recent version of Excel that is compatible for iOS 10. Please let me know where to get it.

 

Thank You

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AVOID

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‎Apr 18 2017 01:48 PM
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