Although Microsoft Office (LTSC and Microsoft 365) on the desktop offers the full fledged versions of Office apps, the web versions of these services are also very capable and do contain the core functionalities. The Redmond tech giant regularly tries to bridge some of these gaps between the two variants, and now, it has made some more headway in this regard.
Up until now, customers were only allowed to open and edit files with sensitivity labels and custom user permissions in Office for the web. If they wanted to apply new labels or modify permissions, they were forced to open the file in the desktop app. Fortunately, Microsoft has now fixed this issue across Word, Excel, and PowerPoint on the web, bringing feature parity for sensitivity labels.
Moving forward, when users open the Permissions settings in Office on the web, they will be greeted with the same modernized experience that they are accustomed to on desktop. They will be able to apply a label configured for user-defined permissions, based on what has been made available to them from IT admins using Purview. They can specify users and domains, their respective roles (Viewer, Restricted Editor, Editor, Owner), and leverage advanced options if needed. That said, do keep in mind that you won"t be able to set a custom expiration date for permissions on the web.
Microsoft has assured customers that after they apply and update their changes on the web, their enforcement policies will be identical across desktop and the web, following your organization"s policies.
The Redmond tech giant has requested IT admins to update their training material and documentation to make customers aware about this compliance change. Admins should also audit their existing labels and monitor their usage.
In order to leverage these sensitivity labels with custom user permissions, an organization should meet the following criteria:
- Have a license that supports configuring Purview sensitivity labels
- Have sensitivity labeling enabled for files stored in SharePoint and OneDrive
- Have configured at least one sensitivity label for user-defined permissions
You can find out additional details here.