Microsoft 365 applications can now perform feature and security updates while the machine is locked or at an idle state, no matter if applications are left open and still running. The new feature is known as “update under lock” which is using Microsoft’s Click-To-Run technology which is also used for the setup process of Microsoft 365 app installations.
The update will find the best time to update applications and implement changes in a process that takes only 4 seconds.
Once the M365 apps including Word, Excel and Powerpoint have been updated, the system will restore closed apps to their previous state. Microsoft Teams has not been included in the update under lock since it has its own update process.
Update under lock will NOT forcibly close the application when it’s unsafe to do so, like when the document changes haven’t been saved or when some macros are still running.
Microsoft shared an example of the new feature on its Tech Community post.
“A common scenario is for users to leave apps open on their device for extended periods of time. For example, if a user is working on a Word document at the end of the day, they may leave the document open and lock the device intending to continue working on it the next day. When users leave their documents open in this manner, it prevents Office from applying updates. With this feature, the user will come back to a machine in its previous state, but they will be running the latest bits.”