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Sharing Files

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by the emu

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I have an Excel file I would like five people to be able to share and insert data to. We are all on a LAN running NT. Here's my dilemna: I need to have only one person using the file at a time to prevent others from opening the same file, editing, and then saving which would overwrite the other person's input. Is there a way to allow these five people access to the file to put their input in, while at the same time, protecting it from each person overwriting the others and thereby essentially deleting their input?

9 replies

by conrad

Unfortuneately, only one user can be updating an excel file at a time. Other users may open the spreadsheet in "read only" from to view the sheet, but they will not be able to modify the sheet while the user making changes has it open. If you need to have multiple users updating a spreadsheet simultaneously, you may be better off implementing an Access database.

by pvp

Nope! The first user gets the file for exclusive write. Subsequent users can open read-only.

Incidentally, the exclusive write will persist until the user holding it COMPLETELY EXITS Excel! Closing the file but leaving Excel running, won't do it.

by pvp

Let me take that back, sort of!

Based on another user's answer to another question, I checked into Netmeeting 3.0.

You should be able to host a meeting, share the application, and have all participants update the file "simulaneously".

Netmeeting is free; you already have Office (duh!) and the help in netmeeting regarding shared applications and collaboration seems to be pretty good.

by pvp

"simulaneously" is much like ""simultaneously" except for the [mis]spelling thereof. :-)

by pmjones

You don't have to 'do' anything, just save the file on a share which the 5 users have full permissions to (so they can save).
When 1 person opens the file, it will automatically be 'locked' until they close it and close Excel. If another tries to open it while the 1st user has it open, they will get warned that it is open, and can only open it as 'read only', which prevents them from saving it over the original.
Just try it - open it on one PC, and then try opening on a second.

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