Shared excel files

The most common one is because someone has opened the file with a version of Excel that doesn't support co-authoring. If just one person does this, then everyone else will get the "locked" error—even if everyone else is using a version of Excel that does support co-authoring. If you're still getting the "locked" error, see Excel file is locked for editing for more solutions to this problem. You can see other people's selections in different colors, but only if you and other people are using Excel for Microsoft subscribers, Excel for the web, Excel for Android, Excel Mobile, or Excel for iOS.

In addition, if people are using Excel for Microsoft subscribers, then everyone needs to have AutoSave on to see colored selections. If you're using Excel for Microsoft , Excel for the web, Excel for Android, or Excel for iOS and you don't see other people's selections, then wait a few seconds.

If they're using another version, like Excel Mobile, then their selections will not appear to you. However, any changes they make will show up almost instantly. In addition, if they're using an older version of Excel, like Excel , then they won't be able to edit the file at the same time as you, and you won't be able to see their selections.

To co-author and see changes made by others, everyone needs to use a version of the Excel app that supports co-authoring. If they don't have a supported version, they can always use Excel for the web in their web browser. If that doesn't solve the problem, try one or more of the following:. Wait a minute or two. Sometimes it takes some time for Excel and the cloud to communicate with each other. Make sure everyone who's working in Excel for Microsoft subscribers has AutoSave on in the upper-left corner of the Excel window.

If you're using OneDrive to sync files, make sure it isn't paused, and make sure that Use Office applications to sync Office files Details on this setting can be found here. Make sure those who are working in Excel for Android have AutoSave on. Resolve any errors that may be shown there. This may happen occasionally if someone uses an Excel feature that is not fully supported in Excel co-authoring yet.

This can stop the co-authoring process temporarily. For stuff that you need to keep, select Save a Copy and save the file as a different name. Then, select and copy the changes you need to keep. Finally, one last step—reopen the original file that's on the cloud and paste your changes back in.

Keep in mind that if you're using OneDrive to sync files, changes you make while your computer is offline won't get merged until your computer is online again. And once online, all your changes get merged at once. Then find a past version in the list and select Open version. The past version will open. If you want to restore it to the current version, wait until everyone is no longer co-authoring, and then select Restore.

For more information on versions, see View historical versions of Office files. To co-author in Excel for Mac desktops, you need to make sure certain things are set up before you start.

Note that if you have a work or school account, your administrator may control which version of Office you can install, and it may not be the latest version. See When do I get the newest features in Microsoft ? You need to use. Change the file format to. Note that SharePoint On-Premises sites sites that are not hosted by Microsoft , do not support co-authoring.

If they want to use an Excel app to co-author, they can select Edit in Desktop App. If they don't have a supported version, they can edit in the browser to edit the file. If you're in the same area as them, you might see their cell selections in a different color than yours. You'll also see their changes appear as they're working.

In addition, if you select Share in the upper-right, you'll see pictures of people and their name or email address. In Excel for Microsoft , you might notice AutoSave in the upper-left corner.

And, if other people are working on the same file, AutoSave lets them see your changes in just a matter of seconds. You can see other people's selections in different colors, but only if you and other people are using Excel for Microsoft , Excel for the web, Excel for Android, Excel Mobile, or Excel for iOS. In addition, if people are using Excel for Microsoft , then everyone needs to have AutoSave on to see colored selections.

In addition, if they're using an older version of Excel, like Excel for Mac , then they won't be able to edit the file at the same time as you, and you won't be able to see their selections. In addition, Excel for Microsoft supports co-authoring when you have a Microsoft subscription. If somebody doesn't have a supported version, they can always use Excel for the web in their web browser. Make sure everyone who's working in Excel for Microsoft or Excel for Microsoft for Mac has AutoSave on in the upper-left corner of the Excel window.

If you're using OneDrive to sync files, make sure it's not paused, and make sure that Use Office to sync files This may happen occasionally if someone uses an Excel feature that isn't fully supported in Excel co-authoring yet. If you want to prevent people from changing important information in your Excel document, you will need to lock some areas before sharing it "before" is an important word here since the worksheet protection cannot be applied to an Excel shared workbook.

For the detailed step-by-step instructions, please see:. When deciding to share your Excel file, please be aware that it may cause some troubles to your users because not all features are fully supported in shared workbooks. Here are some of the limitations:. In fact, you will be able to use the existing features, but you won't be able to add or change them.

So, if you'd like to benefit from any of the above options, be sure to apply them before sharing your Excel file. The complete list of features unsupported in shared workbooks can be found on Microsoft's web-site. Now, you can input and edit data as usual, keeping in mind the following limitations of shared workbooks. When two or more users are editing the same workbook simultaneously, some edits can affect the same cell s.

In such situations, Excel keeps the changes of the user who saves the workbook first. When another user tries to save the workbook, Excel displays the Resolve Conflicts dialog box with the details about each conflicting change:. To have the most recent changes automatically override any previous changes made by you or by other users , without displaying the Resolve Conflicts dialog box, do the following:. To view all the changes that have been made to the shared workbook, use the Track Changes feature on the Review tab, in the Changes group.

It will show you when a particular change was made, who made it, and what data was changed. For more information, please see:. In some situations, it can be more convenient to save several copies of a shared workbook, and then merge changes made by different users. Here's how:.

The changes by different users are merged into a single workbook. Now you can highlight the changes , so you can view all the edits at a glance. The more you tell us the more we can help. Can you help us improve? Resolved my issue. Clear instructions. Easy to follow. No jargon. Pictures helped. Didn't match my screen. Incorrect instructions. Too technical. Not enough information. Not enough pictures. Any additional feedback? Resolve - select the comment, then click the three dots in the top-right corner, and then click Resolve thread.

The conversation will not be saved when you close the file. To keep a record of your chats, use Microsoft Teams. Table of contents. Excel for the web Quick Start. Next: Welcome to Excel. Table of contents Excel for the web Quick Start. Excel training. Excel for the web More Share your workbook Select Share. Set permissions.

Select Apply. Enter the names or email addresses of who to share with.