Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, and 2013. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here: Sharing Your Workbook.
Excel allows multiple people to access a workbook at the same time, if desired. This can be very handy when a workbook is in active use or development, and there are multiple people in your department who all have a hand in the process. You can share a workbook in this way:
Figure 1. The Share Workbook dialog box.
This is the simplest way to share access to a workbook. There are other options available in the Share Workbook dialog box that should be examined, however. Notice that the dialog box also lists the users currently accessing the current workbook. It should go without saying that when you first share a workbook, you are the only user that will be listed in the dialog box. However, if you again display the Share Workbook dialog box at a later time (such as when you are thinking of turning sharing off), there could easily be multiple users listed.
Notice, as well, that the Share Workbook dialog box also contains an Advanced tab. This tab is where you can specify how changes should be handled by Excel.
The whole idea behind sharing a workbook among multiple users is that Excel tracks any changes made and then at a later date you merge together everyone's work. The Advanced tab is where you indicate how you want Excel to prepare for this future time. Here you can specify how changes should be tracked, when changes should be updated, and what to do if Excel detects a conflict between changes specified by two or more users.
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (8486) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, and 2013. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Sharing Your Workbook.
Excel Smarts for Beginners! Featuring the friendly and trusted For Dummies style, this popular guide shows beginners how to get up and running with Excel while also helping more experienced users get comfortable with the newest features. Check out Excel 2013 For Dummies today!
All good things must come to an end at some point. When you are done sharing your workbook with others, this is how you can ...
Discover MoreExcel has the capability to automatically open workbooks when you first start the program. You may not want to have one (or ...
Discover MoreAs you work with a workbook (particularly one that contains macros) you may notice that the workbook size can become quite ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
2016-02-16 05:23:46
Barry
Word of warning!
There a numerous documented instances of changes to a shared workbook being lost or corrupted. And I have had personal experience of this also.
The sharing works by opening a copy of the workbook in question and then when saved/closed Excel then merges the copy and the original files. The merged version is then saved with the original filename in the original file location. If another User tries to close/save at the same time then this is where I believe the errors occur, or file corruption occurs.
Having said that I've had data loss even with a single User.
Excel was never designed to provide multi-User access, and the Sharing facility, IMHO, is a bit of a kluge. Better to use a program that was designed for multi-User environment e.g. MS Access.
2016-02-15 16:12:40
Ryan McGehan
@barbara Phair - You do not specify the people with whom you wish to share the file (unlike with google docs). Setting an excel file to be shared simply means multiple users can open and edit the same file, and save using the same file name (as opposed to opening a copy, saving asa new file name, then later combining the changes).
2016-02-15 12:41:31
barbara Phair
how do you add the person with whom you want to share the workbook.
thank you.
Got a version of Excel that uses the ribbon interface (Excel 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the menu interface.
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2017 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, and 2013. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here: 
Comments