Closing a Read-Only Workbook

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated December 21, 2024)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, Excel in Microsoft 365, and 2021

Gary has a read-only workbook that multiple users can access. They can modify cells but not save their work. On exiting the workbook, Gary wants Excel to just close without informing the user that it is read-only and giving them the option of saving a copy.

This is best accomplished by using a macro to modify the Saved flag in the workbook, just before closing. This flag indicates, internally, whether a workbook needs saving or not. If the flag is False, then Excel knows that the workbook has not been saved (changes have been made without saving). If your macro sets the flag to True, then Excel will close directly because it thinks that all the changes have been saved.

Here's what the macro should look like, at its simplest:

Private Sub Workbook_BeforeClose(Cancel As Boolean)
  If ThisWorkbook.ReadOnly Then
    ThisWorkbook.Saved = True
  End If
End Sub

The macro should be added to the ThisWorkbook object in the VBA Editor. That way, it is automatically executed just before the workbook is closed. The flag is set to True, and when the macro ends, Excel continues with its normal closing procedures. Since Excel thinks that there are no unsaved changes, the user sees no message and the workbook is closed.

Note:

If you would like to know how to use the macros described on this page (or on any other page on the ExcelTips sites), I've prepared a special page that includes helpful information. Click here to open that special page in a new browser tab.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (10349) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, Excel in Microsoft 365, and 2021.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

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