Bothersome 'File has Changed' Message

Jackie has a workbook that she uses once a month. She is the only person with access to it. Every time she saves, she gets a pop-up message that says the file "may have been changed by another user since you last saved it." Jackie wonders why this message perpetually appears when she's the only one who has access to this workbook and the only one who uses it.

This type of message should only occur if (1) you open a workbook, (2) someone else opens the workbook while you have it open, (3) the other person saves the workbook, and (4) you save the workbook. In Jackie's case, however, this scenario cannot be occurring because she is the only one with access to the workbook.

The first thing to try is to see if the same behavior occurs with other workbooks besides this one. The other workbooks should be stored in the same place, and you should open them in the same way that you open the problem workbook. If the issue does not occur when using other workbooks, then that would seem to indicate that there is something wrong with this one workbook. In that case, you should try loading it and using Save As to save it under a new name; that may fix the issue.

Next, check if your workbook is stored in a shared drive, such as OneDrive or Dropbox. If it is, then it is possible that even if someone else doesn't open the workbook, others could have programs that automatically "do something" to the workbook—perhaps backup software or an antivirus program. You can see if this is the potential cause by simply moving the workbook out of the shared drive to your local computer system. Open the workbook from there, and see if the problem goes away.

Another thing you might try is to make sure you aren't keeping the workbook open for an extended period. For instance, you open the workbook in the morning and leave it open on your system for the full day or even overnight. During that time, you run to a meeting or leave for lunch, and your computer goes to sleep. When you come back and awaken your computer, it gets a bit confused and assumes that the file could have been modified by someone else while it was asleep. This confusion is especially possible if the workbook is stored on a shared cloud or network drive.

Finally, try cold starting your system. It is possible that there is something in your computer memory that is giving a false signal to Excel. So, shut down your computer, wait a few minutes, and then start the system up again. (Don't just restart; shut down completely.) Open the workbook and see if the error goes away.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (13961) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Excel in Microsoft 365.