sharing workbooks


Posted by Mo on December 02, 2000 6:19 AM

Hello, I have a problem in sharing workbooks where I work. If I open a worksheet which has already been opened by another person, excel tells me it will be read only. Is there a way for both of us to open and make changes.
I know nothing about VBA or complex macros. It will be nice if there was a simple solution.
I thank you in advance for your help



Posted by JAF on December 03, 2000 11:21 AM

There is a feature in Excel that allows a workbook to be opened by more than one person.

To activate this, open the workbook (you'll need to be the first one in it so it's not Read Only), and from the Tools menu, select Share Workbook... Tick the Allow changes by more than one person box, save the file and Bob's your Auntie.

A word of warning, if 2 (or more) people have the workbook open at the same time and both change the same cell, only one change can be saved (obviously) - this can get confusing, and personally, I think shared workbooks are more trouble than they are worth, but give it a try and see how it works for you.


JAF