I have a workbook I would like to share with colleagues which records client
details. However if, for example, user 1 enters a new client on row 1 and
saves, then user 2 (who has the un-updated version open) then adds a new
client to row 1 and saves the Resolve Conflict window opens up asking which
change to keep and which to discard.
Obviously I would like to keep BOTH new clients data but can't see how this
can be achieved.
Am I being particularly dense or is there a workaround?

Kev, this is very much a procedural issue rather than a software issue.

As I have said elsewhere this type of functionality is fraught with
difficulty: not necessarily on the software front but on the procedural front
that you are highlighting at the moment.

I would test this functionality very thoroughly before implementing it
anywhere and I would work out, in advance, what, exactly, you are going to do
in the type of circumstances you outline.

Not only is it important that you work out in advance exactly how you are
going to handle the type of situation that you mention but, perhaps even more
importantly than this, is that the users fully understand exactly what to do
and when. If this is not the case things can, very rapidly, get out of
control and things end up in a mess.

Strict control (and procedures) over shared Workbooks is absolutely
essential if things are not to get out of hand. What these controls and
procedures are is very site specific. Different groups of people will come up
with different ways of handing things.

Please hit Yes if my comments have helped.


"KevHardy" wrote:

I have a workbook I would like to share with colleagues which records client
details. However if, for example, user 1 enters a new client on row 1 and
saves, then user 2 (who has the un-updated version open) then adds a new
client to row 1 and saves the Resolve Conflict window opens up asking which
change to keep and which to discard.
Obviously I would like to keep BOTH new clients data but can't see how this
can be achieved.
Am I being particularly dense or is there a workaround?

Thanks for the very useful points guys. I take on board all of it.
The users are a small team of colleagues who communicate very well so
hopefully this makes the chances of problems occuring less (?) but they are
not all comfortable with computers and the 'resolve conflict' dialgue box
will just freak them out!

We would only ever have a maximum of three people working on the workbook at
a time.

Is there a way of having a routine within the userform to automatically save
the workbook before it began looking for the next empty row to put the new
data in, and then automatically save it again after adding the new data. If
this was possible it might solve my problem :-)

"trip_to_tokyo" wrote:


Kev, this is very much a procedural issue rather than a software issue.

As I have said elsewhere this type of functionality is fraught with
difficulty: not necessarily on the software front but on the procedural front
that you are highlighting at the moment.

I would test this functionality very thoroughly before implementing it
anywhere and I would work out, in advance, what, exactly, you are going to do
in the type of circumstances you outline.

Not only is it important that you work out in advance exactly how you are
going to handle the type of situation that you mention but, perhaps even more
importantly than this, is that the users fully understand exactly what to do
and when. If this is not the case things can, very rapidly, get out of
control and things end up in a mess.

Strict control (and procedures) over shared Workbooks is absolutely
essential if things are not to get out of hand. What these controls and
procedures are is very site specific. Different groups of people will come up
with different ways of handing things.

Please hit Yes if my comments have helped.


"KevHardy" wrote:

I have a workbook I would like to share with colleagues which records client
details. However if, for example, user 1 enters a new client on row 1 and
saves, then user 2 (who has the un-updated version open) then adds a new
client to row 1 and saves the Resolve Conflict window opens up asking which
change to keep and which to discard.
Obviously I would like to keep BOTH new clients data but can't see how this
can be achieved.
Am I being particularly dense or is there a workaround?