We have mulitple shared excel files for users to enter data in a common
format. We are then using the import query to compile the data from these
files into one file to run reports. Our problem is - when we open our
'compile file' and run the query it locks the shared files and the users are
no longer able to update their information until we close the 'compile file'

How can we compile the data and still allow the users access to the shared
files?