ExcelBanter - In Use Message

Hi MaryAnn,

It depends on whether you have _formally_ shared the workbook. (BTW, a
worksheet is different from a workbook. An Excel file, with the .xls
extension, is a workbook. That workbook contains 1, 2 or more worksheets, by
default named Sheet1, Sheet2, and so on.)

You formally enable the sharing of a workbook by opening it by yourself
only, choosing Tools | Share Workbook, and setting the options that you want
to put in place. This is what I mean by "formally" sharing the workbook. If
you do this, when you later open the workbook you will _not_ see a message
that the file is in use by someone else, assuming that someone else does
have it open. Multiple simultaneous users will be able to make changes to
the workbook _and_ save those changes to the original file name in its
original path (e.g., C:\My Documents\IncomeStatement.xls).

(I hate shared workbooks. The downsides are much more serious than the
upsides, and there are better ways to accomplish the same objective.)

Suppose, on the other hand, that you have not formally shared the workbook,
and that Edward has opened it. Now if Sally tries to open it, she will see a
message to the effect that Edward has it open, and does she want to open it
as read-only (which will, in a sense, share the workbook, but not formally),
or to be notified when Edward has relinquished it? If she opens it as
read-only, she _will_ be able to make changes to it and to save it, just not
to the same path and file name from which she opened it. So it's not truly
read-only. If she chooses "Notify," she will be able to open it read-only
and be notified when Edward has relinquished it, so that she can
subsequently save any changes she makes to the same path and file name from
which she opened it. Note that the message and the options differ according
to the Excel version you're using.

You can't manage the message by means of an Excel setting, only by doing
something such as using Windows to copy the file to a different name or
path, which -- if you then open it fast enough -- will prevent the message
from appearing.

C^2
Conrad Carlberg
--
Excel Sales Forecasting for Dummies, Wiley, 2005

"MaryAnn" wrote in
message ...

We have a shared drive where we can share excel worksheets. At one time
when one of us had the worksheet opened and the other person opens the
file we would get a message that this file is in use. Is there a
setting in Excel that you can select for this?

--
MaryAnn
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