How to share Excel file for multiple users and co-author a shared workbook

In this tutorial, you will find full details on how to share Excel workbook with other people by saving it to a local network or OneDrive, how to control user access to a shared Excel file and resolve conflicting changes.

These days more and more people are using Microsoft Excel for team work. In the past, when you needed to share an Excel workbook with someone, you could send it as an email attachment or save your Excel data to PDF for printing. While fast and convenient, the former method created multiple versions of the same document, and the latter produced a secure though non-editable copy.

The recent versions of Excel 2010, 2013 and 2016 make it easy to share and collaborate on workbooks. By sharing an Excel file, you are giving other users access to the same document and allow them to make edits simultaneously, which saves you the trouble of keeping track of multiple versions.

How to share an Excel file

This section shows how to share an Excel workbook for multiple users by saving it to a local network location where other people can access it and make edits. You can keep track of those changes and accept or reject them.

With the workbook open, perform the following steps to share it:

  1. On the Review tab, in the Changes group, click the Share Workbook button.
    Sharing an Excel workbook
  2. The Share Workbook dialog box will appear, and you select the Allow changes by more than one user at the same time. This also allows workbook merging check box on the Editing tab.
    Allow changes by more than one user at the same time.
  3. Optionally, switch to the Advanced tab, select the desired settings for tracking changes, and click OK.

    For example, you may want to have changes updated automatically every n number of minutes (all the other settings on the screenshot below are the default ones).

    4. Select the desired settings for tracking changes.

  4. Save you Excel file to a network location where other people can access it (the fastest way is by using the Ctrl + S shortcut).

If done correctly, the word [Shared] will appear to the right of the workbook's name as shown in the screenshot below:
Excel shared workbook

Now, you and your colleagues can work on the same Excel file at the same time. You are free to accept or reject their changes, and after the desired changes have been incorporated, you can stop sharing the workbook. Further on in this tutorial, you will find the details on how to do all this.

Note. If Microsoft Excel refuses to share a certain workbook, most likely it's because of one of the following reasons:

  1. Workbooks that have tables or XML maps cannot be shared. So, be sure to convert your tables to ranges and remove the XML maps before sharing your Excel file.
  2. To be able to share a workbook, some privacy settings need to be disabled. Go to File > Excel Options > Trust Center, click the Trust Center Settings… button, and under the Privacy Options category, uncheck the Remove personal information from file properties on save box.

How to share Excel workbook and protect change tracking

If you'd like not only to share an Excel file, but also to ensure that no one turns off the change history or removes the workbook from shared use, proceed in this way:

  1. On the Review tab, in the Changes group, click the Protect and Share Workbook button.
  2. The Protect Shared Workbook dialog window will show up, and you select the Sharing with track changes check box.
  3. Type a password in the Password (Optional) box, click OK, and then retype the password to confirm it.

    Though entering a password is optional, you'd better do it. Otherwise, there's little sense in using this option, because anyone would be able to remove the protection and thus stop the workbook sharing.

  4. Save the workbook.

Share Excel workbook and protect change tracking.

Clicking OK in the above dialog box will change the Protect and Share Workbook button on the ribbon to Unprotect Shared Workbook, and clicking this button will both remove the protection from the shared workbook and stop sharing it.

Note. If the workbook is already shared, and you want to protect sharing with a password, you must unshare the workbook first.

Protect worksheet vs. protect shared workbook

The Protect and Share Workbook option only prevents turning off change tracking in a shared workbook, but does not prevent other users from editing or deleting the workbook's contents.

If you want to prevent people from changing important information in your Excel document, you will need to lock some areas before sharing it ("before" is an important word here since the worksheet protection cannot be applied to an Excel shared workbook). For the detailed step-by-step instructions, please see:

Excel shared workbook limitations

When deciding to share your Excel file, please be aware that it may cause some troubles to your users because not all features are fully supported in shared workbooks. Here are some of the limitations:

  • Sorting and filtering by format
  • Conditional formatting
  • Merging cells
  • Excel tables and PivotTable reports
  • Charts and pictures
  • Data validation
  • Worksheet protection
  • Grouping or outlining data
  • Subtotals
  • Slicers and sparklines
  • Hyperlinks
  • Array formulas
  • Macros
  • A few more things

In fact, you will be able to use the existing features, but you won't be able to add or change them. So, if you'd like to benefit from any of the above options, be sure to apply them before sharing your Excel file. The complete list of features unsupported in shared workbooks can be found on Microsoft's web-site.

How to edit an Excel shared workbook

After you open a shared workbook, you can enter new or change existing data in a regular way.

You can also identify your work in a shared workbook:

  1. Click the File tab > Options.
  2. In the General category, scroll down to the Personalize your copy of Office section.
  3. In the User Name box, enter the user name that you want to display, and click OK.

Identifying your work in a shared workbook

Now, you can input and edit data as usual, keeping in mind the following limitations of shared workbooks.

How to resolve conflicting changes in a shared Excel file

When two or more users are editing the same workbook simultaneously, some edits can affect the same cell(s). In such situations, Excel keeps the changes of the user who saves the workbook first. When another user tries to save the workbook, Excel displays the Resolve Conflicts dialog box with the details about each conflicting change:
Resolving conflicting changes in a shared file

To resolve conflicting changes, do one of the following:

  • To keep your change, click Accept Mine.
  • To keep the other user's change, click Accept Other.
  • To keep all of your changes, click Accept All Mine.
  • To keep all of the other user's changes, click Accept All Others.

Tip. To save a copy of the shared workbook with all your changes, click the Cancel button in the Resolve Conflicts dialog box, and then save the workbook under a different name (File > Save As). You will be able to merge your changes at a later point.

How to force recent changes to override previous changes automatically

To have the most recent changes automatically override any previous changes (made by you or by other users), without displaying the Resolve Conflicts dialog box, do the following:

  1. On the Review tab, in the Changes group, click Share Workbook.
  2. Switch to the Advanced tab, select The changes being saved win under Conflicting changes between users, and click OK.

Have the changes being saved override the previous changes.

To view all the changes that have been made to the shared workbook, use the Track Changes feature on the Review tab, in the Changes group. It will show you when a particular change was made, who made it, and what data was changed. For more information, please see:

How to merge different copies of a shared workbook

In some situations, it can be more convenient to save several copies of a shared workbook, and then merge changes made by different users. Here's how:

  1. Share your Excel file to a local network location.
  2. Other users can now open the shared file and work with it, each person saving their own copy of the shared workbook to the same folder, but using a different file name.
  3. Add the Compare and Merge Workbooks feature to your Quick Access toolbar. The detailed steps on how to do this can be found here.
  4. Open the primary version the shared workbook.
  5. Click the Compare and Merge Workbooks command on the Quick Access toolbar.
    Compare and Merge Workbooks
  6. In the Select Files to Merge dialog box, select all the copies you want to merge (to select several files, hold the Shift key while clicking the file names, and then click OK).

Done! The changes by different users are merged into a single workbook. Now you can highlight the changes, so you can view all the edits at a glance.

How to remove users from a shared Excel workbook

Sharing an Excel file for multiple users can result in many conflicting changes. To avoid this, you may want to disconnect certain people from the shared workbook.

To remove a user from a shared workbook, do the following:

  1. On the Review tab, in the Changes group, click the Share Workbook button.
  2. On the Editing tab, select the name of the user you want to disconnect, and click the Remove User button.

Remove a user from a shared workbook

Note. This action disconnects users only for the current session, but does not prevent them from reopening and editing the shared Excel file again.

If the selected user is currently editing the shared workbook, Microsoft Excel will warn you that any unsaved changes of that user will be lost. You click OK to continue or Cancel to abort the operation and allow the user to save their work.

If it is you that have been disconnected, you can preserve your work by saving the shared workbook with a different name, then reopen the original shared workbook and merge your changes from the copy you've saved.

If you want to delete personal views of the removed user, switch to the View tab > Workbook Views group, and click Custom Views. In the Custom Views dialog box, select the views you want to remove, and click Delete.
Delete personal views of the removed user.

How to unshare an Excel file

When the teamwork has been completed, you can stop sharing the workbook in this way:

Open the Share Workbook dialog box (Review tab > Changes group). On the Editing tab, clear the Allow changes by more than one user at the same time… check box, and click OK.
Stop sharing the workbook

Excel will displays an alert that you are about to remove the file from shared use and erase the change History. If that's what you want, click Yes, otherwise No.

Notes:

  1. Before clearing this box, make sure you are the only person listed under Who has this workbook open now. If there are other users, disconnect them first.
  2. If the box is uncheckable (grayed out), most likely shared workbook protection is on. To unprotect the workbook, click OK to close the Share Workbook dialog box, and then click the Unprotect Shared Workbook button on the Review tab, in the Changes group.

How to share Excel workbook using OneDrive

Another way to share an Excel workbook is to save it to OneDrive, invite your colleagues to work on it, and see each other's changes instantaneously. Microsoft calls it co-authoring.

Save and share a workbook

In Excel 2013 and Excel 2010, to save a workbook to OneDrive, perform these steps:

  1. Click File > Share > Save to Cloud.
  2. Invite people to collaborate on the workbook by typing their names or email addresses in the corresponding box.
  3. Make sure Can edit is selected in the dropdown list on the right (default) and click Share.

Save an Excel file to OneDrive and invite people to collaborate on it.

In Excel 2016, you can simply click the Share button in the upper-right corner, save the workbook to a cloud location (OneDrive, OneDrive for Business, or SharePoint Online library), type email addresses in the Invite people box, separating each with a semicolon, and then click the Share button on the pane (please see the screenshot below).

Clicking the Share button will send an email message to each person, a copy will be sent to you too, just in case. If you'd rather send the link yourself, click Get a sharing link at the bottom of the pane instead.
Sharing a workbook in Excel 2016

Co-author with other people

When your colleagues receive an invitation, they simply click the link to open the workbook in Excel Online, and then click Edit Workbook > Edit in Browser to edit the file.

Excel 2016 for Office 365 subscribers (as well as users of Excel Mobile, Excel for iOS and Excel for Android) can co-author in their Excel desktop application by clicking Edit Workbook > Edit in Excel.
Choose to edit in Excel or in browser.

Tip. If you are using Excel 2016, you can also click File > Open, and then select Shared with Me.

Now, as soon as other people start editing the workbook, their names will appear in the upper-right corner (sometimes pictures, initials, or even "G" that stands for guest). You can see other users' selections in different colors, your own selection is traditionally green:
See other users' selections in different colors.

Note. You may not see other people's selections if you are using a version other than Excel 2016 for Office 365 or Excel Online. However, all their edits to a shared workbook will appear in real time.

If multiple users are co-authoring, and you lose track of who is editing a specific cell, click on that cell, and the person's name will be revealed.
See who is editing a given cell.

To jump to the cell being edited by someone, click their name or picture, and then click the green box with the cell address.
Jump to the cell being edited by someone.

This is how you can share an Excel file with other users. I thank you for reading and hope to see you on our blog next week!

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77 comments

  1. how do i change the title of an editable link that im sharing through an email? i want the link to say what it is and not all random letters and numbers in the email? Ive done it before but cant remember how to change it.

  2. Hi, does this share option have a privacy facility? For example: I would like to be able to share a simple spreadsheet with a list of days work available with multiple users so they can input their own availability, but without other employees being able to see what they have entered. In effect giving each user individual columns only that they can see and edit alongside the original list of dates I have entered. Ultimately providing me with a list of who is available all in one place? Thanks in advance

  3. I am developing a workbook that has seven individual tabs belonging to seven individual people. I want to share it to the group via email. I want them to be able to edit their own tab but not be able to view the other tabs until they make changes to their own. And once they make changes to their own tab, it's final. They cannot go back in and make changes. Thank you in advance.

  4. can i share from my local pc over network?

  5. I have the same issue! We have five people accessing same Excel spreadsheet and do not want to open it up to multiple users making edits simultaneously. If it has been idle for a period, say ten minutes, can that user be booted out?

  6. the Unshare button on the review tab is greyed out and i wanted to know how to un grey it out so i can click on it. how can i get this to work so i can share my document

  7. In Excel, how can I make my "Save" icon only be "Save" and not "Save this document and refresh it with updates made by other authors."

  8. If I have save as the shared workbook on the another places and deleted it, then what will happen. Is the original file will still there in the older place or that also will deleted?

  9. How many people/users can work on a shared work book?

  10. I have a shared excel, mainly for production use, 2 of us use multiple times during the day. With 2-3 others a couple of times a week. Issue we have is it doesnt like us being able to work on it and make changes at the same time, so for safety reasons we only allow 1 person working on it at the same time. Our biggest problem is, when 1 person is working on it and walks away, the other needs to access it, is there a way you can boot the other person out and save their changes, in order to do your work?

    • I have the same issue! We have five people accessing same Excel spreadsheet and do not want to open it up to multiple users making edits simultaneously. If it has been idle for a period, say ten minutes, can that user be booted out?

  11. Hi, how do you allow a xls file to have one master user and be able to distribute it as 'read only' to others without it being 'read only' when the master user goes in to modify it later?? Can it be done??

  12. So you are given the option to "open in excel", which allows for more of the useful functions to be utilized. When multiple people are working on the excel sheet at one time only one of them can open it in excel and when other group members try to they are told that it is locked. We can all work on it simultaneously in the online version, but again this limits the functionality of our excel workbook. Please let me know if there is a way to fix this issue so multiple people can edit the document in excel at once.

  13. I would like to have exclusive right to edit the workbook. But unfortunately I lost that right when I got another computer. How can I do that.

  14. Hi, sorry if this has already been asked...

    I've created a shared file for my team to use when forecasting performance for the rest of the year. Each team member have their own forecast input and forecast summary tabs, with all tabs having the same layout.

    The calculations all work fine, the problem is with the layout and format of what they see. I spend time each month adjusting the layout of the input tabs so they only see the cells they need to update - this involves, changing the groups of columns/rows to hiding/unhiding data, filtering data tables to the correct month(s), etc. However despite how the screens look when I save the file and pass it to them, when my team load the file they are presented with a different view to the one I've saved - cause by different cells/rows/columns showing on their screen to mine. This even happens if we open the same file at the same time.

    How can I 'force' Excel to open and show the same cells on their computers as I see on mine? FYI - I'm using Excel 2013 and they are all still on 2007, could this be the reason they receive different views?

    Thanks,
    Matt

  15. Hi, i'm trying to disable share workbook. Just want to be sure tho, if i disable Share Workbook but left the file in a shared folder, will my colleagues still be able to access/edit the file (although one at a time)? The intention is to disable the Share Workbook feature as we already encountered a lot of conflicts, but file will still be accessible/editable for those who have access in the folder where the file is saved.

    • I have shared a workbook to five user, lead to my workbook become very slow when save, open and any filter. Why? Please help me solve the problem.

  16. Hi,
    Greetings..
    I have uploaded an excel sheet in onedrive and shared with team members. can we add new columns or rows while multiple users are updating the details in excel sheet at same time? is there any chances of loosing data ?

  17. May I know How to add and remove the user in sharing doc?

  18. Please... I shared an excel file over a lan network but each time I tried opening it on other connected systems it opens as a read only document... Any suggestions on making the worksheet editable

  19. Good morning. We have 4 people sharing an excel spreadsheet which has been working fine for the last year, but now one person cannot save. It keeps coming up with

    "Your changes could not saved to 'Shed Workflow Information.xls' because of a sharing violation. Try saving to a different file.

    Could someone please explain why this could be happening all of a sudden.

    Thank you Denise

    • Where the user using excel sheet first remove file then open again.

  20. If excel is opened at two places and I have track changes made in excel every second in either places. In short, I have to refresh it every second without closing the excel.

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