How to Share Workbook in Excel

Sharing a workbook in Excel can be an exceptional way to collaborate with your colleagues, friends, or family. Excel is an excellent tool that can help you track, manage, and organize your data. Excel also offers various sharing options that can help you share your workbook with others, including options to grant them editing or read-only access. Sharing a workbook can help you work on the same document simultaneously, view your colleagues’ changes in real-time, and make revisions in a timely manner. In this blog post, we will walk you through the steps to share your workbook in Excel and some tips to make the process smoother.

Step-by-Step Guide to Share Workbook in Excel

Are you working on an Excel workbook that requires collaboration? Sharing your workbook with others in your team or department can save time and minimize errors. Follow these easy steps to share a workbook in Excel:

Step 1: Open the Workbook to Share

Open the workbook you want to share in Excel. Click on the “File” option from the menu bar and select “Share”.

Step 2: Set Sharing Permissions

Click the “Share with People” option located at the top of the Share window, then click the “People with the link” option from the dropdown menu. This will allow anyone with the shareable link to view/edit the workbook. Alternatively, you can share the workbook with specific people by entering their email addresses in the respective field and choosing their permissions by clicking on the drop-down menu next to their name.

Step 3: Send the Shareable Link or Email the Workbook

Copy the shareable link and send it to your collaborators. Or, click on “Send” located at the bottom right and enter the email addresses of your collaborators. They will receive an email with a link to the workbook.

Step 4: Collaboration Begins

Your collaborators can open the workbook by clicking on the link. You will be notified via email whenever someone opens the workbook or makes any changes to it.

Options to Customize Sharing Permissions

Option 1: Share Workbook with Specific People and Set Permissions

You can share a workbook with specific people by entering their email addresses in the email address field. You can also click on the drop-down menu next to their name to select their permission. People with “Edit” permission have full access to modify the workbook, while “View” permission allows collaborators to only view the workbook.

Option 2: Grant or Block Editing Permissions

By default, sharing permissions allow for editing access. You can uncheck the “Allow editing” box to only grant read-only access to the workbook. Simply select the checkboxes for “Require users to sign in” and “Allow people to edit” based on your preference.

Sharing workbooks in Excel can help enhance collaboration and save time and consistent data. Use the above steps to share your workbook in Excel and customize sharing permissions according to your preference. Get started now to make your collaboration more effective and efficient.

How to Work on a Shared Workbook in Excel

Multiple collaborators can work on a shared workbook simultaneously, and their changes will update in real-time. Here are some additional tips to work on a shared workbook in Excel:

Tip 1: Locking Cells

You can lock specific cells in Excel to prevent collaborators from making unwanted changes. Select the cells you want to lock, right-click on them, and select “Format Cells”. In the Format Cells dialog box, go to the “Protection” tab, tick the “Locked” option, and click “OK”. Now, click on “Review” from the menu bar and select “Protect Sheet.” In the Protect Sheet dialog box, set a password and make sure all the checkboxes are unchecked, except the “Select unlocked cells” checkbox. This will prevent your collaborators from modifying locked cells, but they can still work on the unlocked cells.

Tip 2: Resolving Conflicts

When multiple collaborators work on a workbook simultaneously, it can result in conflicts. Excel, however, provides you with options to resolve these conflicts. You will receive a prompt if there is a conflict when you open the workbook. Click on the “Resolve” option and choose the version of the workbook to save the changes.

How to Stop Sharing a Workbook in Excel

If you want to stop sharing your workbook with collaborators or remove their access and permissions to a workbook, you can follow these steps:

Step 1: Open the Workbook

Open the workbook in Excel, then click on the “File” option from the menu bar and select “Share”.

Step 2: Remove Sharing Permissions

To stop sharing the workbook, click on the “Shared with…” option located at the top right of the Share window. This will open the “Shared with” window where you can see a list of collaborators. Click on the “X” next to their name to remove their sharing access.

Step 3: Close and Save the Workbook

Make sure to save the changes and close the workbook after you’ve removed all the collaborators. It’s important to note that Excel maintains all the previous revisions of the workbook, so you can restore it if necessary.

Excel offers a variety of sharing options that can help you collaborate with your team more efficiently and effectively. Whether you’re sharing a workbook with read-only access or giving full editing permissions, it’s essential to follow certain best practices to protect your data. Don’t forget to lock sensitive cells and resolve conflicts promptly. By following these tips, you’ll be able to work collaboratively on the same workbook without any issues!

FAQs

Here are some of the most common questions people ask about sharing workbooks in Excel:

Q: Can I share only a specific sheet in my workbook?

A: Yes, you can share only a specific sheet in a workbook. First, right-click on the sheet you want to share and select “Move or Copy.” In the Move or Copy dialog box, select “New Book” from the “To book” drop-down menu, then click “OK.” Save the new workbook, then follow the steps to share the workbook.

Q: Can I share a workbook with someone who doesn’t use Excel?

A: Yes, you can still share your workbook with someone who doesn’t use Excel. When sharing, click on the “Create a Link” option located at the top of the Share window. This will generate a link to the workbook that you can share with anyone. They can access the file using a web browser without installing Excel.

Q: How do I know who has edited my shared workbook?

A: Excel keeps track of all changes made to a shared workbook through the “Track Changes” feature. To enable this feature, click on “Review” from the menu bar, select “Track Changes,” then “Highlight Changes.” You can also tick the “List changes on a new sheet” checkbox to create a separate sheet that lists all changes made to the workbook.

Q: Can I change the sharing permissions after sharing the workbook?

A: Yes, you can change sharing permissions after sharing a workbook in Excel. Open the shared workbook, click on the “File” option from the menu bar, and select “Share.” From here, you can add or remove collaborators and edit their permissions as needed.

Q: How do I remove a password from a shared workbook?

A: Open the workbook you want to remove the password from and then click on the “File” option on the menu bar. Select “Info” and then “Protect Workbook.” Click on “Encrypt with Password” from the drop-down menu, and clear the password. Press OK and enter the password to unlock the workbook, then save it.