Chapter 30: Using Excel in a Workgroup
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Updating changes
While you’re working on a shared workbook, you can choose File ➪ Save to update the workbook with
your changes. The Update Changes settings determine what happens when you save a shared workbook:l (^) When File Is Saved: You receive updates from other users when you save your copy of
the shared workbook.
l (^) Automatically Every: Lets you specify a time period for receiving updates from other
users of the workbook. You can also specify whether Excel should save your changes
automatically, too, or just show you the changes made by other users.
Resolving conflicting changes between users
As you may expect, multiple users working on the same file can result in some conflicts. For exam-
ple, assume that you’re working on a shared customer information workbook, and another user
also has the workbook open. If you and the other user both make a change to the same cell, a
conflict occurs. You can specify the manner in which Excel resolves the conflicts by selecting one
of two options from the Advanced tab of the Share Workbook dialog box:
l (^) Ask Me Which Changes Win: If you select this option, Excel displays a dialog box to let
you determine how to settle the conflict.
l (^) The Changes Being Saved Win: If you select this option, the most recently saved version
always takes precedence.
Caution
The second option, The Changes Being Saved Win, has slightly deceptive wording. Even if the other user saves his
changes, any changes you make will automatically override his changes when you save the workbook. This option
may result in a loss of data because you won’t have any warning that you’ve overwritten another user’s changes. n
Controlling the Include in Personal View settings
The final section of the Advanced tab of the Share Workbook dialog box enables you to specify set-
tings that are specific to your view of the shared workbook. You can choose to use your own print
settings and your own data-filtering settings. If you don’t enable these check boxes, you can’t save
your own print and filter settings.
Tracking Workbook Changes
Excel has a feature that enables you to track changes made to a workbook. You may want to use
this feature if you send a workbook to someone for reviewing. When the file is returned, you can
see what changes were made and then accept or reject them accordingly.Turning Track Changes on and off
To enable change tracking, choose Review ➪ Changes ➪ Track Changes ➪ Highlight Changes,
which displays the Highlight Changes dialog box, shown in Figure 30.5. Then select the Track
Changes While Editing check box.