Hi Everyone. I've not checked whether this have been discussed before. My probem: We work in a Workgroup environment sharing certain files from a central 'XP Server' through two mapped network drives. One file in particular is a Excel file which all of us need to update orders etc. When two people access it at the same time obviously the one will have a pop-up saying 'file already in use; only open as read only etc.'. Now I'm fine with that. Although it says to the one user that it can only open as read only, still both users can change the file's contents!! The problem then comes in that when they want to save it they can't because we then get a message saying that 'the chaged file will first be saved in a temporary file and should then be inserted in the original file later'. When giving your solutions please remember that evrything in the inverted commas is in my own words and not the exact error messages. Thanks everyone and looking forward to your responses.

Hi Everyone. This is the kind of message i get re the above problem: "Your changes could not be saved to Your_File_Name.XLS, but were saved to 4CCA4100. Close the existing document, then open the temporary document and save it under a new name" This happens when two people have the same Excel file open and one wants to save the changes made. Thanks

re: Although it says to the one user that it can only open as read only, still both users can change the file's contents!! First, let's make sure we understand what "read-only" means. Read-only, in this case, doesn't mean that the 2nd user can't edit the local copy of the file when it's displayed on his screen. What it means is that the 2nd user can't *save* it under the original name, even if the other user closes their copy prior to the save attempt. That said, you still have a problem, since the normal message when trying to save a read-only file should be: "file_name.xls is read-only. To save a copy, click OK, then give the workbook a new name in the Save As dialog box." I'll keep digging, but these might be a place for you to start. The first seems more promising than the second. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/813973 http://support.microsoft.com/kb/833613

Thanks very much DerbyDad03 I've had a look at the links you supplied and thanks for it. It was helpful. Also, I'd like to just make sure: this means that there is no way two people can access the same Excel file at the same time, change it and then save it then? If not, I can understand this but I would just like confirmation that it is not possible... Also, where I'm originally coming from is that one of the mentioned two users reported that when she opened the Excel file she did not get a message saying 'its already open and can thus only be opened as read-only'. Now I know uncertainty comes in as to whether she was the first to open to the file, because I asked the other user and neither did she get the 'read-only' message. I also accept that one of them could be 'lying' but that is what they said. Is it possible that this could happen ever??? (I don't know if this helps but we're in a Workgroup environment right on the edge of the current amount of users which is 13.) Thanks Jefton

re: "...there is no way two people can access the same Excel file at the same time, change it and then save it then?" Not true! There is a big difference between a "shared folder" and a "shared workbook". If the file is in a shared folder, and is *not* a shared workbook, then only one person can open, edit and save it under the same name. All others should only be able to open it as Read Only, edit it and save it under another name. However, with a shared workbook, multiple users can open, edit and save the same workbook under the same name. There are certainly nuances to be aware of, but it can be done. In Excel Help, look up both "Sharing" and "Track Changes" for more info. I'm not sure if this helps answer your original question or not.

DerbyDad03 - Thanks very much for the advice and for giving me some clarity. I do agree with you that it can't happen but that is what they said. And I like I said in one of my earlier post is that I'm sure one of them was lying when she said that she did not get the 'Read Only' message. Once again thanks mate. Jefton