Page 489 - Excel 2013 All-in-One For Dummies

This is in stark contrast to what happens when you try to open an unshared workbook on your computer that’s already open on another computer on the network. In that case, Excel displays a File in Use alert dialog box inform- ing you that the workbook you want to open is already open. You can then choose between clicking the Read Only button to open the file in read-only mode (in which you can’t save your changes under the original filename) and clicking the Notify button to have the program open the file in read-only mode and then notify you when the other person closes the workbook so you can save your changes.
If you click the Notify button, as soon as the other person who was editing the workbook closes the file, Excel then displays a File Now Available alert dialog box, letting you know that the file is now available to save your editing. You then click its Read-Write button to close this alert dialog box, and after that, you’re free to save your editing changes to the original filename with the Save command (Ctrl+S).
Note that you don’t have to be running Excel 2013 on your computer in order to open and edit a shared workbook. Workbook sharing is supported by the earlier versions of Excel (2007 and 97 through 2003). You can’t, however, save changes to a shared workbook if you’re using a version earlier than Excel 2007.
Also note that when you make changes to a shared workbook, Excel uses your username to identify the modifications that you made. To modify your username, you edit the contents of the User Name text box on the General tab of the Excel Options dialog box (File➪Options or Alt+FT).
When you share a workbook, Excel disables some of the program’s editing features so they can’t be used in editing the shared spreadsheet. The follow- ing tasks are not enabled in a shared workbook:
✦ Deleting worksheets from the workbook
✦ Merging cells in the worksheets of a workbook
✦ Applying conditional formats to the cells of the worksheets (although all conditional formats in effect before you share the workbook remain in effect)
✦ Setting up or applying data validation to cells of the worksheets (although all data validation restrictions and messages remain in effect in the shared workbook)
✦ Inserting or deleting blocks of cells in a worksheet (although you can insert or delete entire columns and rows from the sheet)
✦ Drawing shapes and adding text boxes (see Book V, Chapter 2 for details)
Workbook Sharing 101 471
Book IV Chapter 3
Sending Workbooks Out for Review