If you're using Excel for Microsoft 365, Excel for the web, Excel for Android, or Excel for iOS and you don't see other people's selections, then wait a few seconds. In addition, if people are using Excel for Microsoft 365 subscribers, then everyone needs to have AutoSave on to see colored selections. You can see other people's selections in different colors, but only if you and other people are using Excel for Microsoft 365 subscribers, Excel for the web, Excel for Android, Excel Mobile, or Excel for iOS. If you're still getting the "locked" error, see Excel file is locked for editing for more solutions to this problem. This might be because your administrator hasn’t provided the latest version to install. Note that if you have a work or school account, you might not have a version that supports co-authoring yet.
* Co-authoring in this version requires you to have the latest version of Excel for Microsoft 365 installed, and requires you to sign in to a Microsoft 365 subscription account. Versions of Excel that support co-authoring: If just one person does this, then everyone else will get the "locked" error-even if everyone else is using a version of Excel that does support co-authoring. The most common one is because someone has opened the file with a version of Excel that doesn't support co-authoring. There are a handful of reasons why this error can occur.
If you want to jump to where someone is working, select their picture or initials, and then select the Go to option. If you lose track of who’s who, rest your cursor over the selection, and the person’s name will be revealed. And on other people’s screens, their own selections will be green as well. However, your selection will always be green. If you see other people's selections in different colors, they'll show up as blue, purple and so on. If they're using another version, you won't see their selections, but their changes will appear as they're working. This happens if they're using Excel for Microsoft 365 subscribers, Excel for the web, Excel for Android, Excel Mobile, or Excel for iOS. You might see other people's selections in different colors. (You may also see their initials, or a "G" which stands for guest.) You know you're co-authoring if you see pictures of people in the upper-right of the Excel window. When others eventually open the file, you'll be co-authoring together. If you’re working on a single monitor, toggle between the two instances of Excel - hover your cursor over the icon in the system tray - to view the multiple sheets in separate windows.With the file still open in Excel, make sure that AutoSave is on in the upper-left corner. Browse to the first sheet you saved and open it. If you have two monitors, drag the second instance onto it. Keep this file open on your screen.ĭouble-click the Excel icon to open another instance of Excel. Right-click the sheets at the bottom of the workbook and delete all except the sheet to keep and view. Rename the file again with the name of the next sheet to keep and view, such as “Sheet2.” Save the file. Reopen the original Excel workbook, with all of the sheets. Select “Delete.” Repeat until all sheets but one are deleted. Right-click a sheet at the bottom of the workbook that is not the one you want to keep, such as a blank sheet or one with unwanted data.
Click the “File” tab and select “Save As.” Rename the file with the name of the single sheet you want to keep, such as “Sheet1.” Choose where to save the file, such as your desktop, and click “Save.” Scroll to the bottom of the screen where the tabbed sheets are viewable. Double-click the Excel icon and click the “File” tab.