How to Share an Excel Workbook With Other Users in 2025 Learn how to share an Excel workbook with other users in the year 2025! Microsoft Excel has strong capabilities for sharing and working together as a team, especially if these cloud-based tools can be integrated with cloud services such as OneDrive and Microsoft 365. In this article, we will look at how to share an Excel workbook and protect a shared workbook from opening, simultaneously and especially how to collaborate in Excel.

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Why Share an Excel Workbook?:

Work today is all about collaboration. By using an Excel workbook and sharing it, you can have several people in it at once to:

• Add and also edit data in real-time.
• Keep track of changes and version history.
• Delegate work and check on the progress in the same file.
• And minimize mistakes in handling multiple versions of the same files.

Excel’s next-level sharing features in 2025 let you collaborate effectively, no matter if your team is in the same office or on opposite ends of the world.

Requirements for Sharing an Excel Workbook:

Before you share your workbook, make sure that:

• Microsoft 365 Subscription: Real-time collaboration is available with a Microsoft 365 account for one user using one device accessing cloud storage.
• OneDrive or SharePoint: The workbook needs to be in a cloud-oriented location such as OneDrive or SharePoint to make sharing easy.
• Excel Version: Make sure that you’re using the newest version of Excel (desktop, web, or mobile) so that you have access to all collaboration features.
• Set permissions: Determine who should have view-only or edit access to the workbook.

How to Share an Excel Workbook, Step-by-Step:

1. Save the Workbook to OneDrive or SharePoint:

Your workbook needs to be saved to the cloud for others to work with you:

1. Open your Excel workbook.
2. Go to File > Save As > OneDrive or SharePoint.
3. Select a folder or add a new one and click Save.
4. Make sure you are saving the file as an. xlsx or. xlsm file, as older formats may not be compatible with real-time collaboration.

Tip: If you’re using SharePoint, make sure your organization has enabled

sharing with the people you’re trying to share with.

2. Share the Workbook with Collaborators:

And once the workbook is in the cloud, you can share it:

1. In Excel, press the Share button located at the top right.
2. Share the video with the email addresses of those with whom you want to collaborate in the Share pane.
3. Set permissions:

• Can Edit: The user can edit the workbook.
• Can View: Only allows the user to view the file.

1. Optionally, type a message to give the recipients some context (for example, “Please see the Q1 budget figures”).
2. Click Send to send a link to the workbook.

Alternatively, you can generate a shareable link:

1. Click Share > Copy Link.
2. Select the link settings (“Anyone with the link,” “People in your organization,” or “Specific people”).
3. Copy the link and email it to someone or share via Microsoft Teams or another service.

3. Collaborate in Real Time:

Now, collaborators can open a workbook from the shared location:

1. Live-Editing: Users with edit rights can work at the same time. Excel lets you see who’s editing and shows their changes live.
2. AutoSave: To automatically save changes to the cloud, make sure that AutoSave is on (toggle at the top left of the app).
3. Comments and Notes: Comment on specific cells with the Insert > Comment feature and use @mentions to include others.
4. Co-Authoring Indicators: Excel will display the initials or the name of the user(s) that is currently editing a range of cells.

Best Practice: Tell users to use the Excel Web App or the most up-to-date desktop version for the most feature-rich co-authoring.

4. Track Changes and Manage Versions:

To maintain control over edits:

1. Track Changes: If you want to see certain changes, activate the legacy Track Changes function (in some versions of Excel):

• Go to Review > Track Changes > Highlight Changes.
• Click “Track changes while editing” and save the workbook.
• Edits would be logged: who changed what and when.

1. Every Version: Choose a version of the workbook:

• Go to File > Info > Version History.
• Open an older version or restore if necessary.

1. Protect Workbook: If you don’t want people to make changes, select Review > Protect Sheet or Protect Workbook to limit what can be changed.

5. Resolve Conflicts:

Sometimes, there may be conflicts if two people edit the same cell at the same time:

1. In such a case, Excel will ask the user to resolve conflicts by selecting which changes to retain.
2. To avoid any mess, distribute the workbook to his or her sections or simply protect it using a Sheet Protection to lock specific parts of it.

Tip: Use Microsoft Teams or email to communicate with your team about editing so that there are fewer conflicts.

6. Use Advanced Collaboration Features:

In 2025, Excel Is Evolving to Include More Collaboration Options:

• Microsoft Teams Integration: Collaborate easily with your workbook shared right in a Teams channel or chat.
• Power Query for Shared Data: If you continue to get data from online sources into your workbook, you will want to use Power Query so that everyone will see updated data.
• Dynamic Arrays and Formulas: Use Excel’s dynamic arrays (for example, FILTER, SORT) to assemble in seconds collaborative dashboards that change as the underlying data is modified.
• Sensitivity Labels: To restrain sensitive info, use sensitivity labels (from Microsoft Purview to restrict access or add watermarks.

Best Practices for Collaborative Excel Workbooks:

• Structure the Workbook: Make sure sheet names are self-explanatory, add headers, color-code — whatever it takes to make navigation effortless.
• Remove Editing Access: Only necessary staff should have this level of access to avoid accidental changes.
• Frequent Backups: Use cloud saving, but still download a copy of the important workbooks regularly.
• Circulate an Instruction: Distribute a short how-to to partners on the workbook (where to input, how to leave comments).
• Check Compatibility: Confirm that Excel versions match to prevent any feature mismatch.

Troubleshooting Common Issues:

• Access Denied error: Make sure all users have OneDrive/SharePoint permissions and active Microsoft 365 licenses.
• Sync Issues: Changes not being synced or an issue in syncing. Verify your internet connection or restart Excel.
• Corrupted File: If the workbook gets corrupted, revert to a previous version using Version History.
• Performance Issues: For bulky workbooks, improve performance by eliminating unnecessary formulas or splitting data across more than one sheet.

Conclusion:

It’s easy to share an Excel workbook with multiple users from Microsoft 365’s cloud-based apps in 2025. By saving your workbook online (on OneDrive or SharePoint), and by controlling who can edit, you can have the best of both worlds—work with others but keep control of your data. Other robust functionality, such as version history, comments, and Teams integration, supercharges collaboration. With the tips and best practices that were outlined in this guide, you are ready to take on shared Excel workbooks and help your team collaborate better and more efficiently.