Shared Workbook

[Michael Abrams]

(Using Windows XP & Excel 2003)

If this belongs in the Windows XP section, please let me know and I can repost it there.

When you have a Shared Workbook, and want to know who is currently in it, you click on the Menu : Tools/Shared Wookbook/Editing tab.
A dialog box opens and has a section that lists: "Who has this workbook open now."
It then lists the user(s), date & time.

My question is: Where is the username being generated from?
Some users it appears it is their Network User name, mine is my full name, and there are a couple of users that when in this workbook, are listed as ABC Industries (made up company name for purpose of privacy).

Naturally, the IT folks here have no idea. Can I guess this entry is located somewhere in the registry? Or is it possible that this gets set when using Excel for the very first time? So IT may have defaulted this setting somewhere, not realizing that it would affect Excel?

Can you possibly point me in the right direction?

Thank you.

Michael Abrams

[HansV]

As far as I know, the User name entered in the General tab of Tools | Options... is used.
If a particular user has never set this name, it may still be the one entered by whoever installed Excel.

[Michael Abrams]

As far as I know, the User name entered in the General tab of Tools | Options... is used.
If a particular user has never set this name, it may still be the one entered by whoever installed Excel.

Heh, I was looking a bit too deep for this. Hans, of course that is where it is located.

I fixed them all in my department, but I think I will let our IT Department sweat a bit longer.

Thanks Hans !!

Michael

[HansV]

By the way, sharing a workbook is not such a good idea - the risk of the workbook becoming corrupted is not negligeable. It's better to let just one user edit the workbook at a time; others can still open a read-only copy to view it, or wait and be notified when the workbook becomes available for editing.

[Michael Abrams]

By the way, sharing a workbook is not such a good idea - the risk of the workbook becoming corrupted is not negligeable. It's better to let just one user edit the workbook at a time; others can still open a read-only copy to view it, or wait and be notified when the workbook becomes available for editing.

As the technical person (only) for my department, I can only offer my advice (which I did).
The Leadership team has their reasons for doing what they do, and I can rarely talk them out of it.

This is one of those times

Michael

[HansV]

Well, at least you tried...

[Jan Karel Pieterse]

I agree with Hans (and so do you obviously). SHaring is a bad idea. Microsoft have recently released the online versions of Office, which DO support proper sharing options:
Check out http://www.skydrive.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Wendell]

If we pile on enough "Nay votes" on sharing workbooks, will that help convince your Leadership team? I've had personal experience with the corruption of workbooks in that scenario. Furthermore, you can't really tell who changed what when. For these situations you either need a tool like SharePoint, the "cloud" versions of Office apps, or a database.

[Michael Abrams]

If we pile on enough "Nay votes" on sharing workbooks, will that help convince your Leadership team? I've had personal experience with the corruption of workbooks in that scenario. Furthermore, you can't really tell who changed what when. For these situations you either need a tool like SharePoint, the "cloud" versions of Office apps, or a database.

Well, the particular workbook in question DID go corrupt yesterday ! Now Leadership is at least listening.
Here is why they want the workbook shared.
We receive a spreadsheet with about 1000 records. Each record has to be researched. We have a time limit to return the spreadsheet - If one person works on it at a time, it would never be completed on time. Therefore, 3 or 4 people work it at the same time.

I suggested that I could split the spreadsheet into 3 or 4 spreadsheets and combine them back when they are complete. The suit's hesitation to this is: "What happens if you (me) are not here when we need to put the spreadsheet back together?

I explained that it wasn't brain surgery and I could easily show them (heh) or a co-worker how to do this.

I am still waiting for their answer......................

( I prefer databases for these types of data research, but they (suits) want this particular weekly project to stay in Excel)

Michael

[Wendell]

... ( I prefer databases for these types of data research, but they (suits) want this particular weekly project to stay in Excel)

Isn't it wonderful when the suits try to tell you what tool you are supposed to use to solve a particular problem - let's use a screwdriver to pound this nail in!

[Michael Abrams]

To them it is too "complicated".
We receive the spreadsheet from another department, with certain formatting, etc and the other department wants it returned exactly the way that it was sent to us (with the Comments column filled in).
I tried to explain to Leadership that if I import it to Access, have the reps work it, I can then export it back into Excel and re-format it the way we received it.
The suits' concern is what would they do if I wasn't here to do "all of that".
(In 11 years, I have taken 3 sick days)

Oh well, if the spreadsheets corrupt enough times, maybe they will reconsider.

Thanks for the support though !!

Michael