I have an excel spreadsheet that is being shared in an iCloud drive with Windows users. Can multiple users access the same file simultaneously? If not, how does user B know that the file is in use by user A?
iMac 21.5″, macOS 12.2
Thanks for the reply.
The information below is located in the Microsoft support page as well, and gives more details on seeing other people's selections, along with other helpful information:
You can see other people's selections in different colors, but only if you and other people are using Excel for Microsoft 365, Excel for the web, Excel for Android, Excel Mobile, or Excel for iOS. In addition, if people are using Excel for Microsoft 365, then everyone needs to have AutoSave on to see colored selections.
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. If you still don't see someone's selections, make sure they're using Excel for Microsoft 365, Excel for the web, Excel for Android, or Excel for iOS. If they're using another version, like Excel Mobile, then their selections will not appear to you. However, any changes they make will show up almost instantly. In addition, if they're using an older version of Excel, like Excel for Mac 2011, then they won't be able to edit the file at the same time as you, and you won't be able to see their selections.
Continue looking over all of the details for sharing here: Collaborate on Excel workbooks at the same time with co-authoring
Take care.
Hello joseph1918,
We think you'll find the information from the link below helpful, as it will guide you through file sharing and how to manage sharing options:
Use iCloud File Sharing to share folders and documents with others - Apple Support
All the best.
I have both Windows and Macs accessing files in my shared folder on my iCloud drive. We've had issues, on the windows side, with shared files before. Person A was in the file and made changes. While making those changes, person B opened the file to also make changes. Both saved their changes before closing the file. When we later opened the file only one of the updates took. I want to prevent that from happening again. So, my question is what happens when person A has the excel file open from iCloud and person B tries to access the same file while it is opened with person A?
Multiple users in an excel file on iCloud shared drive
