How to use File Locking with Excel
Use MDO File Locking when you are sharing an Excel spreadsheet with others. A file lock is used to prevent two people from opening and updating the same spreadsheet at the same time, resulting in one person’s updates wiping out the other’s.
File Locking is available for Excel in the My Docs Online Desktop App, which works with all versions of Windows and Mac OS X, all versions of Microsoft Office Excel, and other spreadsheet applications such as OpenOffice.
To use the Desktop App for File Locking follow the following steps:
- Select the Excel spreadsheet you have previously uploaded to My Docs Online and click “Lock & Open”
- The spreadsheet will be locked on the MDO servers, downloaded to your PC or Mac, and opened for editing
- After completing your editing Save & Close the spreadsheet in Excel
- In the Desktop App Click “Save & Unlock” for the document. Your changes will be uploaded to the MDO servers and the spreadsheet will be unlocked. The date and time for the file will be updated
If you change your mind and need to discard your changes right-click the file in the Desktop App and select “Unlock without Saving”.
The WebDAV protocol used by Web Folders also supports File Locking for Microsoft Excel, including Windows XP, Windows Vista 32-bit Editions, and Windows 7, and Office 2003, 2007, and 2010. The latest combination of Windows and Office 2010 is less reliable than previous versions of Windows and Office.
The Desktop App and Web Folders can work in combination. For instance if one user opened an Excel spreadsheet with Web Folders a Desktop App user would not be allowed to Lock and Open the same file at the same time.