📌 Introduction
In today’s connected world, Excel is not just a personal spreadsheet tool—it’s a collaborative powerhouse. Whether you’re working on budgets, reports, or dashboards, multiple users can now work together in real-time.
In this post, you’ll learn:
- How to share Excel workbooks securely
- How to track changes made by collaborators
- How to use OneDrive and SharePoint for team collaboration
Let’s get started!
🔗 Sharing Excel Workbooks: The Basics
✅ How to Share a Workbook:
- Save your file to OneDrive or SharePoint
- Click File → Share → Share with People
- Add email addresses of collaborators
- Choose permissions: Can View or Can Edit
- Click “Send”
📌 Tip: Ensure your file is saved in .xlsx format (not older .xls) to enable full collaboration features.
👥 Real-Time Collaboration
Once shared, collaborators can edit the workbook simultaneously. You’ll see:
- Who is editing
- Which cell they’re in
- Real-time updates
This eliminates the need for emailing multiple versions of the file.
🔍 Tracking Changes in Excel
When working with a team, it’s important to track what’s being changed.
🧾 Excel 365 (Modern Method):
If you’re using Excel via OneDrive or SharePoint:
- Click Review → Show Changes
- You’ll see a full list of edits: who changed what, when, and where
📘 Legacy Track Changes (for older versions):
- Go to Review → Track Changes → Highlight Changes
- Enable “Track changes while editing”
- Choose to highlight changes on screen and/or list them on a new sheet
🟡 Note: Legacy Track Changes disables some newer Excel features. Use modern collaboration for best results.
☁️ Collaborating via OneDrive
OneDrive is Microsoft’s cloud storage platform and ideal for personal or small-team Excel sharing.
🔑 Benefits:
- Access files from any device
- Auto-save changes in real-time
- Easy to manage version history
Perfect for small teams, freelancers, or students working remotely.
🏢 Collaborating via SharePoint
SharePoint is best suited for organizations and large teams. It offers:
- Centralized file management
- Advanced permissions and user control
- Integration with Microsoft Teams and Outlook
Example Use Case:
A marketing team collaborates on a campaign budget Excel file stored in a SharePoint site, with automatic syncing and access control for team members only.
🧠 Best Practices for Excel Collaboration
✅ Use structured tables and named ranges to avoid confusion
✅ Lock critical cells with worksheet protection
✅ Set up Data Validation to prevent input errors
✅ Always review the version history before accepting major changes
✅ Communicate using Excel comments and notes (Right-click a cell → New Comment)
🧩 Bonus: Excel + Teams = Powerful Collaboration
If your team uses Microsoft Teams, you can open Excel files directly inside Teams and co-edit them—no need to switch apps!
📚 Final Thoughts
Collaborating in Excel is easier and more powerful than ever. Whether you’re co-authoring a report, collecting data, or reviewing performance metrics, the combination of Excel, OneDrive, and SharePoint provides the flexibility and control your team needs.