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The Covid pandemic really changed the way many of us work and operate day-to-day – working from home and collaborating doesn’t necessarily sound like things that go hand in hand, yet thanks to Microsoft 365 – a cloud-based app suite – it’s a very easy process.
Microsoft 365 allows for real-time collaboration and communication between you and your colleagues. It includes all of the traditional apps including Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook.
Of course, being Excel Ace, the app I care about most is Excel and its ability to collaborate on worksheets from a distance.
Excel for Web is a collaborative app in Microsoft 365 that allows team members to edit and explore Excel documents in real time.
This can be helpful when you’re working on projects that involve data management, analysis, and even presenting data to partners or stakeholders.
In this article, I’ll walk you through the basics of Excel for the web and how it works to help you kick-start your collaborative Excel experience.
In the evolving landscape of flexible workspaces, Excel has shifted from being a standalone tool to an ACE collaborative system.
Whether you’re tackling a complex financial model, a project timeline, or a simple budget sheet, the ability to collaborate in real time can significantly enhance your productivity and streamline your workflow.
Let’s start with the basics – sharing your Excel workbook. Sharing a workbook is helpful when you’re collaborating with people who are external to your company or who can’t access your Excel files through Sharepoint or Onedrive.
Excel for the web isn’t an app I use often (I much prefer the desktop app), but for this article, I’ll be showing you the steps you need to take online (it’s pretty similar on desktop too though).
Open your workbook, and head to the ‘Share’ tab at the top of the workbook, then simply click the one that says… ‘Share’, and you’ll be on your way to your first collaboration.
In the ‘Send Link’ window that pops up you’ll need to enter the email addresses of your team members and specify their level of access – be it view-only, commenting, or active editing.
Allow editing will be automatically enabled. If you want to change this to only give specific team members editing access, and everyone else view or comment-only access, you’ll need to click the pencil icon alongside the ‘To:’ field to update the permissions for the people being added.
NOTE: This change will apply to everyone added into the ‘To:’ field, so if you want multiple collaborators with different access you will need to add them one at a time).
Add a message to your teammates to let them know what the invite is for and hit ‘Send’ or simply click ‘Copy’ and send them the collaboration link that’s generated to grant them access to the sheet.
Now, let’s dive into the game-changing feature of real-time editing.
Once your teammates have accepted their collaboration invitation, you can all access the same document at the same time.
NOTE: It’s worth mentioning that the following process also works the same for files opened via Sharepoint/Onedrive within the same company (without the need to share your docs).
Imagine working on a budget with your team, and each member can input their figures simultaneously. No more waiting for colleagues to finish their edits – with Excel for the web you can witness changes as they happen, eliminating version control issues and ensuring accuracy in your data.
Real-time editing is a productivity booster, fostering a collaborative environment where ideas flow seamlessly and tasks are completed efficiently.
While you’re collaborating with others, you’ll see coloured outlines appear around cells throughout the sheet. These outlines show you where your colleagues are in the sheet. If you want to find out which colour corresponds to which teammate, just click a colour to see their name displayed.
TIP: If you need to access a previous version of a sheet (maybe to see who made an historic change) or to restore it, select ‘File’ > ‘Info’ > ‘Version History’.
Effective communication is the cornerstone of successful collaboration.
Excel for Web’s commenting feature allows you to add comments directly into your sheets that can be viewed by other members of the team to keep them informed of your actions, or even to ask them a question or highlight actions they need to take by tagging them in the comment.
Whether it’s clarifying a formula, discussing a specific data point, or providing feedback, the comments section keeps the conversation contextual and easily accessible.
To add a comment, select the cell you want to leave the comment on and then head to the ‘Insert’ ribbon and select ‘New Comment’ – this will open the comment box where you can type your message and then select the send arrow to add it to the sheet.
Alternatively, you can right-click on the cell and choose ‘New Comment’ from the menu.
You will see a little purple triangle in the corner of any cells that have a comment attached.
To view all comments in a sheet at once, go to the ‘Review’ tab at the top of your sheet and select ‘Show Comments’ to open the comments bar (this will appear as a panel on the right-hand side of the screen) .
To edit, delete or resolve a comment, click the three dots in the top right corner of the comment itself, and choose whichever action you’d like to take from the drop-down menu that appears.
Commenting is a really useful feature that transforms your workbook into a collaborative space. It’s great if you’re not all working on the sheet at the same time.
However, if you are all working on the sheet live at the same time, you can also chat while editing.
At the top of your window, you’ll see who else is in the workbook with you. To chat with them, select ‘Chat’ next to their name, type your message and press Enter on your keyboard to send.
Collaborating with Excel can be an empowering experience. From sharing workbooks to real-time editing, tracking changes, managing permissions, and fostering communication through comments, Excel has evolved into a robust collaborative platform.
So, if next time you’re working on a project with colleagues in different locations, why not leap into the collaborative era of Excel and empower your team to achieve greater heights of productivity?
EXCELACE ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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