Another way to collaborate on a workbook is to distribute multiple copies of the shared workbook to the appropriate people. When they are finished reviewing and editing the copies, the next step is to collect, merge, and revise the reviewed copies into one workbook.

 

The first step is to open the workbook, and then set it up for sharing by choosing Tools->Share Workbook from the menu bar. In the share workbook dialogue box, put a check mark under the Edit tab to allow workbook merging.

 

Click the Advanced tab and make sure that the keep change history radio button is selected.

When you are ready, click the OK button and save a copy of the shared workbook as your original base file.

 

 

 

 

 

Next, use the save as dialogue box to create a copy for each intended reviewer by saving the file as a different name (i.e. budgetMike, budgetNancy, budgetGreg, etc). You could place these files in a shared network folder, or e-mail the copies to the reviewers as attachments by choosing File->Send To ->Mail Recipient (for review).

 

If you distributed the copies as e-mail attachments, save all of the returned attachments together in the same folder.

 

You can do this from within Outlook by right clicking the attachment paperclip, and selecting Save Attachments from the menu.

 

Once you have gathered the reviewed files, you can open the original shared file in Excel and choose Tools->Compare and Merge Workbooks from the menu bar.

 

 

If you see a prompt to save the file, click the OK button in the prompt box.

 

At this point you will see the Select Files to Merge into Current Workbook dialogue box.

 

 

Browse to the folder that contains the reviewed copies of the workbook and select a file that you want to merge into the original base copy. Click OK to merge the file. Alternatively, you can select multiple files by pressing the Ctrl button as you click on each file. When you click OK, you will see the data change in the original base file as the reviewed copies are merged.

 

If you choose Tools->Track Changes->Highlight Changes from the menu bar, you can highlight the changes on the screen, or you can generate a history sheet detailing the changes.

 

If you choose Tools->Track Changes->Accept or Reject Changes from the menu bar, you can step through the changes one by one and reject or accept the change as you see fit.

(Please refer to the preceding concept, Tracking Changes)