Share your excel workbook with others

Share a workbook with others, right within Excel. You can let them edit the workbook or just view it.

WindowsmacOS



1. Select Share.

2. Select permissions and then Apply.

3. Add people.

4. Type a message if you like.

5. Select Send.

It takes just three steps to share a workbook.

Using a web browser, upload or create a new workbook on OneDrive, OneDrive for Business, or a SharePoint Online library.

1. If you uploaded the file, click the filename to open it. The workbook will open in a new tab in your web browser.

2. Click the Edit in Excel button. If you don't have this button, click Edit in Browser, and then click Edit in Excel after the page reloads.

3. Click Open Microsoft Excel.

4. When the file opens in the Excel program, you may see a yellow bar which says the file is in Protected View. Click the Enable Editing button if that's the case.

5. Click Share in the upper-right.

6. Click Invite People. Then type email addresses, and separate each with a semicolon. Make sure to also select Can Edit. When you're done, click the Share button.

   Tip: If you want to send the link yourself, click Share in the upper-right, and then click Copy Link > View and Edit.

7. If you clicked the Share button in the previous step, email messages will be sent to each person. The message will come from your email address. You will also receive a copy of the message, just so you know what it looks like.

If you clicked the Share button, people will receive an email message inviting them to open the file. They can click the link to open the workbook. A web browser will open, and the workbook will open in Excel for the web. If they want to edit in the browser, they can click Edit Workbook > Edit in Browser. If they want to open it in the Excel app, they can click Edit Workbook > Edit in Excel.

Tip: If they're using the latest version of Excel 2016 for Microsoft 365 subscribers, they can open the file directly in the Excel app. They can click File > Open... > Shared, and then select a file that has been shared by another person.

More than one person can edit a workbook at the same time. This is called co-authoring. However, everyone will need a version of the Excel app that supports co-authoring. At this time, Excel for Android, Excel for iOS, Excel Mobile, and Excel 2016 for Microsoft 365 subscribers are the versions that currently support co-authoring. If they don't have a supported version, they can click Edit Workbook > Edit in Browser to edit the file in Excel for the web.

Need more help?

You can always ask an expert in the Excel Tech Community or get support in the Answers community.

See Also

Collaborate on Excel workbooks at the same time with co-authoring