Knowledge Base

No Alert When Opening File Already Opened by Another User

Article ID: 177170

Article Last Modified on 8/17/2005

Microsoft Excel 97 Standard Edition
Microsoft Excel 95 Standard Edition
Microsoft Excel 5.0 Standard Edition
Microsoft Excel 98 for Macintosh

This article was previously published under Q177170

SYMPTOMS

If you open a file that has already been opened by another user, you may NOT receive the following alert message

'<File.xls>' is being modified by

<Another User's Name>

Open as Read-Only, or choose Notify to be alerted when it is available.

where <File.xls> is the name of the file and <Another User's Name> is the name of the user who has opened the file.

Instead, Microsoft Excel opens the file as read-only without displaying the alert message and the Notify button.

CAUSE

This problem occurs when the following conditions are true:

The file is saved in the Microsoft Excel 4.0 Worksheet format.

-and-
The file is stored on a Microsoft Windows NT server that is running Services for Macintosh (SFM) or File Server for Macintosh.

-and-
The file is opened by a user who is running Microsoft Excel for Windows. The file is then opened by a user who is running Microsoft Excel for the Macintosh.

NOTE: This problem does not occur if the file is saved in the workbook format for Microsoft Excel version 5.0 or later. This problem does not occur if the file is first opened in Microsoft Excel for the Macintosh and then opened in Microsoft Excel for Windows.

WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, convert the Microsoft Excel 4.0 Worksheet format files to a later format. To do this, follow these steps:

In Microsoft Excel, open the file.
On the File menu, click Save As. In the list of file types, select a workbook format for Microsoft Excel 5.0 (or later).
Click OK.
After you save the file, click Close on the File menu.

Repeat these steps for each file that you want to convert.

NOTE: If anyone on your organization is still using Microsoft Excel 4.0, do not convert your files to a later format. Microsoft Excel 4.0 cannot open files stored in later formats.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article.

Additional query words: XL5 XL7 XL97 file reservation XL

Keywords: kbbug KB177170