How to Allow Multiple Users to Open an Excel Template on a Shared Drive
Question details
The user wants to allow multiple employees to access and use a central Excel template located on a shared drive simultaneously without encountering file-in-use or locked errors.
- Product
- Excel
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- A business needs multiple users to access a central weight-calculation template stored on a shared network drive.
- Observed behavior
- When multiple users try to open the standard file on a shared drive, it locks other users out, preventing simultaneous access or smooth template distribution.
Ensure the template file is saved in an actual template format (such as .xltx or .xltm) rather than a standard workbook format (.xlsx) to prevent users from accidentally overwriting the original file.
Create New Workbooks from the Shared Template
Instead of directly opening and editing the template file, users should generate new instances from it. This prevents file locking and protects the original template.
By double-clicking an actual template file (.xltx), Excel knows to create a new, detached copy of the file in memory rather than opening the source file. This allows infinite users to spawn their own copies simultaneously without locking the source file on the shared drive.
Open File Explorer and navigate to the shared network drive folder where the .xltx template is stored.
Double-click the template file. Excel will automatically open a new, unsaved workbook (e.g., named 'Template1') based on the original template's structure.
Alternatively, open Excel first, click 'File' > 'New', click 'Personal' or 'Custom', and browse to the shared drive to select the template.
Fill out the necessary weight-calculation data, then click 'File' > 'Save As' to save the newly created workbook with a specific name to a designated folder.
Distribute Local Copies to Each User
If users only need the template to generate their own isolated reports, providing individual local copies completely bypasses shared drive limitations.
Utilize SharePoint or OneDrive for Co-authoring
If real-time collaboration on a single data collection file is necessary, traditional shared network drives may lock the file. Cloud solutions support simultaneous editing.
Manage and Share Templates Seamlessly with WPS Office
WPS Office provides robust support for creating, managing, and sharing spreadsheet templates. Its built-in cloud collaboration features allow multiple users to work on shared documents simultaneously without file locking, making it ideal for business teams.
- 1. Create your template: Open WPS Spreadsheets and create your required weight-calculation layout and formulas.
- 2. Save as a template format: Click 'Menu' > 'Save As' and choose the 'WPS Spreadsheet Template (*.ett)' or 'Excel Template (*.xltx)' format.
- 3. Upload to WPS Cloud: Save the file directly to your WPS Cloud folder for easy access across devices.
- 4. Share with your team: Right-click the file in your WPS Cloud space, select 'Share', and set permissions so your team can access or duplicate the template without locking the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does it say the template file is locked for editing by another user?
This happens if a user opens the template file directly (using File > Open) from a traditional shared network drive, or if the file was saved as a standard .xlsx instead of a .xltx. Opening it directly tells the network to lock the source file.
What is the difference between an .xlsx and an .xltx file?
An .xlsx file is a standard Excel workbook. An .xltx file is an Excel template; when you double-click an .xltx file from File Explorer, the application automatically creates a new, unsaved copy of the workbook rather than opening the original file.
Can multiple users edit the exact same workbook at the exact same time?
On a traditional local shared network drive, usually no (unless legacy shared workbook features are used). However, if the file is hosted on modern cloud storage like OneDrive, SharePoint, or WPS Cloud, multiple users can co-author the file simultaneously in real time.
