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Excel link

Anonymous
2021-10-26T15:01:15+00:00

I read with interest the answer from John Korchok from 2015 about the excel link in word not working if opened on another PC from a shared drive.

Word/Excel links won't update on some systems - Microsoft Community

My drive is \hnas1-dpts.xx.xx.xxx.xxx) (N:). But on the other computers (different network is \hnas1-dpts\XXXX (not sure which letter). If I understand it correctly, using a shared folder with the same letter (N:??) may solve the issue. If creating a new file on that PC would work, it would be an ok compromise. Thanks for any input, Antonio Di Stasi.

The way the file was created was using excel and multiple tables in word.

To be able to carry forward calculations, each table had the whole excel file.

I wish there were a way to insert a separate single excel spreadsheet, and they could be linked to each other to carry over values for further calculations.

I was also reading about the file-sharing options in excel between multiple users. Although sharing is possible, multiple editing at the same time is not an option in word. I wonder if file sharing may also help solve the issue.

https://www.ablebits.com/office-addins-blog/2017/08/02/excel-shared-workbook-share-file-multiple-users/
https://word.tips.net/T000534_Multiple_Document_Users.html

Microsoft 365 and Office | Excel | For business | Windows

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  1. Anonymous
    2021-10-27T21:56:25+00:00

    Hi antoniodi,

    Thanks for posting back.

    I have tested on my side (use another device to access the same shared folder), and I can update these table data in the Word document (when I open the document, the window “This document contains links that may refer to other files. Do you want to update this document with the data from the links files” pops on.) If you can open the document while the links fail to update, please click File> Info, and try to open the source file to update data again.

    Image

    If the issue still exists, may I know whether the user profile of another device has the Modify permission to the Word document and workbook? You can use the different device, select the document, right-click, Properties> Security to check.

    Regards,

    George

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  1. Anonymous
    2021-10-26T21:33:45+00:00

    Hi antoniodi stasi1,

    Thanks for posting in the community.

    According to your description, my understanding is the workbook and Word document are stored in a shared drive. Normally, if you move the two files to another location and keep the same folder structure, the link should still work and update data.

    For inserting the Excel tables into the Word document and keeping the link, you can copy the table in the workbook, go to the Word document, click the Paste option in the Home tab, click Paste Specific, select Paste link, and choose Microsoft Excel Worksheet Object.

    For co-authoring workbook, may I know whether you mean in the local shared drive or online? If these files are stored online (OneDrive or SharePoint), it is available for multiple users to co-authoring.

    Document collaboration and co-authoring

    If my understanding conflicts with your meaning or you have any updates, please feel free and come back to share with us.

    Regards,

    George

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4 additional answers

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  1. Anonymous
    2021-11-01T16:49:16+00:00

    What do you think about having losing formatting of values of for example a table 2 in word, which was linked to a cells of table 1 always in word? (It is not just the formatting but the values become all zeroes, despite being still linked to a specific cell with a different value).

    Perhaps it could be resolved by formatting the cell in excel somehow.

    If this would work there is no need for a separate excel file.

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  2. Anonymous
    2021-10-29T19:32:47+00:00

    If it is working for you, then it could be an issue with permissions or other software access.

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  3. Anonymous
    2021-10-27T04:24:12+00:00

    Thank you for the instructions.

    -My problem is that the link between my excel Masterfile, and the table I pasted in word is working on my PC in the office, but when I move to a different computer accessing the same shared network folder it doesn't update the data ( this was my Method 1). -it could be a software issue.

    -In my prior method 2 I created a table A. Then, I create a table B, where some values from table A are used in the calculations. However, either (A) using values from table 1 or (B) pasting table 1 in excel sheet 2 in table B, after a while the link is lost or the linked value becomes a zero.

    I enclose excerpts of both Method 1 (excel and word) and Method 2 (word only).

    If either methods will work well, it will unlock a great potential of automated database calculators.

    https://docs.google.com/document/d/1CjRJm0-ycWEbCbm55RJYWHfl7zHdOTeo/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=102991529713701692050&rtpof=true&sd=true

    https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1S7oEQVWFdUruMtV4uiVJjIMNrNIFmj81/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=102991529713701692050&rtpof=true&sd=true

    https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-QjibEswsLY68QgnknwRYa3-9cvB9e5H/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=102991529713701692050&rtpof=true&sd=true

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