Using Personal.xlsb file

Question

Would it be ok to load a Personal.xlsb file on 2 or 3 computers at the same time or is it not advisable to do so?  At present I have copied the file to the startup folder for each computer but I have to update each one every time I make a change to the file.  I appreciate that it will not be possible to make any changes to the file while it is open in multiple computers.

Answer 1

When the computers shares the same drive\folder (intranet / netword folder) you can copy the PERSONAL.XSLB to that folder and place a link into the startup folder of Excel of each computer.

Hint:

Write protect the PERSONAL.XSLB, and you did not get the "file is open" message on startup.

When you want to makes changes:

copy the PERSONAL.XSLB to your local drive

remove the write protection

open it, make the changes, save and close

write protect the file

copy the file to the network folder

send a message to each user to close and reopen Excel

Andreas.

Answer 2

If you place Personal.xlsb in a shared folder, the first computer to start Excel will lock Personal.xlsb exclusively. After that, starting Excel on another computer will cause a warning that the file is in use, with the option to open it read-only. If you are willing to live with that warning, it should work.