Password Protected Sharepoint file only opens as Read-Only on Excel 365 for Mac

Question

This is a very odd situation that we have been struggling with for months so any advice would be greatly appreciated.  

We have one particular password protected Excel file, saved on Sharepoint, that is giving us fits.  

For all of our Mac users, when opening the file from the Sharepoint browser interface, using Safari or Chrome (no we have not tried other browsers),

1. Excel responds correctly and forces the file to opened in the Excel for Mac app
2. However, the file will only open in Read-Only mode and
3. the "CHECK OUT REQUIRED:" yellow banner will NOT appear.  

That is, except for one Mac user who does get the yellow banner and is able to CheckOut the file normally.  

BTW that one user is the most recent user to gain access to the file.  

Many of those same Mac users also have Parallels/Win10Pro installed on their machines.  When they try accessing the file from their Windows-side using Chrome, Sharepoint and Excel for Windows handle the file perfectly

1. forcing them to open the password protected file in the local Excel for Windows app,
2. opening the file in Read/Write mode and
3. having the yellow banner appear asking them to CheckOut the document.  

Therefore.  

This does not appear to be a user access issue as all of our Mac users can open the file from a Windows interface

This does not appear to be a Excel for Mac issue because the file does open properly on one Mac

We all run the latest Microsoft365 products.   

Can anyone shed any light?  Of course, I would be more than happy to answer any questions.  

But please, I am far from a Sharepoint expert, so please dumb down your questions/answers as much as possible.  

Thank you in advance for any advice.

Answer 1

Dear Ed,

Welcome to share any updates when you have time if you need further help on this issue.

Best Regards,

Cliff

Answer 2

We have this same issue - I think it is something to do with the password protection on the Excel doc as if we open in in the desktop app (excel) it is fine but not when opening in browser?

Did you find a solution?

Answer 3

I've been meaning to update.  Sorry for the delay Cliff, you were a big help.  

Our IT person finally moved the file for us to a new sub-folder under the same "Admin" folder on Sharepoint.  

Great news, the file began to respond normally again.  

All of the Mac users could access the file.

Password protected files will still only open in desktop Excel but that is not a big deal.

The yellow CheckOut bar appeared after entering the password and opening the file.

The CheckOut/CheckIn functionality worked as advertised.  

The file opens in R/W mode

Very happy users.  

But..... Bad news.... Then I tried to push the Sync button in Sharepoint which added the file to my https://Office.com OneDrive and synced it to the OneDrive folder on my Mac's desktop./  

BUZZZZZ.... The problem is back.  

No yellow bar.  No Check Out.  Read Only mode.  

Bummer.  

To try and fix the problem, I deleted the file from the OneDrive folder on my Mac desktop which deleted it from my OneDrive at https://office.com.  

Low and behold, in Sharepoint, the file started acting normally again.  

So how do I work around the fact that syncing the file seems to break the normal functionality?  

My solution was to create a Bookmark in Safari to the file on Sharepoint.  I then copied the Bookmark to the OneDrive folder on my Mac desktop.  I renamed the Bookmark file to the same name as the actual file.  The file has a ".WEBLOC" extension.  

So when I want to access the file, I do the following

1. Open the OneDrive folder on my Mac desktop
2. Double click on the Bookmark file
3. Sharepoint opens to the real file
4. Single click the file in Sharepoint to open
5. Answer the question that asks if I want to open in the EXCEL.app with "ALLOW"
6. Enter the file's password
7. The file opens with the yellow CheckOut bar and I am ready to go

Not a perfect solution, but a whole lot better than what we had.   

That is going to have to work for now.  

Thanks again Cliff.

Answer 4

Dear Sarah,

As similar issues may have different root causes, I first suggest you check Ed's reply and see if the issue can be solved in your environment as well.

If no, I suggest you post a new thread on our forum and we'll help you further.

@Ed, thanks for sharing the detailed information about the solution here. we appreciate if as it may help other community members who are experiencing the similar issues a lot.

Thanks for your effort and time.

Cliff