Solve : Share an Excel file with another computer as Read Only...?

1.	Solve : Share an Excel file with another computer as Read Only...?
Answer» I want to share an Excel file (staff schedule) with my staff in the next room on their computer. I want it to be a READ ONLY file so no one can tamper with it. I've gotten that far...now I need to connect the two computers so that when I make a change on the Excel file, that change will automatically show up on theirs on their computer. I tried selecting their computer name under Sharing and clicking Apply and OK, but it's not working. Right now I have the file saved as read only and it's on a shared drive. Ideally, I'd like that file to be ONLY on my computer and theirs - NOT on the Shared drive for the whole company to see. I really really need it so that when I make a change it automatically changes on their computer! Any ideas? Thanks! I forgot to mention that both computers are Windows XP.From your computer you could execute a batch file that could populate a folder at their workstations with the latest copy, such as create a mapped drive to their C: drives where say workstation #1 is Z: and workstation #2 is Y:, and the folder location in the mapped share to drop the file to is Z:\schedule\ and Y:\schedule. So from your system you will likely see C: as your hard drive, D: as either restore partition or optical drive, any other drives E: thru X: available for removable devices or additional future mappings, and Y: and Z: are the mappings to their workstations C: drives. From their computers they only see their C: drives and nothing more. Its a one way connection with your computer the master among the other workstations. You will just need to either remember to excute this batch each time you want to update their schedules or add this batch to a scheduled task to execute automatically as often as you want it to. From your system the batch would then execute the following xcopy latest_schedule.xls y:\schedule\. /s/d/y xcopy latest_schedule.xls z:\schedule\. /s/d/y This updates their systems with the latest copy and works on XP machines. If windows 7 etc I can show you how to do it using robocopy. You just need to create drive mappings to your workstations Then either change your schedule name to the file name in the batch above or change the batch to match the file name of your schedule Then copy and paste the 2 lines into notepad and save the file as Schedule_Update.bat Then execute this batch from within the same location as where your schedule xls file is located. Then verify that workstations have it at C:\schedule\ on both systems Then create shortcut to this folder or file for them to click on from desktop and your done. No need for shared drive among all for this, only you need the share to their drives to plant the latest spreadsheet into the drop locations.Sounds like a GOOD idea....I'm somewhat familiar with batch files, but not sure where I put in those lines of code that you gave me...command prompt? Sorry, could you give me step by step instructions please? hahajust need to copy and paste the 2 lines to notepad. You can launch notepad by clicking start and selecting run and type notepad and hit enter. You then just copy and paste the 2 lines to notepad and then select file - &GT; saveas and name it update_schedule.bat or anything else you want to call it. The file has to be saved as a .BAT if its saved as a .TXT it wont function as a batch file, but instead will just open to show your your batched instructions. All you have to do is execute your batch file then by double-clicking on that bat file within the folder that it resides which also has to be the location of your excel spreadsheet that it will grab to copy over to both workstations. But before doing all this, you need to create drive mappings to your workstations C: drives as Y: and Z: from your computer as well as make folder of schedule at C:\schedule\ so that when the batch is executed, all execution requirements are met. Otherwise you will get errors or 0 files copied etc. Quote xcopy latest_schedule.xls y:\schedule\. /s/d/y xcopy latest_schedule.xls z:\schedule\. /s/d/y This is what goes into notepad and saved as batch file. You can change the xls file name etc to match your filename. BTW: Z: and Y: were used mainly because they are usually not used. But if Z: or Y: are already used by another network mapping or device you can change them to any drive letter mapping you would like. BUT word of caution is that its best to place the drive letters for mapping at the far end of the alphabet than closer to D:, as for if you add and remove portable devices, usb thumb drives, flash cards, cameras etc they all like to automatically map themselves to the next available drive letter and you may find that your batch file is no longer pointing to the correct path if a device is hungry to grab up E: or F: etc. I have yet to find a hardware device that tries to grab Z: etc, however I have seen software drive RAIDs jump onto Z: for mirroring.Thank you for the reply, but... I googled how to do the mapping and I'm completely lost...I went to My Computer, Tools, Map Network Drive and now it's got two options: Drive and Folder. Only the V, U, T, and S drives have writing beside them, but when I click on Browse to choose a Folder, I don't recognize ANY of the folders that come up? I've never heard of mapping network drives? So this is completely new to me...From the workstations click on their c: drive to open and see contents from my computer. Create folder named schedule so at C: you now have C:\schedule on each workstation. Now back out of that schedule folder if you are in it and click on it once to highlight and then right-click and select share. You can then select its share name as well as permissions as to who can read/write etc to this folder. There is a way to share C:\ but this can be dangerous so I am going to make a change to your batch. Once you have the share created Z: and Y: will point to the heart of C:\schedule on both machines. Batch file then just NEEDS to execute Quote xcopy latest_schedule.xls y:\. /s/d/y xcopy latest_schedule.xls z:\. /s/d/y As for pointing to schedule is no longer necessary as you see with Z:\. and Y:\. Will check back in about an hour to see if you made progress.. good luck ...was in a meeting...will try this now. Thank you very much! I will let you know how it goes.It didn't work. Now none of the schedules are showing up on their computer... Quote from: susansmith on July 25, 2012, 09:52:03 AM I want to share an Excel file (staff schedule) with my staff in the next room on their computer. Just a thought. OUTLOOK, used with an Exchange server, might be the ideal application for this purpose. It would allow sharing calendars via the Exchange server. As a possible free alternative, Google Calender might work. Why not just save the file as read only and then Post it ? ?

Answer»

I want to share an Excel file (staff schedule) with my staff in the next room on their computer. I want it to be a READ ONLY file so no one can tamper with it. I've gotten that far...now I need to connect the two computers so that when I make a change on the Excel file, that change will automatically show up on theirs on their computer. I tried selecting their computer name under Sharing and clicking Apply and OK, but it's not working. Right now I have the file saved as read only and it's on a shared drive. Ideally, I'd like that file to be ONLY on my computer and theirs - NOT on the Shared drive for the whole company to see. I really really need it so that when I make a change it automatically changes on their computer!

Any ideas? Thanks!

I forgot to mention that both computers are Windows XP.From your computer you could execute a batch file that could populate a folder at their workstations with the latest copy, such as create a mapped drive to their C: drives where say workstation #1 is Z: and workstation #2 is Y:, and the folder location in the mapped share to drop the file to is Z:\schedule\ and Y:\schedule. So from your system you will likely see C: as your hard drive, D: as either restore partition or optical drive, any other drives E: thru X: available for removable devices or additional future mappings, and Y: and Z: are the mappings to their workstations C: drives. From their computers they only see their C: drives and nothing more. Its a one way connection with your computer the master among the other workstations. You will just need to either remember to excute this batch each time you want to update their schedules or add this batch to a scheduled task to execute automatically as often as you want it to.

From your system the batch would then execute the following

xcopy latest_schedule.xls y:\schedule\*.* /s/d/y
xcopy latest_schedule.xls z:\schedule\*.* /s/d/y

This updates their systems with the latest copy and works on XP machines. If windows 7 etc I can show you how to do it using robocopy.

You just need to create drive mappings to your workstations
Then either change your schedule name to the file name in the batch above or change the batch to match the file name of your schedule
Then copy and paste the 2 lines into notepad and save the file as Schedule_Update.bat
Then execute this batch from within the same location as where your schedule xls file is located.
Then verify that workstations have it at C:\schedule\ on both systems
Then create shortcut to this folder or file for them to click on from desktop and your done.

No need for shared drive among all for this, only you need the share to their drives to plant the latest spreadsheet into the drop locations.Sounds like a GOOD idea....I'm somewhat familiar with batch files, but not sure where I put in those lines of code that you gave me...command prompt?

Sorry, could you give me step by step instructions please? hahajust need to copy and paste the 2 lines to notepad. You can launch notepad by clicking start and selecting run and type notepad and hit enter.

You then just copy and paste the 2 lines to notepad and then select file - &GT; saveas and name it update_schedule.bat or anything else you want to call it. The file has to be saved as a .BAT if its saved as a .TXT it wont function as a batch file, but instead will just open to show your your batched instructions.

All you have to do is execute your batch file then by double-clicking on that bat file within the folder that it resides which also has to be the location of your excel spreadsheet that it will grab to copy over to both workstations.

But before doing all this, you need to create drive mappings to your workstations C: drives as Y: and Z: from your computer as well as make folder of schedule at C:\schedule\ so that when the batch is executed, all execution requirements are met. Otherwise you will get errors or 0 files copied etc.

Quote

xcopy latest_schedule.xls y:\schedule\*.* /s/d/y
xcopy latest_schedule.xls z:\schedule\*.* /s/d/y

This is what goes into notepad and saved as batch file. You can change the xls file name etc to match your filename.

BTW: Z: and Y: were used mainly because they are usually not used. But if Z: or Y: are already used by another network mapping or device you can change them to any drive letter mapping you would like. BUT word of caution is that its best to place the drive letters for mapping at the far end of the alphabet than closer to D:, as for if you add and remove portable devices, usb thumb drives, flash cards, cameras etc they all like to automatically map themselves to the next available drive letter and you may find that your batch file is no longer pointing to the correct path if a device is hungry to grab up E: or F: etc. I have yet to find a hardware device that tries to grab Z: etc, however I have seen software drive RAIDs jump onto Z: for mirroring.Thank you for the reply, but...

I googled how to do the mapping and I'm completely lost...I went to My Computer, Tools, Map Network Drive and now it's got two options: Drive and Folder. Only the V, U, T, and S drives have writing beside them, but when I click on Browse to choose a Folder, I don't recognize ANY of the folders that come up?

I've never heard of mapping network drives? So this is completely new to me...From the workstations click on their c: drive to open and see contents from my computer. Create folder named schedule so at C: you now have C:\schedule on each workstation. Now back out of that schedule folder if you are in it and click on it once to highlight and then right-click and select share. You can then select its share name as well as permissions as to who can read/write etc to this folder.

There is a way to share C:\ but this can be dangerous so I am going to make a change to your batch. Once you have the share created Z: and Y: will point to the heart of C:\schedule on both machines.

Batch file then just NEEDS to execute

Quote

xcopy latest_schedule.xls y:\*.* /s/d/y
xcopy latest_schedule.xls z:\*.* /s/d/y

As for pointing to schedule is no longer necessary as you see with Z:\*.* and Y:\*.*

Will check back in about an hour to see if you made progress.. good luck ...was in a meeting...will try this now. Thank you very much! I will let you know how it goes.It didn't work. Now none of the schedules are showing up on their computer... Quote from: susansmith on July 25, 2012, 09:52:03 AM

I want to share an Excel file (staff schedule) with my staff in the next room on their computer.

Just a thought. OUTLOOK, used with an Exchange server, might be the ideal application for this purpose. It would allow sharing calendars via the Exchange server. As a possible free alternative, Google Calender might work. Why not just save the file as read only and then Post it ? ?

Solve : Share an Excel file with another computer as Read Only...?

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