A way to merge two Excel files?

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Not sure if this is the place for this question, but I’ll do it anyway.

I have two users who work on a spreadsheet. They work in different locations but share the same data. So they both need a copy of the same spreadsheet and an easy way to merge the data. One of them is not always on line, either. They both need to add data, and both need to be able to see the data the other has entered (on about a daily basis). Synchronising wont work because that process looks for the most recent version of the file, and my research indicates that Excel does not have the ‘merge two files’ option that Word has.

Any suggestions for how to easily merge the data in the files?

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Have you thought about using Google Spreadsheets?
Pro: it’s free, and people can collaborate on a spreadsheet using internet.
Con: it has fewer bells and whistles than Excel, and although you can control who can see the spreadsheet, you may not want to use this for sensitive data.

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Thank you Hans.

Your suggestion is a good one and I think it will work.

Thanks to everyone else for their suggestions. The key to the problem is that the two people are not co-located and that rules out many of the sharing options that involve servers and common file location.

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Do you have Windows Sharepoint Services running (part of Windows Server 2003)? Or Office Sharepoint Server (extensions to WSS)?

Joe

--Joe

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Have a look at the Excel help article titled “About shared workbooks”
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If you need input from several people, you can create a shared workbook (shared workbook: A workbook set up to allow multiple users on a network to view and make changes at the same time. Each user who saves the workbook sees the changes made by other users.) and place it on a network location where they can edit it simultaneously. For example, if the people in your workgroup each handle several projects and need to know each other’s status, the group could use a shared workbook. All persons involved can then enter the information for their projects in one and the same workbook.

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I have used this in combination with Briefcase to allow someone who is offline to edit a workbook and then merge their changes back.

StuartR

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Using the Share Workbook feature in Excel is asking for problems – you greatly increase the probability of corrupting the workbook.

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Hans,

In lieu of “Shared Workbook”, what about putting the workbook on a known location on the network and letting people access the same workbook ? This way only ONE person can access the workbook at one time.

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That is what I normally do. But Johbot mentioned that “They work in different locations”, so I assume that they’re not connected by a LAN.

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Thus your suggestion for Google Spreadsheets.

A possible alternative, put the spread sheet on free interent hard drive AKA free online storage.

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