How to share work on Excel files with formula links, sent via email?

November 9, 2005 9:39 PM

Excel experts? Between two Excel files, anyone know how I can reassign the data source file when I'm working on my Mac with files emailed to me by my boss, created on his PC?

To be more specific: how we work it is that he is sends me an Excel file we call "octoberdata" and various other Excel files that need to draw upon this "octoberdata" file. And he's already got the linking and formulas in place in the various files that link to "julydata" which--when we open the files to be updated at his place, on his PC--we are able to easily reassign/change the source file to "octoberdata" via dialogue boxes the PC just walks you through. Meanwhile, back at my place, on my Mac ibook (excel X), it won't give me the same dialogue box to choose the new "octoberdata" as source. Any ideas, some way of saving the files I get from him, something obvious I'm missing that would allow me to make that same global reassignment of the data source file on my end? Many thanks for any insights.

posted by seaward to Computers & Internet (3 answers total)

I get that dialogue box on my Mac. I'm using Excel 2004 version 11.2, so it may be that an update to the software would fix it for you. I can't find any way to turn that dialog off, and in fact Excel's help text suggests it's automatic

Controlling how links are updated:

A linked object is updated automatically by default every time you open the destination file or any time the source file changes while the destination file is open. When you open the workbook, a startup prompt appears, asking if you want to update the links. This is the primary way to update links, although you can also manually update them. You can also control the response to the prompt, or whether to display it at all.

If you use a formula to link data from other programs, that data is updated automatically in Microsoft Excel whenever it is changed in the other program

posted by willnot at 11:10 PM on November 9, 2005

Oh, i guess to manually bring up that dialog, to to Edit > Links...

Excel says you can disable that menu, but I still can't find a way to do it.
posted by willnot at 11:14 PM on November 9, 2005

You can do a global find a replace that will allow you to change the formulae in the cells.
posted by sachinag at 8:51 AM on November 10, 2005