Microsoft Excel “Sharing Violation” Error: Causes and How to Fix

Save your files wherever you want

Getting a “Sharing Violation”error while trying to save a Microsoft Excel spreadsheeton your computer? You may not have the required permissions to save the file in your folder. There are other causes of this issue, and we’ll show you how to resolve all those items to let you save your file successfully.

Other reasons you can’t save changes to your MS Excel file are that your antivirus program is interfering with your file, file content indexing is disabled for your spreadsheet folder, the Excel app itself has problems, and more.

Get the Required Permissions for Your Network Folder

If you’re getting the “Sharing Violation”error while trying to save your spreadsheet on a network drive, ensure you have the correct permissions to do so. You need both Modify and Delete privileges to save files on your network folder.

Since you don’t have the required permissions, ask your network administrator to grant you both of the above permissions. Once the admin has done that, you’ll be able to save your file at your desired network location.

Another reason you get a “Sharing Violation” error is that you don’t have Sharing Wizard enabled in your File Explorer app. It’s worth toggling on thisfeature on your Windows PCto get rid of your error.

Save Your Excel Spreadsheet on Your Local Storage

One way to fix your Excel error is by saving your spreadsheet to your computer’s local storage. This helps you bypass any network-related issues and save your file successfully. You can then manually transfer the file to your network drive if you wish.

Depending on how you’ve connected your computer to your network, you can use your machine’s file manager app to copy your saved Excel file and paste it on your network folder.

Save Your Excel File With a New Name

If you still have trouble saving your Excel file,use a different name for your fileand try to save the file. This will help you resolve any name-related conflicts, allowing you to save your file without issues.

Turn Off Your Antivirus Program

One possible reason you get a “Sharing Violation” error is that your antivirus program has blocked your access to your file. Sometimes, antivirus programs produce false-positive results, leading to various errors.

In this scenario, temporarily disable your antivirus program and see if you can then save your file. You can turn your antivirus back on when you’ve saved the file.

How you turn off your antivirus protection depends on the program you’re using. You can follow the following instructions todisable Microsoft Defender Antivirus:

If the above has fixed your issue, reach out to your antivirus provider to seek a permanent solution to the problem.

Turn On Indexing for Your Spreadsheet Folder

You can turn on one Windows option to potentially fix your Excel “Sharing Violation” error.This option indexes the contents of the files in your folderin addition to your files’ properties.

Repair Your Microsoft Excel App

If your error message hasn’t gone away yet, your last resort is to fix the Microsoft Excel app itself. The app may be experiencing issues, producing various kinds of errors.

Luckily, you don’t have to do much to repair your app. Microsoft Office includes a repair tool that allows you tofix all your Office appsin a few easy clicks. You can use this tool to fix all the issues that your Excel app is experiencing.

Microsoft Excel displays the above error messagefor various reasons. Once you fix the items that may potentially be causing the problem, you can resolve your error and save your Excel spreadsheet at the desired location. We hope the guide helps you save changes to your Excel files.

Mahesh has been obsessed with technology since he got his first gadget a decade or so ago. Over the last few years, he’s written a number of tech articles on various online publications including but not limited to MakeTechEasier and Android AppStorm.Read Mahesh’s Full Bio

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Microsoft Excel “Sharing Violation” Error: Causes and How to Fix#

Get the Required Permissions for Your Network Folder#

Turn On the Sharing Wizard in Windows File Explorer#

Save Your Excel Spreadsheet on Your Local Storage#

Save Your Excel File With a New Name#

Turn Off Your Antivirus Program#

Turn On Indexing for Your Spreadsheet Folder#

Repair Your Microsoft Excel App#

Multiple Ways to Get Around Excel’s Sharing Violation Error#