How many times have you received an email with a document attached labelled "final version" — and when you opened it, it wasn't the final version? Or had to wait for a colleague to "close the file" before you could edit it?
This problem has a solution, and it's called co-authoring.
What is co-authoring?
Co-authoring is the ability to edit the same Word, Excel or PowerPoint document at the same time as other colleagues — without conflicts, without duplicate versions, without waiting your turn.
When a document is saved in SharePoint Online or OneDrive, multiple people can open and edit it simultaneously. Each person sees the others' changes in real time, just like Google Docs — but with the full functionality of Microsoft Office.
How it works in practice
When you open a Word document in SharePoint and a colleague is editing it at the same time:
- You see their name at the top of the document
- You see a colour indicator in the section of the document where they're working
- Their changes appear on your screen in real time
- Yours appear on theirs
No manual saving, no sending versions back and forth, no conflicts when closing.
Requirements for co-authoring to work
Co-authoring works when:
- The document is saved in SharePoint Online or OneDrive — not in a local folder on your computer or on an old network server
- You're using Word, Excel or PowerPoint — either the desktop version (with Microsoft 365) or the web version
- Users have the correct edit permissions in the library
No activation needed — co-authoring is enabled by default in SharePoint Online. If the document is in SharePoint and permissions are correct, it works automatically.
If the document is on a local server or sent as an email attachment, co-authoring won't work. It's one of the clearest arguments for moving documents to SharePoint.
Web version vs desktop version
Both versions support co-authoring, but with some differences:
Web version (browser)
- Changes sync more immediately
- Slightly more limited functionality than the desktop version
- Ideal for quick editing and real-time collaboration
Desktop version (Word, Excel, PowerPoint installed)
- Full functionality
- Change sync may have a small delay of a few seconds
- Needs to save for others to see changes (though saving is automatic)
Version history — your safety net
A major advantage of saving in SharePoint is automatic version history. Every time someone saves the document, SharePoint saves a copy of that version.
If someone accidentally deletes something, you can recover the previous version in seconds. If you need to know who changed what and when, the history shows it.
During co-authoring, SharePoint saves the document automatically at regular intervals — approximately every minute. The version history shows the name of the last person who made changes at the time of saving. If two people are editing simultaneously, both names may appear in different versions of the history, making it possible to track who did what and when with good precision.
To enable it: in the library settings, activate version control. The recommendation is to keep a minimum of 50 major versions.
The problem of locked documents
If you've ever seen the message "The file is locked for editing by [name]", it's because that person opened it from a local location or from an email attachment instead of directly from SharePoint.
The solution: always open documents from SharePoint in the browser or via the SharePoint link — never from an email attachment.
Comments within the document
Word and Excel allow you to add comments inside the document that are visible to all co-authors. You can mention a colleague with @name and they'll receive a notification. Ideal for reviews and feedback without leaving the document.
Moving from email to co-authoring
The biggest cultural shift that co-authoring requires is stopping sending documents by email. Instead of "I'll send you the contract to review", it becomes "here's the link to the document in SharePoint — add your comments directly".
A link to the document in SharePoint. Always the correct version. No attachments. No duplicate versions.
If your team still works with email attachments, co-authoring in SharePoint is the most immediate and visible change you can make to improve collaboration. Get in touch and tell me how you work now, and I'll explain how to make the transition.