SharePoint Co-authoring Problems

Real-time co-authoring allows multiple users to edit documents in Word, Excel, or PowerPoint simultaneously. However, files frequently get locked, showing messages like “File is locked for editing by another user” or “Co-authoring is not available”.

This guide covers the root causes of co-authoring blocks in SharePoint Online and provides step-by-step resolution paths for both Windows and macOS clients.

1. Understand SharePoint Co-authoring Problems

Co-authoring failures are typically caused by library configuration settings, unsupported file features, or local Office cache issues:

• “Require Check Out” is Enabled: If a SharePoint Document Library requires files to be checked out before editing, co-authoring is automatically disabled. Only one person can edit the file at a time.
• Orphaned Local Locks: If a user’s Office client or OneDrive sync engine crashes while editing, SharePoint may maintain a lock on the file for up to 10 minutes (an orphaned session).
• Legacy File Formats: File formats like .doc, .xls, and .ppt do not support co-authoring. Files must use modern XML formats (.docx, .xlsx, .pptx).
• Collaboration Settings Disabled: The OneDrive sync client option “Use Office applications to sync Office files that I open” must be active. If disabled, co-authoring will fail.
• File Encryption or Macros: Password protection, Information Rights Management (IRM) policies, and legacy macros (.xls with VBA) can block multi-user sessions.

2. Disable Library Checkout and Draft Restrictions

To enable co-authoring, SharePoint administrators or site owners must ensure library settings do not enforce checkout rules.

Step 1: Turn off “Require Check Out”

1. Navigate to the SharePoint Document Library.
2. Click the gear icon (Settings) in the top-right and select Library settings → More library settings.
3. Under the General Settings column, click Versioning settings.
4. Scroll to the bottom to find Require Check Out.
5. Set it to No and click Save.

Step 2: Adjust Draft Item Security

If draft security is too restrictive, users without approval permissions cannot co-author drafts.

1. In the same Versioning settings screen, locate Draft Item Security.
2. Change the setting to Any user who can read items to allow full co-authoring access to drafts.
3. Click Save.

3. Verify File Formats and Unsupported Features

If only specific files fail to co-author, check the files themselves.

Step 1: Convert Legacy Files

1. Open the document in your desktop Office application (Word/Excel/PowerPoint).
2. If it is in a legacy format (indicated by “Compatibility Mode” in the title bar), go to File → Info.
3. Click the Convert button to save the file in the modern XML format (.docx, .xlsx, .pptx).
4. Upload the new file to SharePoint and delete the old legacy version.

Step 2: Remove Password Protection

Real-time co-authoring does not support encrypted files.

1. Open the file, go to File → Info → Protect Document (or Protect Workbook).
2. Select Encrypt with Password.
3. Delete the password from the field and click OK. Save the file.

Step 1: Terminate Office and OneDrive Processes

Run the following commands in Command Prompt to close all Office apps:

taskkill /f /im winword.exe /im excel.exe /im powerpnt.exe /im OneDrive.exe /im officeclicktorun.exe

Step 2: Purge the Office File Cache

Purge the local cache folder where Office stores temporary sync copies:

rmdir /s /q "%localappdata%\Microsoft\Office\16.0\OfficeFileCache"

Step 3: Enable File Collaboration in OneDrive Settings

1. Click the OneDrive icon in your system tray.
2. Select Settings (gear icon) → Settings.
3. Go to the Sync and backup tab and expand Advanced settings.
4. Ensure the File collaboration toggle (“Use Office applications to sync Office files that I open”) is switched ON.
5. Restart OneDrive.

Step 1: Force Close Office and OneDrive

Open Terminal and terminate all Office programs:

killall "Microsoft Word" "Microsoft Excel" "Microsoft PowerPoint" OneDrive

# Clear MS Office cache folders
rm -rf ~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.Word/Data/Library/Caches
rm -rf ~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.Excel/Data/Library/Caches
rm -rf ~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.Powerpoint/Data/Library/Caches

# Clear global Office Web Cache
rm -rf ~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.Office365ServiceV2
rm -rf ~/Library/Group\ Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/msouc.checksum

Step 3: Restart OneDrive Collaboration

Relaunch OneDrive and Office applications. In the OneDrive Mac client, verify under Preferences → Office that “Use Office applications to sync Office files that I open” is checked.

6. Summary Checklist for Co-authoring Problems