Auto-saving, which will prevent you from losing too many changes, works
differently for versions of excel.  For XP, it is on by default, and works
pretty intuitively.  For 2000, it needs to be activated.  On my system, that
means clicking Tools, Add-ins, and checking 'Auto-Save add-in' which will
then prompt me for an Office 2000 cd so it can install the add-in.

Regardless of whether you use the auto-save, or if you are satisfied with
opening a previous save, you MUST re-boot before you use EXCEL again if you
want to save the file to its original name.  The issue is not caused by
Excel, rather it is Windows that is holding the workbook in an exclusive
(single user) state, and if you restart Excel without rebooting, you are
starting a new Excel session, and not continuing the one that crashed.
Windows will not give you full permissions to a file in exclusive use by
another session (even though this other session happens to have crashed.)
When you reboot, all sessions are closed and all files are released, so once
windows restarts it will allow Excel to open the workbook.

The reason you are crashing is another matter.  There are bugs in Excel,
more in 2000 than in XP, with the most bugs in 97.  You should get the
service packs (if MS still has them on their website) for your version of
Office and install them.  This helps with most crashes.
Tom Turak


-----Original Message-----
From: Bill Oates [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Monday, June 23, 2003 11:35 PM

On two recent occasions while working on an Excel spreadsheet, I have done
something - or the operating system has done something! - and the screen
returns
to the desktop.  When I go back into Excel and try to see if the file is
still there somewhere, I finally try to open the file (from a previous save)
and
am advised that the file is locked and being edited by me.  I have the
option
to open a read only, original file, which opens the previously saved
version.

The question, of course, is what happened to my spreadsheet and how do I
"unlock" the file?  The Excel help is absolutely no help!

Bill Oates

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