Overview: Active Workpapers synchronise with the Active Platform's Microsoft SharePoint to maintain consistent versions of Excel workbooks. When this synchronisation process encounters issues, users may experience version conflicts or saving problems that need resolution. We have systems in place to flag these versioning conflicts and to check whether data is correctly being saved from Excel to Active. See below a list of error message variants that you may encounter.
Please refer to the Glossary for definitions of key terms used in this article.
Sync error scenarios
Below are the most frequent sync error messages and guidance on how to resolve them.
1. Excel workbook sync error (version mismatch)
Error message example
'The Excel workbook you’re currently working on is a different version than the one synced with Active Platform. The changes in this workbook were last saved in Excel on [date], while Active Platform shows the last recorded changes for this binder occurred on [date].'
Cause
This error occurs when there’s a mismatch between the version you’re working on in Excel and the version saved in the Active Platform. This typically happens when:
There’s a delay in syncing changes.
Or if an excel crash has resulted in a different version of the excel workbook cached locally compared to the version of the excel workbook hosted on the Active platform
Multiple users are working on the same binder without properly syncing their changes leading to versioning conflicts.
The system performs periodic checks to compare the version you're working on with the version saved in Active Platform.
Steps to resolve
Look at the version of the Excel workbook that has opened in front of you, Check if it has all of the most up-to-date data.
Click 'Continue' or 'Sync' button to push your changes to Active Platform and overwritte the Active platform version with the excel workbook version you're looking at once you've determined it has all of the data in it.If you are unsure or want to check the latest version first:
Click Read-Only and in the Active platform, open the binder in Excel online and compare your excel workbook version with the one opened in Excel online from the Active platform.
If your excel workbook version is missing data but the excel workbook in Active has all of the latest data in it, simply close excel and reopen the binder from the Active platform.
If both the Active platform version and your version of Excel are missing data, see the help article below to find the version of the excel workbook that has those missing sheets/data:
How to Troubleshoot Missing Sheets in a Binder
Tip: To avoid this mismatch error, ensure 'AutoSave' is enabled in Excel, as this automatically syncs your changes. Also, try to avoid long periods of inactivity before making edits to reduce the chances of triggering this sync check.
2. Excel workbook sync error 'This Excel workbook is currently not saved to Active SharePoint'
Error message example
'We’ve noticed that your changes are not saving into Active SharePoint. Active SharePoint was last updated on [date and time]. Please ensure that auto-save is enabled and that you are connected to Microsoft Office correctly.'
Cause
This error indicates that AutoSave in the User's Excel may be disabled, and changes in their Excel workbook are not syncing to our Active Platform SharePoint. The system may have sometimes also attempted a sync before SharePoint had fully updated with your most recent changes, leading to the error. This can happen when:
There are temporary network connectivity issues.
SharePoint experiences delays in updating your changes.
Steps to resolve
Check 'AutoSave':
Make sure 'AutoSave' is enabled at the top left of your Excel to ensure your changes are being saved automatically.Manually click the save button at the top left of excel and ensure the save is successful.
Check your connection:
Ensure that your connection to Microsoft Office is stable and there are no network disruptions.Click Save and Continue: (preferred)
If you believe your changes are the most up-to-date, click Save and Continue to manually push them to Active SharePoint.OR
Click Continue Anyway:
If you want to continue working and let the system retry syncing in 5 minutes, click Continue Anyway.
3. Excel Workbook Sync Error: 'We've noticed that some users are working with different versions of the Excel workbook.'
This error usually occurs when the old version of the binder is still open or logged in elsewhere. Please check the following:
Ensure you or any other user in your firm is not still logged into this binder in a browser.
Make sure the binder is not open on any other computer, machine, VM, or add-in.
Confirm you are not logged into the old binder file path via Excel.
Completely close Excel and all browsers. (and if issue persists, restart all computers the listed User is logged into Active with)
Ask any other users listed in the error message to do the same.
Once everything is closed, reopen the binder. This should resolve the sync error.