What is causing the Sharing violation error on Microsoft Excel?
We investigated this particular issue by analyzing various user reports and the fixes that most affected users have deployed in order to fix this problem. As it turns out, there are several different culprits that might end up producing this sharing violation error on Microsoft Excel. If you’re currently struggling with the same error, this article will provide you with a collection of troubleshooting guides. Down below, you’ll find a collection of methods that other users in a similar situation have successfully used to fix the sharing violation error on Microsoft Excel. Each of the potential fixes featured below is confirmed to be effective by at least one affected user. For the best results, we advise you to follow the methods in the order that they are presented since we ordered them by efficiency and difficulty. One of the methods below should resolve the issue regardless of the culprit that ends up causing it Let’s begin!
Method 1: Allowing the Excel file to get indexed
As it turns out, the number one reason why this error occurs is if the excel file is located inside a folder that is not configured to allow the files inside to have their content indexed. Newer versions of Excel don’t play well with folders that don’t have this advanced attribute enabled, so the sharing violation error is thrown as a result. Several affected users have reported that they managed to get around this issue by modifying the Advanced Attributes of the folder responsible so that the files inside are allowed to get indexed. Here’s a quick guide on how to do this: If the same error is still occurring, move down to the next method below.
Method 2: Enabling the Sharing Wizard
Another fairly common culprit that might be responsible for the sharing violation error is a disabled Sharing Wizard. As it turns out, Excel needs this feature enabled in order to function properly. Some affected users have reported that the issue was resolved after they re-enabled the Sharing Wizard via the Folder Options screen. Here’s a quick guide on how to enable the Sharing Wizard feature via the Folder Options menu: If you’re still encountering this issue, move down to the next method below.
Method 3: Disabling 3rd Party AV Real-Time Protection
According to various user reports, this particular issue can also be caused by an overprotective Antivirus suite. Comodo Antivirus, AVG, Avast, McAfee and even the Premium version of Malwarebytes (there might be others) are known to hogg the excel file while Excel tries to write over it (during the saving sequence), which ends up producing this error. As it turns out, Windows Defender does not have this problem. If you’re also encountering the issue with a 3rd party antivirus, try disabling the real-time protection and see if you’re able to save the Excel file without getting the sharing violation while the AV is disabled. With most 3rd party AV suites, you can disable the real-time protection via the tray bar icon. In the event that you successfully prove that your AV is responsible for this error, you have two options moving forward – You either keep the AV disabled while you work in Excel, or you uninstall the AV completely and you switch to Windows Defender (the default antivirus). If you decide to uninstall your current 3rd party AV suite, follow this guide (here) on uninstalling your current security scanner without leaving any remnant files.
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