Can't Merge Changes from Original and a Copy in Briefcase

The information in this article applies to:

• Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows
• Microsoft PowerPoint 97 for Windows
• Microsoft Word 97 for Windows
• Microsoft Access 97 for Windows
• Microsoft Excel for Windows 95, version 7.0
• Microsoft PowerPoint for Windows 95, version 7.0
• Microsoft Word for Windows 95, version 7.0
• Microsoft Access, version 7.0

SYMPTOMS

When you drag a Microsoft Office file into the Windows Briefcase, if you make changes to both the original copy of the file, and the copy of the file in the Briefcase, you can only replace either copy with the other; you cannot merge the changes made to both copies.

CAUSE

Briefcase is a tool in Windows that you can use to synchronize files on different computers. You can drag a file into Briefcase, copy the Briefcase to another computer, make changes either to the file inside the Briefcase or to the original file, and use Briefcase to update the file that has not been changed. When you update a file in Briefcase, you can either replace the file inside the Briefcase, or the original file, or skip the update.

However, if changes have been made to both the original file, and the file inside the Briefcase, you cannot choose to merge the changes, or accept the changes to both the files. You can only replace one file with the other, or skip the update so that the changes in both files remain.

WORKAROUND

To work around this behavior when you drag your Office file to the Briefcase, do one of the following:

If one file has changed

Make changes to one file at a time. For example, when you make a change to the original file, update the file using the Briefcase before making a change to the copy inside the Briefcase.

If both files have changed

When both the original file and the file inside the Briefcase have changed, you must open both files individually to compare the differences. In Microsoft Word, you can use the Compare Versions option to compare the two different copies and accept the changes that you want to keep.

REFERENCES

For more information about checking the status of a file in Briefcase, click the Index tab in Windows Help, type the following text

   Briefcase, checking