# Co-Authoring And Exclusive Editing

By default, for a new <code class="expression">space.vars.PRODUCT_NAME</code> subscription, Office documents will open for exclusive editing by default. This means that only one user at a time can edit the document, reflecting the behaviour of a traditional network file server.

This default behaviour can be changed so that Office documents will open with co-authoring and AutoSave enabled, meaning that multiple users can collaborate on the same document at the same time, and Office will save changes automatically.

To enable this behaviour follow the steps below.

{% stepper %}
{% step %}
From the [administration console](overview-of-the-administration-console), click the action button then click "Customise the end user experience"

<figure><img src="https://4182749601-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FBkDVFDwNmEHlZv1KwwiY%2Fuploads%2F0AJGJDW5LnsnpwAsRaUR%2Fimage.png?alt=media&#x26;token=a4dacd2a-e1f4-405a-8368-3b0efe1ea6bb" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
On the submenu, click "Set default behaviour for Office documents"

<figure><img src="https://4182749601-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FBkDVFDwNmEHlZv1KwwiY%2Fuploads%2F2WxGnSU20HsCdhCu34aB%2Fimage.png?alt=media&#x26;token=5bdb3253-7a48-4b52-a032-5aa6209e0c04" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
An information page will show about co-authoring. Click the Next button to proceed to the next page "Choose Default Behaviour". On this page you can choose how you want Office documents to open when opened from Windows File Explorer. If you want to enable co-authoring then select the "Open documents for co-authoring" option. You can restrict the setting to just certain groups of people if you prefer. After making your selection, click the Save Changes button

<figure><img src="https://4182749601-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FBkDVFDwNmEHlZv1KwwiY%2Fuploads%2Fr3gUMEdFvnOXIXwOufeo%2Fimage.png?alt=media&#x26;token=b6da3126-0c2a-4601-a7b5-9c562a9ad4f5" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
Your changes will now be applied and will take effect when users restart <code class="expression">space.vars.PRODUCT_NAME</code> or next sign in to Windows. Click the Return button to go back

<figure><img src="https://4182749601-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FBkDVFDwNmEHlZv1KwwiY%2Fuploads%2FFt7NhOinLFIjqWmX8rKc%2Fimage.png?alt=media&#x26;token=98ad78ba-1fb6-48d1-be3c-3a0f8d280442" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}

If you want to switch back to exclusive editing, follow the above procedure but select the "Open documents for exclusive editing" option instead.

{% hint style="info" %}
After enabling _open for co-authoring by default_, users may experience an issue opening Office file attachments from Outlook. If so, this can be caused by a Microsoft Defender policy. See [#access-denied-opening-a-zeedrive-link-or-office-document-from-outlook](../../microsoft-office#access-denied-opening-a-zeedrive-link-or-office-document-from-outlook "mention")for resolution steps
{% endhint %}

