Releasing or Removing the Active User for a Workpaper

You can use the Release Active User option to release yourself as the active user for a Microsoft® Excel® or Microsoft® Word workpaper. Use the Remove Active User option to remove another user as the active user of a workpaper.

Note: Active user information is not available for consolidated engagements at this time.

When the active user is released or removed for a workpaper, it allows another user to become the active user.

The active user information updates immediately in the Engagement View when you release or remove the active user. It is not necessary to refresh the view.

Release Yourself as the Active User

Releasing yourself as the active user closes the workpaper without saving any changes you have made while you were the active user. If you want to preserve the changes you made to a document, you should instead save the file and close it in the native application.

To release yourself as the active user, do the following:

  1. Click the engagement on the Engagement List page.

    Note: See Using the Engagement List Page for information about using the pagination and search features to find an engagement in the list.

  2. Locate the workpaper on the Engagement View page.

    Tip: You might need to expand the node or folder that holds the item you need.

  3. Click in the Actions column for the workpaper, and then select Release Active User.
  4. Click Confirm.

Note: You can also release yourself as the active user in the Workpaper Monitor application by clicking the X that displays in the Release Active User column for the workpaper.

Remove Another User as the Active User

Removing the active user returns the workpaper to the state that it was in before the released user began working in it. Changes made by that user are not captured in the released workpaper.

From the perspective of a removed active user, the workpaper remains open and available for editing. However, when the user closes the file, a message alerts the user that they were removed as the active user. The user then has an opportunity to save the workpaper as a different file.

To remove another user as the active user, do the following:

  1. Click the engagement on the Engagement List page.

    Note: See Using the Engagement List Page for information about using the pagination and search features to find an engagement in the list.

  2. Locate the workpaper on the Engagement View page.

    Tip: You might need to expand the node or folder that holds the item you need.

  3. Click in the Actions column for the workpaper, and then select Remove Active User.
  4. Click Confirm.