Excel can’t open workbooks with the same name

Wait, that’s still a thing? I remember first encountering this in primary school, when Excel 97 wouldn’t load two versions of an assignment unless I renamed one of the backups. Meanwhile, the graphical version of Lotus 1-2-3 that came with Lotus SmartSuite Millennium Edition had no issue. As an aside, I miss SmartSuite. I was a weird kid, and had an obsession with building games in 1-2-3. Don’t read too much into that. By Ruben Schade in Sydney, 2026-09-18.