How to add active directory to excel

Question

How to add active directory to excel

Akash 0

Environment:

Excel file stored in SharePoint
Trying to set up user-level permissions using Excel's built-in "Allow Edit Ranges" feature

Specific Problem:

When clicking "Select Users or Groups" in the Allow Edit Ranges dialog
Setting Object Type to "User, groups or built-in security principles"
The location dropdown only shows "DIN***" (local machine name)
No Active Directory domain option available
Cannot browse or select domain users/groups

Expected Behavior: Should be able to browse and select users/groups from company's Active Directory domain.

Please don't say contact your IT admin!

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Answer accepted by question author

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Answer 1

Gabriel-N 9,875 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Dear Akash

Thank you for reaching out to the Q&A forum regarding your issue.

Based on the screenshot you shared, please make sure your computer is joined to the company domain (not just Azure AD registered). If your company requires a VPN connection to join the domain, ensure the VPN is turned on before attempting this.

If the device is a personal machine or only Azure AD joined, it does not have a trust relationship with the internal Active Directory, so it cannot query domain users or groups.

Hope this information is helpful! Please recheck the settings and provide your feedback.

If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".

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Gabriel-N 9,875 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-12-10T09:17:23.64+00:00

Dear Akash

Is there any update from you?

If yes, please feel free to let me know.
Akash 0 Reputation points

2025-12-11T14:12:00.78+00:00

Hi Gabriel,

Apologies for the delay!

I do have an update my workstation was not connected to domain.

In the image below you can see it says workgroup meaning it is not joined to active directory domain that's why excel only shows local users.
Gabriel-N 9,875 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-12-12T08:59:28.2466667+00:00

Dear Akash

Thank you for confirming and sharing the screenshot. Since your workstation is currently in a workgroup and not joined to the company domain, Excel might not apply domain-based permissions.

If possible, please consider joining your workstation to the company domain (VPN may be required if you are remote). Alternatively, you can use the Protect Sheet feature in Excel and share the password with authorized users as a workaround.

Thank you again for sharing the details.

Answer 2

I understand your frustration, and I need to be direct with you: what you're trying to accomplish isn't going to work the way you expect.

The core issue is that Excel's "Allow Edit Ranges" feature relies on Windows NTFS security and local Active Directory authentication. When your Excel file is stored in SharePoint, this feature cannot connect to your company's Active Directory domain because it's attempting to use a local Windows security model that doesn't function with cloud-hosted files. This is why you only see "DIN***" (your local machine) and cannot access your AD domain.

Unfortunately, there is no native way to use Active Directory authentication for range-level permissions in SharePoint-hosted Excel files through the "Allow Edit Ranges" feature. Microsoft has not built this integration.

Here are your actual options:

Option 1: Work with the file locally

Download the file to a network drive connected to your domain, set up "Allow Edit Ranges" with AD users there, then upload it back to SharePoint. Be aware that these permissions may not persist reliably in the cloud environment.

Option 2: Use password-based protection

Use Excel's "Protect Sheet" feature with different passwords for different ranges. This isn't Active Directory-integrated, but it does provide range-level control. You would need to share passwords with appropriate users separately.

Option 3: Accept SharePoint's limitations

Use SharePoint's file-level permissions to control who can access and edit the entire file. This integrates properly with Active Directory but doesn't provide the cell-level or range-level granularity you're looking for.

Option 4: Consider alternative solutions

Explore Power Apps, custom SharePoint solutions, or third-party tools designed for granular permissions in cloud-hosted Excel files.

The straightforward reality: SharePoint and Excel's cloud integration simply doesn't support Active Directory-authenticated range-level permissions. This is a genuine limitation of the platform, not a configuration issue you can resolve.

Akash 0 Reputation points

2025-12-09T13:27:50.8433333+00:00

But if you look at this video marked 3min https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksgPRqkQFEM, he explained about user level authentication using active directory how is this possible for him and not for me, may i know what should i do to set this up, Thanks for taking your time to respond to my question means a lot.

Update: I have also tried it when the file is not saved in sharepoint (Local, In Network Drive) and i cant see the directory either

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How to add active directory to excel

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