Co Pilot Creating a View only spreadsheet

Question

Co Pilot Creating a View only spreadsheet

Matt Evans-Lacey 0

I have created an agent to assist with resource.

The agent has access to lookup the two files we are making changes to, however the agent creates a view only version of the excel ss with the changes. I am then not able to make changes to the duplicate ss.

How can this be rectified

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2 answers

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Answer 1

Thomas4-N 21,930 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hello Matt Evans-Lacey,

Could you confirm which type of agent you created: a Copilot Studio agent, an agent in Microsoft 365 Copilot, or the Excel Agent?

That distinction matters. In Copilot Studio, knowledge is primarily used as information the agent can reference, while tools/actions are what allow an agent to perform operations.

If you are using Copilot in Excel instead, it supports directly editing workbook content while keeping the workbook editable. If this is specifically a Copilot Studio agent, I’d also recommend posting the scenario in the Power Platform Copilot Studio forum, which is dedicated to building and troubleshooting Copilot Studio agents.

Matt Evans-Lacey 0 Reputation points

2026-09-17T10:48:21.03+00:00
To confirm, if I am wanting to create an agent that

Reads across a number of excel spreadsheets , will look up from one excel and update to another, this can only be done with an agent created in Copilot Studio
Thomas4-N 21,930 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-09-18T08:17:34.88+00:00
Thanks for clarifying. Based on what you described, I think Copilot Studio should be able to handle this type of workflow, but the setup may need to be slightly different.

If the Excel files are currently added as knowledge sources, they are mainly being used for retrieving information. For the part where the agent needs to update the second workbook, you may need to add an Excel connector/action to the agent instead.

If the files are stored in OneDrive for Business or SharePoint, you could try using the Excel Online (Business) connector for the destination workbook and give the agent an appropriate write action, such as Update a row.

Microsoft has some guidance here:

Use connectors in Copilot Studio agents

Excel Online (Business) connector

I would start there rather than treating the generated view-only spreadsheet itself as the issue. If you’re still unsure how to configure the read-from-one-workbook/update-another workflow, I’d also suggest posting the setup details in the Microsoft Copilot Studio community above, where the Copilot Studio specialists may be able to advise on the specific agent configuration.

Answer 2

Hi Matt,If the two Excel files were added to the agent as knowledge sources, the agent is primarily using them to retrieve and reference information; adding a file as knowledge does not by itself give the agent the ability to edit the original workbook. Microsoft distinguishes knowledge sources from connector-based actions/tools that can perform operations.

If you need the agent to update an editable workbook, store the workbook in OneDrive or SharePoint and configure an appropriate action/Power Automate flow with write permissions rather than relying only on the Excel file as knowledge. Also confirm that your account has Edit permission on the destination file and library.

If the duplicate itself opens as read-only even outside Copilot, check its SharePoint/OneDrive permissions and library settings, as these can also cause Office files to open read-only.

Thank you, and feel free to respond back for more assistance.