The System Name

There is only one reliable unique identifier for a spreadsheet: the system name. The system name is the name the spreadsheet is known as to the system. Every document in the system has some name. Some system names are long and cryptic. Other system names are short and simple.

For example, the name inside the system would be the name of the directory the spreadsheet is found in, the folder name (or names if there are multiple folders), and the designated system name. The system name inside the computer might look like this: C:\poc\alba071-investor-eport-dec-07-amended.xlsx.

But even the system name of the spreadsheet may be unreliable. It is easily possible that the spreadsheet was accessed at 10:06 a.m. using the system name. Then at 10:32 a.m., the owner of the spreadsheet changed the spreadsheet inside the system, but did not give it a new name. So at 11:13 a.m. when the system name is accessed again, it is actually a different spreadsheet.

However, for the...