SharePoint Online - Opening Excel (or any?) files changes modified by despite no editing

[symm_adrian]

Is there a way to prevent this? Users in our environment typically open the excel files in the browser simply to view the file and not change anything. Somehow, SPO is detecting this as modification. How can I (without restructuring the entire sites groups/permissions) prevent the modified by from changing to the user who last access the file simply to view it?

Thanks!

[#2]

@symm_adrian 

As far as I know it is not possible to prevent the modified by from changing to the user who last access the file simply to view it.

Thanks

Robin Nishad

[#3]

Is there any updates on this -automatic updated for "modified by" modified date when accessing a file for view

[#4]

@ChristineZ24 
Not that I am aware. Would be very useful tough.
There is a workaround: see https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/msoffice/forum/all/default-view-read-or-edit-when-opening-excel-...
Apart from the changed modified field you also end up with a new document version that also consumes storage quota.

[#5]

@Paul_HK_de_Jong Wow this seems crazy. You are sharing with a large group working on a project and when you want to look for files with new info, you can't. You sort by modified and you just get a bunch of last looked at files, not files with new updates?

[#6]

@symm_adrian are you opening it in the application excel or in the online version?  And if online are you using Edge or Chrome?  I just discovered that using Edge to open Word files also automatically records the modification even if there is no change.  That's a big problem.  I did find that it does not happen if you do it in Chrome.