Can't turn off Track Changes in Word 2007

  • Thread starter Thread starter JohnTheTemp
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JohnTheTemp

I recently opened an older version document in Word 2007 (XP OS). Track
changes has been turned on. I want to turn off Track Changes but the Track
Changes button in my Word 2007 is a grayed out.

When I highlight the “Track Changes†down arrow, I get a message say
“Functionality is currently limited. This document has been opened in
Compatibility Mode. To take full advantage of this feature, convert your
document to a new file format…â€

But I don’t want to convert it. I’ve worked on other older documents without
trouble. Why is this set of documents the exception?

Does anyone know a way I can avoid converting to 2007 and back again?

Thanks.
 
Do you maybe have things selected within Track Changes that the
earlier version can't handle, such as Keep Track of Moves?
 
No - "Keep tack of moves" is not even an option available in this document --
ie, it's grayed out.

Nothing has been done to the document. The first thing I do when it opens is
turn off Track Changes but that's grayed out too.

Puzzle is: I have other Word 2003 documents that don't give me this trouble.
So there's something about this set of documents. I've googled the internet
-- the problem isn't unique to me -- but there hasn't been a definitive
answer -- at none that works for me.
 
Does it in fact Track the Changes as you edit the document, or maybe
the document is protected or something like that?
 
It is tracking changes.

As for protection, Word 2007 is misleading in this situation. When I go into
"Protect Document" I see the "Unrestricted Access" checked. I assumed that
meant the protection wasn't turned on.

However, when I go into Review / Protect Document / Restrict Formatting and
Editing, it does appear to be protected -- worse -- password protected. I'm
going to have to see who has the password before I can find out for sure that
that's causing the problem with Track Changes.

Thanks for leading me thru this. I'll post when I find out if that solves my
problem or not.
 
You may find that it's got the kind of protection that lets you edit
to your heart's content -- but won't let you save the changes.

What happens if you Copy the entire document (or the entire document
minus the final paragraph mark) and Paste it into a new document?
 
It _was_ protected. Word fooled be cuz I saw "Unrestricted Access" checked. I
mistakenly thought that tells me if protection turned on or not.

Someone else turned on protection on the entire set of documents. I didn't
learn about it until you had me check the protection status.

Thanks for your help.
 
I should have noted that the other person had set "Editing Restrictions" to
"Track Changes" (Review / Protection / "Restrict Formatting and Editing").

--
JohnTheTemp


JohnTheTemp said:
It _was_ protected. Word fooled be cuz I saw "Unrestricted Access" checked. I
mistakenly thought that tells me if protection turned on or not.

Someone else turned on protection on the entire set of documents. I didn't
learn about it until you had me check the protection status.

Thanks for your help.
Click to expand...
 
Solution to unlock Word 2007 documents

1. Open the protected document in Word 2007
2. Save the document as a "Word XML Document"
3. Open the XML document using Notepad
4. Search for “<w:documentProtection” and remove the entire XML tag including the "<" and ">" - see below.
5. Save the XML document
6. Open the XML document in Word 2007

7. Save the XML document as a word 2007 document
8. Protection gone :-)

Example of what to delete (will very depending on the document): <w:documentProtection w:edit="forms" w:enforcement="1" w:cryptProviderType="rsaFull" w:cryptAlgorithmClass="hash" w:cryptAlgorithmType="typeAny" w:cryptAlgorithmSid="4" w:cryptSpinCount="100000" w:hash="rlylpUVRYgTZNzvcP4CFYTcISV0=" w:salt="4Akmxfm0igQhWYeAZ4BpcS=="/>
 
The XML method worked for me, thanks to the previous thread. Saved me a lot of work.
Just make sure you follow the advice on looking for the contents between <>.



Mallard27 said:
1. Open the protected document in Word 2007
2. Save the document as a "Word XML Document"
3. Open the XML document using Notepad
4. Search for “<w:documentProtection” and remove the entire XML tag including the "<" and ">" - see below.
5. Save the XML document
6. Open the XML document in Word 2007

7. Save the XML document as a word 2007 document
8. Protection gone :-)

Example of what to delete (will very depending on the document): <w:documentProtection w:edit="forms" w:enforcement="1" w:cryptProviderType="rsaFull" w:cryptAlgorithmClass="hash" w:cryptAlgorithmType="typeAny" w:cryptAlgorithmSid="4" w:cryptSpinCount="100000" w:hash="rlylpUVRYgTZNzvcP4CFYTcISV0=" w:salt="4Akmxfm0igQhWYeAZ4BpcS=="/>
Click to expand...
 
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