Document switch to become Read-Only when it's not suppose to

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Guest

I'm having problems with all of my documents switching to Read-Only thus
making it impossible to Save. I have to Save As and then delete the original
document and rename the new document to its previous name making it an
inconvenience.

Sometimes, in the beginning when I open the document I'm able to save
normally, then it switches to Read-Only which is a pain.

Please Help Me!
Thanks
 
Someone posted that if you are running Office 2007 in compatibility mode and
at some time you have added a password to a document, the setting is sticky.
This means that all subsequent documents created or edited will also be
password protected. Check in Tools, General Option dialog: if it has a
password set, clear it.
 
UPDATE:
Version Microsoft Word 2007 Professional
Windows XP
What is meant by working on a network? I'm working on my laptop as
Administrator. I go to classes and we have wireless internet connection there
that the laptop automatically connects to but I don't think this would be the
cause of the Read-Only problem because sometimes I can save the document in
the first few minutes or so, then somehow it changes automatically to
read-only.
 
If you aren't saving files locally and not on a network server then that's
odd.

What antivirus program do you use?

When it becomes read only do you see (Read Only) in the title bar or are you
notified that it is read only when you attempt to save?

Please post all follow-up questions to the newsgroup. Requests for
assistance by email cannot be acknowledged.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beth Melton
Microsoft Office MVP

Coauthor of Word 2007 Inside Out:
http://www.microsoft.com/MSPress/books/9801.aspx#AboutTheBook

Word FAQ: http://mvps.org/word
TechTrax eZine: http://mousetrax.com/techtrax/
MVP FAQ site: http://mvps.org/
 
I'm using Norton 360 but this just happened recently like about 2 weeks ago
and I haven't changed the settings of the antivirus program. When I press
Ctrl+S it will pop up the Save As window. That's when I see the original
document title say: Title (Read-Only)

Actually I remember that I wanted to understand what the Protect Document
button was all about. I clicked on it during one of my classes and then
that's when this whole Read-Only issue occurred. I've tried unsuccessfully by
clicking it to Track Changes, and then unchecking the box, but then it's
still the same with all the other documents. And also, there is no password
set up for that option either.

Is it not possible for Microsoft Word to have an option where they reset or
make the Protect Document button default to it's original setup again? Or is
there a way to undo whatever I might have caused by a simple click of an icon
or option? Otherwise, I'm kind of at a loss right now. It's not a big deal,
but it is when an error message pops up in a few cases when I periodically
save my document during class sessions and then what would have been a Save
As document would try to recover itself from this Read-Only error (sorry I
don't have the exact wording for this error message)
 
The Protect Document command shouldn't cause what you are describing. If you
use the Read Only option it doesn't force a Save As. Instead, it locks the
document and you're unable to make modifications except for those areas that
have been marked as exceptions.

If you are saving documents to your local drive and not a network or
external drive then that indicates a third-party conflict. The most common
cause of what you describe is antivirus software. I'm not familiar with
Norton 360 but even though you may have not made any changes Symantec does
push updates to Norton. What would really help with this would be to have
the exact message you have encountered. For example does it just tell you
it's read only or are you encountering a message that says something about a
temp file?

Please post all follow-up questions to the newsgroup. Requests for
assistance by email cannot be acknowledged.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beth Melton
Microsoft Office MVP

Coauthor of Word 2007 Inside Out:
http://www.microsoft.com/MSPress/books/9801.aspx#AboutTheBook

Word FAQ: http://mvps.org/word
TechTrax eZine: http://mousetrax.com/techtrax/
MVP FAQ site: http://mvps.org/
 
This same thing as below is happening to some of our users here. We
use Symantic Antivirus Corporate Edition version 10.1.5. Can't really
pinpoint a date when this started happening. We use Word 2003.
 
I still haven't found a solution to the problem. Next time I'll just shut
off my antivirus and see what happens for a few days during class sessions.
It also happens when I'm at home too [sigh].

Once, because of this problem of Read-Only, I accidently SAVE AS to another
class notes and lost the other class notes. I guess I have to get use to
SAVE AS and Read-Only problem from now on, or just uninstall this and go back
to Microsoft Word XP.
 
I have the same problem too. i am using office 2007 in Win XP Pro enviroment.
When i first click "save" it is ok, but when i click "save" second times
(sometimes third times or so), it becomes "Read Only" mode. It can be sovled
for a while after the word program is closed, and then repeat. very painful!
Please fix it.

Zhao
 
I have the same problem too. i am using office 2007 in Win XP Pro enviroment.
When i first click "save" it is ok, but when i click "save" second times
(sometimes third times or so), it becomes "Read Only" mode. It can be sovled
for a while after the word program is closed, and then repeat. very painful!
Please fix it.

more info: I have norton internet security 2007 installed in my pc. the
problem happened when i open old documents created in word 2003 and modify
them in word 2007 environment (Compatibilty Mode) (i am not sure it happens
or not if a doc is created originally in word 2007). ... and i save them in
local hard drive, and the file/document is not password protected.

Zhao
 
I'm having a similar thread on another Word NG. My current thoughts are
these...

If the document is opened and saved (but NOT closed), even IF Word was
adding the Read Only attribute, it should not affect the current editing
session because the user has not closed and reopened the document. It should
remain editable and save should work until the user has closed the document.

Once the document is closed and reopened, it will be Read Only and the Read
Only password prompt will pop up on opening. Then the user will be able to
continue editing and saving.

My conclusion is that there MUST be an incompatible third party add-in that
is substituting Word's SaveAs macro with a custom macro that is not only
adding a Read Only attribute to the document, but is making the open
document Read Only immediately. I don't know how that can be done, but it
must be through VBA coding as it isn't possible with the tools that I can
see in Word.

So I suggest that you look at third party add-ins that you have.

Terry
 
I checked the add-ins in the word program, and I disabled the two add-ins
(winfax and bluetooth, only these two) in my office program, but the problem
is still there sometimes.

by the way, i also found two macros in my word program (adobe and pure
networks) but these two macros are digitally signed by microsoft.

Zhao
 
Uninstall all third party add-ins and macros. Until you have removed them,
you won't know if they are the cause of the problem. Digital signing has
nothing to do with this: it just means they are certified as being genuine
macros from Adobe and Pure Networks but it doesn't mean they are compatible
with the applications.

In fact, knowing what Pure Networks can do, it could certainly be causing
the problem you are experiencing.

Terry
 
I'm having the same problem, although it occurs infrequently. Most of my
documents are running in Word 1997-2003 compatibility mode in Word 2007 on
Vista Business with McAfee Security Center. I click on a doc and open it,
edit it, then somewhere while I'm editing, it changes to Read Only so that
when I go to save it, it says my editing can't be saved, so I have to alter
the name of the doc to save it with my editing. I don't know why some docs
will do this only infrequently, but it is annoying. I have never invoked
document protection or passwords and the only add-on is the MS "Save docs as
PDF" which has not been a problem for over a year.
 
The problem seems disappeared so far after the Network Magic (Pure Networks)
is uninstalled. Thank you for your help.

Zhao
 
Zhao

Thanks for the confirmation. I expect that Pure Networks should be aware of
the problem by now and should have a fix available.

Terry
 
I have the same problem in Office 2007 Student & Teacher Edition in Win XP
Pro. I have no 3rd party add-ons.

File was created in native Word 2007 (docx) format. Approximately 45
minutes into an editing session, if I hit Ctrl + S, the file switches to
"Read-Only" and I have to save it as a new file. This happens pretty much
every time (for this particular file). Doesn't happen in other files for
some reason.
 
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