Read-only attribute lost when file transferred by email

  • Thread starter Thread starter wal
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W

wal

Vista professional
Office Professional 2007

More of a rhetorical question since probably nothing can be done
about
it...


When I transfer via Outlook a Word file set as read-only (i.e., read-
only set from the file's desktop icon > Properties, not from within
Word), the read-only attribute is lost at the receiving end. I have
to remind the recipient to reset the attribute. Why should this be
the case?


Thanks.
 
wal said:
When I transfer via Outlook a Word file set as read-only (i.e., read-
only set from the file's desktop icon > Properties, not from within
Word), the read-only attribute is lost at the receiving end. I have
to remind the recipient to reset the attribute. Why should this be
the case?
Click to expand...

"Read-only" is a bit in the file's directory entry in your computer's
file system. When you attach the file to an email (I assume that's
what "transfer via Outlook" means) the text of the file gets attached,
not it's file-system dependent attributes.
 
When I transfer via Outlook a Word file set as read-only (i.e., read-
only set from the file's desktop icon > Properties, not from within
Word), the read-only attribute is lost at the receiving end. I have
to remind the recipient to reset the attribute. Why should this be
the case?
Click to expand...

That's true about any file. The read-only attribute in not preserved
when you transfer a file that way.

If you need to prevent the document from being edited, check out Word's
"Protect Document" feature, or Microsoft's Information Rights
Management client, or use another format, such as PDF.
 
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