[Read-Only][compatibility Mode]

  • Thread starter Thread starter Jeff
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J

Jeff

Sorry for the basic questions. I find the Help file confusing.

When I receive an Excel file it opens in my XL 2007 in
[Read-Only][compatibility Mode]

Does the Read-only mean I cannot change things?

Can I change that file into a "normal" XL file I can use normally by
saving it or doing something else?

Thanks.

Jeff
 
Sorry for the basic questions. I find the Help file confusing.

When I receive an Excel file it opens in my XL 2007 in
[Read-Only][compatibility Mode]

Does the Read-only mean I cannot change things?
Click to expand...

It means that you cannot do a Save, but you can do a Save As.
Can I change that file into a "normal" XL file I can use normally
by saving it or doing something else?
Click to expand...

"compatibility mode" means you're running Excel 2007 or 2010 but the
file is an .XLS. When you do your Save As, you can, if you wish,
change the file type to "Excel Workbook (.xlsx)" from its present
"Excel 97-2003 Workbook (.xls)". (If it contains macros, you can't
change it to an .xlsx but can change it to an .xlsm.)
 
I tried to post this earlier, but I don't see it:

I think that this is a multiple part question/answer.

First, if you only see this when you receive a file, then I'm betting that the
sender has saved the file in the old format (*.xls (xl97-xl2003 format) and also
saved it in read-only mode.

The old format (*.xls) is the part that gives you the compatibility mode
indicator. If the sender has xl2007 (or higher), then he or she could send you
the workbook saved in the newer format (*.xlsm or *.xlsx).

The read-only mode can be caused by a couple of different things. The file
could have a password to change (specified by the sender), then you'll only be
able to open the file in read-only mode.

Another way to get this indicator is if you're opening the file from a location
that you don't have write-access to. This could be a common network drive or it
could even be a CD/DVD that you can't write to directly from excel.

But the read-only indicator only means that you can't change the original (using
File|Save).

You should be able to use File|SaveAs (or the equivalent in xl2007+) and save as
the new file type (*.xlsx or *.xlsm) to remove the compatibility mode problem.

And you should be able to remove the password to open (if that was the cause) by
clicking on the Tools option inside the SaveAs dialog.

===========
On the other hand, if you see "[Read-Only][compatibility Mode]" indicators each
time you open excel, then you have a different problem.

I'm betting that you have a book.xlt in your XLStart folder that means that new
files will be saved as *.xls files (the old file format).

And if you're really getting the read-only indicator, then you may have saved
this book.xlt (a template file) as book.xls (a normal xl97-xl2003) workbook.

Take a look at the title bar to see if it has the name of the file that is
causing the trouble.



Sorry for the basic questions. I find the Help file confusing.

When I receive an Excel file it opens in my XL 2007 in
[Read-Only][compatibility Mode]

Does the Read-only mean I cannot change things?

Can I change that file into a "normal" XL file I can use normally by saving it
or doing something else?

Thanks.

Jeff
Click to expand...
 
I tried to post this earlier, but I don't see it:

I think that this is a multiple part question/answer.

First, if you only see this when you receive a file, then I'm betting
that the
sender has saved the file in the old format (*.xls (xl97-xl2003 format)
and also saved it in read-only mode.

The old format (*.xls) is the part that gives you the compatibility mode
indicator. If the sender has xl2007 (or higher), then he or she could
send you
the workbook saved in the newer format (*.xlsm or *.xlsx).

The read-only mode can be caused by a couple of different things. The file
could have a password to change (specified by the sender), then you'll
only be
able to open the file in read-only mode.

Another way to get this indicator is if you're opening the file from a
location
that you don't have write-access to. This could be a common network
drive or it
could even be a CD/DVD that you can't write to directly from excel.

But the read-only indicator only means that you can't change the
original (using
File|Save).

You should be able to use File|SaveAs (or the equivalent in xl2007+) and
save as
the new file type (*.xlsx or *.xlsm) to remove the compatibility mode
problem.

And you should be able to remove the password to open (if that was the
cause) by
clicking on the Tools option inside the SaveAs dialog.

===========
On the other hand, if you see "[Read-Only][compatibility Mode]"
indicators each
time you open excel, then you have a different problem.

I'm betting that you have a book.xlt in your XLStart folder that means
that new
files will be saved as *.xls files (the old file format).

And if you're really getting the read-only indicator, then you may have
saved
this book.xlt (a template file) as book.xls (a normal xl97-xl2003)
workbook.

Take a look at the title bar to see if it has the name of the file that is
causing the trouble.



Sorry for the basic questions. I find the Help file confusing.

When I receive an Excel file it opens in my XL 2007 in
[Read-Only][compatibility Mode]

Does the Read-only mean I cannot change things?

Can I change that file into a "normal" XL file I can use normally by
saving it
or doing something else?

Thanks.

Jeff
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Thank you both. I appreciate it.
 
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