Office Documents open Read-Only

[Rob Adams]

Maybe someone out there can help me. This is starting to
drive me nuts.

The Issue:
Whenever anyone (not just one workstation) tries to open
any of the documents in this directory, it is opened in
Read-Only mode. We even have some WinXP machines running
OfficeXP and they have the same problem. Users are able
to create new files in the documentation directory, but
when they try to open them again, they are in read-only
mode and must save the file with a new name.

When you close the document, and close word, it leaves
behind a .in2 file with the same name as your document.
Example, myfile.doc would leave behind myfile.doc.in2 in
the directory.

Excel spreadsheets manifest the issue by telling me that
the file is locked for editing by me. If I tell it to
Notify me when the file is available, within about 30
seconds, I get a notification telling me that the file is
available for editing. If I choose read-write, it
immediately comes back telling me that it is locked
by 'another user'. At this point, I can click Notify
again, and the loop starts over. I can assure you that
this file is not legitimately locked by anyone.

Environment:
I have Win NT4 server running sp5.
Mixed workstations. Some running Win98 with Office 2000
SBE, some running WinXP with OfficeXP.
On my server, in a directory called Documentation that is
several levels below the share, we have many Word docs,
most of which were created using Word 97 SBE, or possibly
even older versions of Word.

Steps taken:
I checked the rights to the Documentation directory and
even a few specific files, and it shows Full Control
granted to Everyone.

I tried creating a .txt file in notepad and that I am able
to re-open, edit, and save at will. I can even edit
the .txt file using Word with no problem. I also had no
problem editing .RTF files in word. I have tried placing
several other file types into this directory, and it
appears to only be Office document types that are
affected.

If I either copy or move the file to my local C:, I can
edit it with no problem. Copying or Moving the file back
to the server brings back the same issue.

Can anyone help? Please?
Rob Adams
rad...@iuoe-68.org

[Deborah]

I am having the exact same problem with a client using
office xp in excel. anyone help please?

>.
>

[Dian D. Chapman]

Hi Deborah...

Pls realize that it's not good netiquette to post a "me too" comment
to a first question by a user. Since many support staff look for
posts that haven't yet been answered...when in a hurry, it would
appear that the user has received a reply from you...when in fact, its
just another user reiterating the same problem.

Better to either post your own question....or "mark" the question and
watch for an answer to the related post and then use that information
or add additional comments about the problem into the thread. Adding
additional information to the problem is good, but just saying "me
too" is misleading and may cause the initial post to be missed.

I've posted a possible solution above, so please check to see if this
helps your situation, too.

Dian Chapman
Technical Consultant, Instructor,
Microsoft MVP & TechTrax Editor

Word AutoForm/VBA eBook: www.mousetrax.com/books.html
Free Support Ezine: www.mousetrax.com/techtrax/
Word Tutorials: www.mousetrax.com/techpage.html
Word Online Classes: www.mousetrax.com/techclasses.html

[Dian D. Chapman]

Does this problem involve a network?

Generally, if there's a mystery about read only docs, it's because the
user has a pile of TEMP files and the docs "think" the files are still
open. This is particularly true after crashes...which is why you need
to keep the TEMP dir clear.

But I vaguely remember this problem being related to the fact that
files are on a network drive and he users don't have the proper write
authorization, so the file creates a temporarily network version of
the revised file. Because the files haven't been able to be updated,
the file becomes read only until the updates are able to be
incorporated.

I may be wrong on this, as I haven't checked. But I sincerely believe
that this is what I recall from this same error. So if there's a
network drive involved...make sure all users have write access.

Good luck and let us know.

Dian Chapman
Technical Consultant, Instructor,
Microsoft MVP & TechTrax Editor

Word AutoForm/VBA eBook: www.mousetrax.com/books.html
Free Support Ezine: www.mousetrax.com/techtrax/
Word Tutorials: www.mousetrax.com/techpage.html
Word Online Classes: www.mousetrax.com/techclasses.html

On Wed, 4 Sep 2002 09:38:23 -0700, "Rob Adams" <rad...@iuoe-68.org>
wrote:

[Rob Adams]

Thanks for your input Dian, but I don't think the things
you suggested are the issue.

Yes, I suppose the problem does involve a network, but
only to the extent that the files are stored on a server.

As for it being stray temp files, I don't think that's the
case either because I was careful to clear out my temp
directories before running this. Also, the problem seems
to affect every user on every file, and there are hundreds
of files. I don't think we could possibly have that many
temp files lying around.

As for it being rights, I agree that it sounds that way
initially, but I tried 2 things to test for that.
1) As I said in the initial post, it only seems to be
Word and Excel files. In fact, I tried opening
Access .mdb and .ppt files and had no problems. Why would
I have rights to some file types, but not all?
2) To REALLY eliminate the rights issue, I logged in as
the domain Administrator and gave it another try. No
change. The files still open in read-only mode.

I didn't think this would be a factor, but I'll throw it
in now because I'm really getting desperate. These files
were recently copied onto the NT4 server from an old
Netware 3.12 server, where they worked fine. I was
looking to de-commission the old Netware box, but if I
don't get this resolved soon, I may have to reconsider.

Might this be non-office related? Maybe it's an NT4 bug?
Is it an NTFS problem?

Thanks for trying Dian.
Suggestions anyone?

>.
>

[Rob Adams]

Woo-hoo! Found it. Thanks for the suggestions.

It turns out that the problem was with something not
mentioned in my environment statement. My server is
running CA InnoculateIT 4.53, a virus checker. I found
the following in a CA FAQ at
http://support.ca.com/techbases/ilnt/31050.html and when I
followed the suggestions, my problem magically disappeared.

Product: Inoculan
Version: 4.0
OS: All

Q: I am having Excel/Word problems displaying 'read only'
errors. How can this be resolved?

A: Apply Driver Update
Uncheck Protect Network Drives
Uncheck Virus Wall Incoming Mode

>.
>

[Dian D. Chapman]

OK...when I wrote the last post, it was late and I didn't have the
energy to look up details...now I have. Here're your clues from
previous posts regarding this problem...

"doc.in2 files are created by antivirus Inoculate (CA).
you must uncheck the option "virus-wall incoming mode" on Realtime
Monitor on server (or clients) "

"Are you using Computer Associates' Innoculan antivirus on your
system? .IN2 files are files it captures"

Good luck!

Dian Chapman
Technical Consultant, Instructor,
Microsoft MVP & TechTrax Editor

Word AutoForm/VBA eBook: www.mousetrax.com/books.html
Free Support Ezine: www.mousetrax.com/techtrax/
Word Tutorials: www.mousetrax.com/techpage.html
Word Online Classes: www.mousetrax.com/techclasses.html

On Thu, 5 Sep 2002 06:19:22 -0700, "Rob Adams" <rad...@iuoe-68.org>