How to Remove the 'Read Only' Status on MS Word Documents

Опубликовал Admin

5-10-2016, 17:05

7 742

Need to edit a Word document, but are told that you don't have permission to make changes? This means that the file has been designated as "read-only", which means that you can read it but are not permitted to make any changes to it. There are several ways that this can occur, with different methods for removing the restriction based on how it came to be in the first place.

Turning off "Protected View"

Open the protected file in Word. If you downloaded a Word file from online, it will start in Protected View when you open it. This prevents editing, and is designed to help prevent virus infections on your computer from infected files.
- If you are getting an error message claiming that you don't have permission to open the file, click here.
Click the .Enable Editing button. You can find this in the yellow bar at the top of your protected document.
Start editing the document. Usually this is all you need to do to start editing a file that you've downloaded. If you still can't edit the file, read on.

Changing the File's Properties

Open the folder containing the read-only file. Depending on where it was saved originally, this could be in your Documents folder, Downloads folder, desktop, or some other location.
- If the file is located on a CD or DVD, it will always be read-only until you copy it to your computer.
Right-click on the file you want to change.
Select "Properties" from the menu.
Uncheck the "Read-only" box.
Click the .Apply button.
Try editing the file. If you still can't edit it, read on.

Saving the File in Another Format

Open the read-only file in Word. If you can't toggle the read-only attribute off, you may be able to save the file as a copy and edit the copy.
Click File and select "Save As".
Change the name of the file so that a new copy is created with a slightly different name.
Open the new version of the saved file.
Start editing the document. You should be able to edit the new version of the document. If you weren't able to even access the document to begin with, read on.

Claiming Permissions for Recovered Files

Log into Windows as an administrator. You will need administrator access to take ownership of a file that you don't have the correct permissions for.
- You will typically encounter permissions errors for files that have been recovered from another hard drive or copied from a user folder that you don't normally have access to.
Open the folder containing the read-only file. Depending on where it was saved originally, this could be in your Documents folder, Downloads folder, desktop, or some other location.
Right-click on the file that you want to take ownership of and select "Properties".
Click the .Security tab and then click Advanced.
- If you are using Windows 8, see the end of this section.
Click the .Owner tab and then click Edit.
Select the user that you want to take ownership and click .OK.
Return to the .Security tab in the Properties window.
Click the .Edit button.
Select the user that you want to allow full access for, and then check the "Allow" box next to "Full Control".
- If the user you want isn't listed, click Add... and type in the name of the user.