[Solved] Passwords incorrect after OSX update

[Daveninvest]

Hello, All my password protected OpenOffice .ods files will now not open with usual passwords. "Password is incorrect - the file cannot be opened" is the message returned.
System is Mac OSX 12.1 using OpenOffice 4.1.11 (Build 9808)
The passwords are valid - and will open on my other (older) mac (OSX 10.13.6 using OpenOffice 4.1.3 (Build 9783)

I did update to OSX 12.1 just 2 days ago - so not sure if this may have impacted AOO file opening.
Two things that may help :
LibreOffice 7.2.5.2 WILL open these protected OO .ods files
If I create a new OO Spreadsheet and save with a password, I get message : "Error saving the document / General Error / General input/ouput error"

Any ideas ?
Thanks

[Zizi64]

Can you upload one of these password protected files here?

[RoryOF]

"Error saving the document / General Error / General input/ouput error"

Such an error usually arises from improper permissions granted by the operating system to OpenOffice to read or write its files.

[MrProgrammer]

Hi, and welcome to the forum.

If I create a new OO Spreadsheet and save with a password, I get message : "Error saving the document / General Error / General input/ouput error"

Can you reproduce that problem with the Guest User account?
Q28: How do I use the Guest User account to run a test?

[Daveninvest]

Thanks for the tip.
I logged out and logged in as a guest.
Opened AOO spreadsheet and created a simple example, saved with a password and YES, I was able to retrieve it using that password.
However, as a guest, I didn't have access to my other protected .ods spreadsheets - but I guess they would work too.
So, progress but why can't I do that on my own log-in ?
Cheers, Dave

[MrProgrammer]

Opened AOO spreadsheet and created a simple example, saved with a password and YES, I was able to retrieve it using that password.
… So, progress but why can't I do that on my own log-in ?

There are two possibilties:
• The OpenOffice user profile on your other account is damaged. One of the important features of the Guest User is that logging in there presents a virgin set of user files. In particular, there is no user profile, thus OpenOffice has to create a new one. The new one is, of course, undamaged. You can create a new user profile on your other account to see if that resolves your problem.
Q02: How do I create a new profile on a Mac?
• The other MacOS user account is damaged in some way. It is beyond the scope of this forum to locate and fix the source of that damage. However, if I had a damaged account, I would simply create a new one, copy my files there, and delete the old one. This is not difficult (read the MacOS help file), but may take you an hour or so (depending on your Mac experience), so I would first try the user profile reset. Personally, I would use the Shared folder to transfer the files, though a USB drive may be easier for you. Do not delete the existing account until you are sure the new one is working to your satisfaction. Leaving it there for a year or more won't hurt anything except use a bit of disk space.
Q29: How can I access a file from the Guest User account without a USB drive?

We would want to know what solution, if any, you find so we can advise others with the same question.

If this solved your problem please go to your first post use the Edit button and add [Solved] to the start of the subject field. Select the green checkmark icon at the same time.

[Daveninvest]

Thanks for that - it makes sense.
I'll try it later as I'm a little busy at the moment.
Appreciate you help, anyway.
Dave

[Villeroy]

I would try to open the file in question while being logged in as another user. Copy the file to some directory which is accessible by anybody (may be /tmp/ or /usr/local/) and make the copy readable for anybody.

Code: Select all

cd /tmp
chmod o+r MyFile.ods

Then switch to the guest account and open that copy. I never used a Mac but this is how it could be done on a Linux PC.

[Daveninvest]

Thanks to all who offered ideas.
In the interim, I have un-installed OpenOffice and installed LibreOffice, which manages to open my protected .ods files in much the same way as OO.
I will address the OO problems in due course - probably a clean install without access to old profiles.