Read-Only

[Dee Dee]

I recently wrote a long letter, when I went into Open Office to open the file to do some editing, it had been turned into a Read-Only file. How do I get my document back? I am using Windows 10, Open Office Version 4.1.2. I need this file, as it's a very important letter of demand to a company.

[FJCC]

The easy answer is to use the menu File -> Save As to save it under a different file name. If the problem happens again, we can dig deeper into what is going wrong.

[Dee Dee]

The first attempt at renaming the file didn't work, so I tried a second attempt. Now, I cannot delete either of these new "files".

[FJCC]

Please provide more details about what you are doing and what is happening. What do you mean that the first attempt at renaming the file didn't work? Did you get an error or do you mean that this file is also read-only? How are you trying to delete these files and what is the results? Do you get an error message?
In what folder are you saving these documents? If it is not your desktop, try saving to that location.

[Dee Dee]

I saved this in the Documents folder. When I clicked on the open tab I received an box that said, "ACII Filter Options. When I closed this and the file came up, there was nothing but gibberish, a bunch of number signs.

[FJCC]

If the file was originally saved in the usual OpenOffice Writer format of odt, the ASCII Filter Options dialog means that the file is corrupted. If you are referring to the long letter in your first post, then the contents are lost. You can see possible recovery methods in How to Find and Un-delete Writer Temporary Files.

I am unsure how this relates to your original problem. Is the ASCII Filter Options what caused you to think the file was read-only?

[Dee Dee]

No, it actually told me it was read-only, and like I said before, I, now, only get # signs. This all happened, when I tried to save the editing that we did and it went for an update. It was a very important letter.

[Canastria]

Hi I am having a similar problem to dee dee. I was working on a file when the computer screen went black.. I had to reboot and now when i try to open the file it takes me to the ASCII filter options with read only options.. When i open i get a document full of hash tags. I have hunted around on the net for a solution but have had no luck. If the file is permanently damaged then I can work off some old back ups but will lose around 3000 words. Can anyone help?

[robleyd]

Please see [Tutorial] The Dreaded Pound Signs: file reduced to #### which will also give you a link to methods of recovering Writer temporary files which may have more recent content than your backups.

[Dee Dee]

Thank you both for trying help,but nothing has changed. Guess, I don't get my 3-4 page demand letter back. Luckily, I sent a copy to my daughter, and hopefully, she still has it.