[Solved] .xls (Excel 97 file) opens in read-only mode

[almo]

Hi!

I'm using the OO 3.0 beta on Mac OSX 10.5.4.

Using OO 2.4, I could open this .xls file, edit it, and resave it with no trouble. I've upgraded to OO 3.0. Now when I open the .xls file, it opens in read-only mode, and I can't figure out how to change that.

Almo!

[lgusaas]

This is from Mac help. Remember - Help is your friend! Answers many questions without having to wait for a response on a forum.

Setting permissions
Permission settings determine who can view and alter an item. To control access to items, Mac OS X automatically sets permissions for disks, folders, and files.

To change permissions for a disk, folder, or file:


1 Select the disk, folder, or file and choose File > Get Info.


2 If the Sharing & Permissions pane is not visible, click the disclosure triangle to show it.


3 Click the lock icon, type your user name and password, and click OK.


4 To choose a permission for yourself, select from the pop-up menu. To choose permissions for others who could use the item, select options in the Name and Privilege columns.

• Read & Write: Allows a user to open the item to see its contents and change it.
  
  Read Only: Allows a user to open the item to see its contents, but not change the contents or copy them.
  
  Write Only: Makes a folder into a drop box. Users can copy items to the drop box, but cannot open the drop box to see its contents. Only the owner of the drop box can open it to take items out.
  
  No Access: Blocks all access to the item so that users can’t open the item, change its contents, or copy its contents.

5 To apply the same permissions to every item contained in the selected folder or disk, open the Action (gear) menu and choose “Apply to enclosed items.”


6 Click the lock icon again to prevent further changes.

[almo]

The file is not set to read only. I have read and write access to the file. Remember that I was able to edit and save this file already with a previous version of OO.

[almo]

Ah I figured it out. I upgraded to OO 3.0 because my 2.4 got broken. I tried to open this file with OO 2.4, and it got stuck while loading. Rebooting and reinstalling OO 2.4 didn't fix this. So I got 3.0. Anyway, some process of OO 2.4 must have still been running, or the write-lock was left on during the force-quit. After a reboot, that was taken care of, and now I can operate on the file as I expect.

My mistake was to think that force-quitting OO 2.4 would clear everything out.