Editing Windows Protect file

[barry.rueger]

A client has sent me an Excel file created in a recent version of MS
Excel.

He protected all but two columns in the sheet.

I can open the sheet in Windows Excel 2003 (?) and edit the unprotected
columns.
I can open the file in Excel 2004 for the Mac, but the entire sheet is
protected and nothing can be edited.

I have installed the latest MS Updates and this does not change.

Any ideas?

Barry

 

[barry.rueger]

A client has sent me an Excel file created in a recent version of MS
Excel.

Should read:

A client has sent me an Excel file created in a recent version of MS
WINDOWS
Excel.

B

 

[CyberTaz]

When you open the file on the Mac does the title bar display [Read-Only]?

If so I would guess that the file was moved to the Mac on a CD and/or you
may be opening the file directly from the CD. Copy the file to the hard
drive, Control-click it and remove the Lock check as well as confirming that
the Ownership & Permissions status is set to Read & Write.

Otherwise, please provide more info about how the file is being shared
between the 2-3 systems.

HTH |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

 

[barry.rueger]

When you open the file on the Mac does the title bar display [Read-Only]?

The Windows file was sent as an e-mail attachment. It opens on both
Mac and PC, but the "unprotected" columns can only be edited on the PC.
Columns B and G for what it's worth.

I tried opening and resaving it on the PC then bouncing it back to the
Mac but it made no difference.

The title bar does not say "Read Only."

"Properties" on the Mac does not show "Read Only" as checked.

If I go to "Get Info" in Finder it says that I have Read and Write
access.

FWIW, the Mac Excel is v. 11.3 060914

Barry

 

[LRL]

I'm curious to know whether you can edit the columns if you turn
protection off via the Tools->Protection->Unprotect Sheet.

If you can, then the file itself is probably not locked or the
permissions are strange. If you can't edit columns even with the sheet
unprotected, then maybe try saving it as another file or copying the
contents to a new sheet (that's a reeeeal long shot) .

--
Leslie

When you open the file on the Mac does the title bar display [Read-Only]?

The Windows file was sent as an e-mail attachment. It opens on both
Mac and PC, but the "unprotected" columns can only be edited on the PC.
Columns B and G for what it's worth.

I tried opening and resaving it on the PC then bouncing it back to the
Mac but it made no difference.

The title bar does not say "Read Only."

"Properties" on the Mac does not show "Read Only" as checked.

If I go to "Get Info" in Finder it says that I have Read and Write
access.

FWIW, the Mac Excel is v. 11.3 060914

Barry

 

[barry.rueger]

I'm curious to know whether you can edit the columns if you turn
protection off via the Tools->Protection->Unprotect Sheet.

If you can, then the file itself is probably not locked or the
permissions are strange. If you can't edit columns even with the sheet
unprotected, then maybe try saving it as another file or copying the
contents to a new sheet (that's a reeeeal long shot) .

No, the protection is passworded so can't be turned off. As I say I can
edit the columns on the Windows box, but not on the Mac.

I can copy the entire sheet (Command-A), paste it into a new one, and
edit everything - all protection disappears if I do that. (Which kind
of begs the question - what's the point of protecting it?)

What seems to be happening is that Windows Excel will allow you to
protect individual columns of cels, but the Mac Excel sees that as
protecting the entire sheet. The Mac version doesn't see that some
cells are unprotected.

I don't have the PC here, but the protection would have been applied
via Format | Cells | Protection | Lock cells, followed by Tools |
Protection | Protect Sheet. (At least that's the sequence on the Mac.)

A strange glitch indeed.

Barry

 

[CyberTaz]

Perplexing - I just took an XL file in 2003, unlocked several columns &
protected the sheet. Saved it directly to my Mac HD, opened in 2004 & was
able to edit where unlocked, prevented from doing so where appropriate. Have
also not had a problem of this nature in the past, although I don't use
protection all that much. AFAIK there is no inherent glitch or bug, so here
is most likely something unique to this particular file/situation.

However, PC XL implements Protection in a different manner than MacXL. If
the sender has used any of the settings modifications in the Protect Sheet
dialog it may account for the problem... Although I really don't see how.

What *exactly* does/doesn't happen when you attempt to edit a cell you
should be allowed to edit? If a message, what does it say?

Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

 

[barry.rueger]

What *exactly* does/doesn't happen when you attempt to edit a cell you
should be allowed to edit? If a message, what does it say?

I can select the supposedly unprotected cell (or any cell) but when I
press a letter or number key (to enter data) it generates an error
pop-up reading:

_______________________________________

The cell or chart you are trying to change is
protected and therefore read-only.

To modify a protected cell or chart, first remove
protection using the Unprotect Sheet command (Tools
menu, Protection submenu). You may be prompted for a
password.

____________________________________

If I select a cell the Format | Cell menu item is greyed out.

Barry

 

[CyberTaz]

I truly am stymied on this one :{ The only thing I can think of is that
something happened through the encoding when the original was emailed to
you. It may have been just enough to prevent the file from being editable on
XL '04. As I indicated previously, I can edit in '04 here with no problem in
any protected PC XL file I have. Am also *not* able to reproduce your
dilemma here no matter what I do.

....and you're sure it's the same file on both a PC & a Mac - no separately
emailed copies, right?

Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

 

[barry.rueger]

...and you're sure it's the same file on both a PC & a Mac - no separately
emailed copies, right?

Bob, I have received a couple of these from the same person (in India
FWIW). If you would like to e-mail me offlist I'll send you one.
(e-mail address removed).

Barry

 

[CyberTaz]

I'm not sure I'll be able to tell much, but you're welcome to send it to:

tazdartsATcomcastDOTnet - just remove/convert the caps

Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

 

[Todd Aton]

May I have a copy of the file? I can't reproduce a scenario from scratch. If
we have a copy of the file here, perhaps we can figure out what the problem
is. Feel free to send it directly to me at (e-mail address removed).

Thanks!

Todd Aton
Macintosh Business Unit
Microsoft Corporation