Word OS X Server Save problem

[Edward M. Gergosian]

I have a problem with Word, and after having searched the web and tried
several configurations, it seems this is linked to our use of open
directory. We have a G5 server running OS X Server 10.3.9. We use
LDAP and have our Home directories stored on the server. It works well,
except that we have a SAVE problem with Word. The following message:
"You cannot save while the file is in use by another process. Try
saving the file with a new name." It appears when auto-recovery is
active, and document is stored in the home directory. This occurs for
clients with Panther or Tiger, with Office vX or 2004.

Any ideas?

Thanks

 

[Beth Rosengard]

Hi Edward,

There are various 'save to server' problems which have not yet been solved ­
in Word X/2004 and in OS 10.3.x and 10.4.x. I don't understand server
issues myself but let me pass on some information which *may* help:

From a previous post by John McGhie:

------------------------
Check that your user home folder is not on the same server as a mounted
server.

If it is, when Word plays up, unmount your home folder. Word will then
complete the save.

It appears that in OS 10.4.2, the server locks a file in the user's home
folder TWICE, once along the home folder path, and again along the mounted
path. When Word tries to Save, the server rejects the write operation
because it reports that the file is locked for edit along the other path.

This will not apply to all users, and is more prevalent if the server is
mounted by SMB or AFB
-------------------------

Also, some naming and permissions errors that prevent saving to a server are
related to Norton AntiVirus 10. These errors are solved by disabling NAV's
Auto-Protect as follows:

- Open Auto-Protect preferences (in System Preferences or from the
Norton QuickMenu icon on the Finder).
- Click Unlock to make changes.
- Click the SafeZones tab.
- Select the 'Scan Files: Everywhere EXCEPT in:' radio button.
- Click the Add button and add the mounted volume to the exceptions
list.

I hope something here helps.

--
***Please always reply to the newsgroup!***

Beth Rosengard
MacOffice MVP

Mac Word FAQ: <http://word.mvps.org/MacWordNew/index.htm>
(If using Safari, hit Refresh once or twice ­ or use another browser.)
Entourage Help Page: <http://www.entourage.mvps.org>

 

[Rob Daly [MSFT]]

I'm going to post this same information for every separate report of this
same issue that there is on the newsgroups. Hopefully, it will help at least
some of you:

The Problem:
Word is having various problems saving to remote home folder (henceforth RH,
RHF) shares from 10.4.x clients.

The larger problem:
Not everybody is having this issue and, of those who are, the problem
doesn't exhibit the same symptoms.

This one has been around for a while now and here at Microsoft we are still
working on pinning down the exact cause. Word File I/O code is incredibly
complex and that, combined with the configuration differences of remote home
folders, combined with the unknown change to RHF client code in 10.4.x makes
this a very tricky problem to provide a general fix for. I have been
personally working with many of the affected customers to try to identify
the cause and workarounds for this problem and while the cause remains
elusive, one of the following workarounds may be the one for you...

So far I can share these known workarounds. DISCLAIMER: NONE OF THESE MAY
WORK.

Workaround 1:
Check to ensure you haven't got two instances of the remote home folder
server mounted. Often, admins will have a logon script to mount the server
on the desktop to provide users easy access to directories other than their
home folder. This is bad as it causes Word to trip over a file lock problem
as it is working with duplicate paths to the same file. The workaround: Do
not remount the server, just create an alias to the root directory.

Workaround 2:
Change the user preference in Word to specify the exact path to the
documents folder. Go to Word: Preferences: File Locations. In the location
for document saving, navigate the path to the RH Documents folder. This has
fixed the issue for many customers, but again not for all.

Workaround 3:
Upgrade to 10.4.3. A small proportion of afflicted customers have been
reporting the issue's disappearance with 10.4.3. The worst that can happen
is that it doesn't work .

Workaround 4:
Turn off spotlight for OS partition. Read/Write operations may be getting
strangled by Spotlight especically when they are I/Oing over the wire to
disk space located on the RHF. This may help.

We are working on a better solution to this problem as a matter of highest
priority. As soon as I have any more information I will post it to this
newsgroup. MVPs or others, please feel free to cross-post this to wherever
it's needed or wherever I have missed.


--
Rob Daly
Macintosh Business Unit
Word Test

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