Word's Read Only is not really Read Only

[Evan Stone]

Well, it looks like Word's "Read Only" state is not _really_ Read Only -- is
there any way around that, or to actually make it Read Only?

TIA,

evan stone | software engineer

 

[Cindy M -WordMVP-]

Hi Evan,

Well, it looks like Word's "Read Only" state is not _really_ Read Only -- is
there any way around that, or to actually make it Read Only?

It's file-level "read-only" (as recommendation). Up until Word 2003, Word
hasn't supported a pure "read-but-do-not-edit" capability.

which version(s) of Word are you targeting, and what purpose should
"read-only" serve in your application?

Cindy Meister
INTER-Solutions, Switzerland
http://homepage.swissonline.ch/cindymeister (last update Jun 8 2004)
http://www.word.mvps.org

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[Evan Stone]

It's file-level "read-only" (as recommendation). Up until Word 2003, Word

hasn't supported a pure "read-but-do-not-edit" capability.

Right... so Word won't let you save over the file if it's read only. I guess
it would be nice to have another property that is settable and gettable
named "Editable." (hey, that rhymed!)

which version(s) of Word are you targeting,
2000-2003.

and what purpose should
"read-only" serve in your application?

A truly unfortunate one.

....I'm opening the document (read-only) as a preview, then switching
immediately to Print Preview mode. I then spawn a thread that watches to see
if the file has been closed from Print Preview, and close the document
object once that's happened. It's quite cheesy, and I know there are
loopholes, but it seems to work OK for the time being until I can come up
with a better solution.

I'd really like to have a dedicated Print Preview, but I may have to go with
a 3rd-party control to do that.

evan stone | software engineer

 

[Cindy M -WordMVP-]

Hi Evan,

Right... so Word won't let you save over the file if it's read only. I guess
it would be nice to have another property that is settable and gettable
named "Editable." (hey, that rhymed!)

2000-2003.

You could protect the document as a form. That will lock out all editing. Easy
enough to get around, but if this is primarily a "convenience" (no accidental
changes) that should be enough.

I'd really like to have a dedicated Print Preview, but I may have to go with
a 3rd-party control to do that.

Well, there's always the Word Viewer, I suppose...

Cindy Meister
INTER-Solutions, Switzerland
http://homepage.swissonline.ch/cindymeister (last update Jun 8 2004)
http://www.word.mvps.org

This reply is posted in the Newsgroup; please post any follow question or
reply in the newsgroup and not by e-mail