Can Open, But Not Edit, A Word File Thread poster: Rowan Morrell
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Rowan Morrell 
New Zealand
Local time: 08:56
Member (2003)
French to English
+ ...
I'm wondering if you guys can help me with a mysterious problem I'm having.
Tonight I received a couple of different jobs from the same client - both MS Word files. I could open one as normal and do all the usual stuff with it. The other I could also open - but couldn't edit it! The text is there, but it's like it's hidden behind an invisible screen or something. I cannot place the cursor anywhere on it. Moreover, most of the options in the Word drop-down menus are dimmed. It is alm... See more I'm wondering if you guys can help me with a mysterious problem I'm having.
Tonight I received a couple of different jobs from the same client - both MS Word files. I could open one as normal and do all the usual stuff with it. The other I could also open - but couldn't edit it! The text is there, but it's like it's hidden behind an invisible screen or something. I cannot place the cursor anywhere on it. Moreover, most of the options in the Word drop-down menus are dimmed. It is almost as if Word does not recognise that there is a text there!
I've tried to work out what the problem might be. I thought maybe the file might be read-only, but that's not the case. I also tried using different views, but nothing I tried made any difference. Maybe there is some setting that is causing it to be like this, but I cannot begin to imagine what that might be.
Or is the file simply corrupted in some way? TIA for any ideas you can come up with to help me solve this.
Best Regards
ROWAN MORRELL
(WriteWord Translations) ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Can you select all with Ctrl-A? | Sep 10, 2003 |
Not sure if this will help much, but could you try selecting all (Ctrl-A, since the cursor doesn't seem to be working), copying, and pasting into an entirely new file? Or saving the file under another file name, and then trying to open it?
MJ
| | | | | Maybe the file is protected | Sep 10, 2003 |
You can check if the option is enabled in Tools > Protect document.
If this is the case, you may need a password to unprotect it - ask your client (It's not uncommon for clients and agencies to forget to unprotect documents and memories).
HTH
Rowan Morrell wrote:
I'm wondering if you guys can help me with a mysterious problem I'm having.
Tonight I received a couple of different jobs from the same client - both MS Word files. I could open one as normal and do all the usual stuff with it. The other I could also open - but couldn't edit it! The text is there, but it's like it's hidden behind an invisible screen or something. I cannot place the cursor anywhere on it. Moreover, most of the options in the Word drop-down menus are dimmed. It is almost as if Word does not recognise that there is a text there!
I've tried to work out what the problem might be. I thought maybe the file might be read-only, but that's not the case. I also tried using different views, but nothing I tried made any difference. Maybe there is some setting that is causing it to be like this, but I cannot begin to imagine what that might be.
Or is the file simply corrupted in some way? TIA for any ideas you can come up with to help me solve this.
Best Regards
ROWAN MORRELL
(WriteWord Translations)
| | | | Rowan Morrell
New Zealand
Local time: 08:56
Member (2003)
French to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | Document Protected | Sep 10, 2003 |
Muja wrote:
You can check if the option is enabled in Tools > Protect document.
If this is the case, you may need a password to unprotect it - ask your client (It's not uncommon for clients and agencies to forget to unprotect documents and memories).
HTH
Hi Muja.
Yes, that's it! The document is protected! Now it's just a matter of getting the password from the client, or receiving an unprotected version.
Thank you so much for your assistance. Much appreciated. But thanks also to the others who offered comment, on the forum and privately.
Best Regards
ROWAN M.
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Bob Kerns (X)
Germany
Local time: 22:56
German to English
| Try saving the file with a different name | Sep 10, 2003 |
I've experienced this problem several times and it often takes a long time to get the password from the customer since the author may be on a business trip or in an endless meeting.
What often (but not always) works is to save the file with a different name and then open and edit the new file.
Good luck !!
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Rowan Morrell wrote:
Hi Muja.
Yes, that's it! The document is protected! ank you so much for your assistance.
[/quote]
| | | | Tina Vonhof (X)
Canada
Local time: 14:56
Dutch to English
+ ...
| Glad you found the solution | Sep 10, 2003 |
but the same thing happens to me all the time, even when the document is not protected. Through trial and error I've found the following solution:
don't open the file directly from the explorer but open Word first and then open the file.
| | | | Ralf Lemster
Germany
Local time: 22:56
English to German
+ ...
| Two different kinds of protection | Sep 10, 2003 |
Hi Tina,
but the same thing happens to me all the time, even when the document is not protected. Through trial and error I've found the following solution:
don't open the file directly from the explorer but open Word first and then open the file.
If I'm not mistaken, you're referring to write-protection, which would force you to store the document under a different name. The protection Rowan was up against protects the document contents, regardless of write-protection.
Best regards, Ralf
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