Read-only mode in Word 2016 (Mac) locks out any edits until Duplicated and saved?

Anonymous
2015-09-05T15:01:42+00:00

Why do all docs opened in read-only mode (like every attachment from Outlook) lock down the file for no editing until it is saved? The new error bar comes up and says Read Only: To Save a copy of this file, tap Duplicate. Then tapping the Duplicate button brings up a save dialog box. I definitely don’t want to save the dozens of attachments I access on a daily basis, but sometimes you want to tweak some spacing to print a resume or any other number of things.

I get that Outlook saves into the temp folder, and I've ensured there are read/write permissions on that folder. Is there a setting I'm missing to fix this? I can't tell if it's a bug or feature. Forcing a save first would be a new and rather invasive design choice.

Anyone else getting this behavior and find a fix?

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For home | Windows

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Anonymous
2016-05-06T21:37:25+00:00

I found a workaround to this issue.

I have a Mac with El Capitan (not relevant) and Office 2016. When I open a Word attachment from Outlook, it prompts to Duplicate which requires that I save it first in a non-temporary folder area before I can edit it.

My workaround is

  1. open the email in Outlook.
  2. You will see the attachment with a Word icon. Next to it is the PREVIEW button which uses the Mac's built-in Preview application. Click on the preview button to open it in the preview application.
  3. In the preview window in the upper right corner click on the OPEN IN WORD icon. It opens it in Word in edit mode without requiring a save.

I did not find the problem or resolution to be related to illegal characters.It's a deliberate sandboxing issue which makes sense from a security and UI point of view. It is a pain but, was put in place deliberately for a reason. I only started to investigate it after one of my Mac users complained about the extra steps. The biggest pain for the person was saving to a non-temporary folder area. If it defaulted to DOWNLOADS or MY DOCUMENTS, then this would have been more palatable.

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  1. Anonymous
    2016-10-19T18:36:33+00:00

    Hi Jim,

    I'm have my first Macbook. I have MS Office 365 (2016 without Outlook). I tried to open a MS Word doc on my USB and originally got the error message that my USB Device had not been properly ejected.

    I ejected and reconnected my USB device.

    Now all of the MS Office Word docs on my USB will only open in "Read Only" format.

    Then it asks me to duplicate these.

    When I try to duplicate them and give them a new file name I get the error message:

    Word cannot save or create this file. The disk may be full or write-protected.

    Try one or more of the following:

    * Free more memory.

    * Make sure that the disk you want to save the file on is not full, write-protected, or damaged.

    My disk is definitely not full or write protected. I can open my MS Word files in Apple's Pages but cannot open them in Word.

    I'm terrified I cannot access any of my MS Word documents on my 500 GB USB drive anymore. Will you please recommend a solution? I'm feeling desperate.

    Thank you.

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  2. Anonymous
    2016-10-06T12:33:05+00:00

    I found a way without saving, open your word document in the preview screen there are 3 options on the upper left menu file, tools and view. Inside of view menu you will see the edit document part. Why these kind of things are getting more complicated?

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  3. Anonymous
    2016-08-09T21:21:29+00:00

    Thank you this is a big help. It's been driving me crazy not being able to open it without having to resave it as a new doc.

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  4. Jim G 134.1K Reputation points MVP
    2016-06-15T17:16:31+00:00

    Think sandboxing will stop malware? Here's why you're ...

    The link above offers an explanation as to the "why" Apple and Microsoft love sandboxing (it's why you can't work with attachments the way you have always done it).

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