Word for iPad not able to open .doc documents

Hi,

When you try to open a Word document on your mobile device, you might receive a message stating that the file is locked for editing by another user. Typically, you will be able to open the file as read-only, but you won’t be able to edit it.

The file might be locked because:

The file is shared and another user is currently editing it.

An instance of the Office app is running in the background with the file already opened.

The file has been marked as Final and can no longer be updated.

In some situations, you can use your mobile device to unlock the file and continue editing it.

Note: If the Office file is password-protected, you won’t be able to open it without supplying the password. There is no way to circumvent password protection.

If the file is being used or editing the Word document, we suggest that you create a copy of the file:

Open the file.

Tap the file icon Image.

On your iPad, tap Name or Duplicate. The Save As window opens. If you have any pending changes, you will be asked whether you want to apply them to the both the original and duplicate copy or the duplicate copy only. Make your selection.

Type a new name for the file and choose a storage location for the new file. On your iPhone, use the backspace key to delete the current name, and then enter the new one.

Tap Save or tap Duplicate.

If an Office app is running in the background or the file is not shared on a network or if you are certain that no one is currently editing it, then an instance of the Office app with the file open might be running in the background. We suggest that you close the app or background process on an iPad or iPhone.

If the file is marked as Final:

Office 2016 includes a file protection feature that allows authors to mark a file as Final. This locks the file, preventing any further editing. You can easily turn off this feature in the Office 2016 applications; however, you can’t turn it off from your mobile device. If an Office file is marked Final, you will need to make a copy to enter your changes from your mobile device.

Keep us updated if anything comes up so we can further assist you.

Let me know if that helps.

Kind Regards,

Engr. Jamshed Muhammad

I found it!!

As I said it's an error in the source but the iOS version of Word lacks a functionality the desktop ones have: these faulty documents are in html format but the file extension is .doc instead of .htm. As I wrote, desktop versions can detect the format and open the file safely, iOS ones need the extension to be modified (when I do this, file is opened like charm).

Can iOS versions be upgraded to understand the format as desktop does? Who should I write to to report the issue?

Thanks,

Francesco

...unfortunately not, Pages reacts as from screenshot posted above, file is not read.

It happens only with those files from Jira, other normal Word97 files can be opened without issues, but i don’t receive an error code helping me to spot the problem.

Thanks,

Francesco

Hi,

Check the following link also

https://www.macworld.co.uk/how-to/mac-software/...

Let me know if that helps.

Kind Regards,

Engr. Jamshed Muhammad

Hi,

thanks for your reply, but unfortunately im not even able to open those files. 

They are ignored by Word, that doesn’t react, while Pages and Mail (preview) show what follows:

Pages is the more verbose, but it just says “I cannot open it”.

Any clue?

Thanks, 

Francesco

It’s Italian but I think it’s easy, they say