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

Anonymous
2018-07-22T16:28:38+00:00

I have read that:

"If the documents that open in read-only mode were either downloaded, or received as attachments to an email message, that is the default behaviour. 

For your question about changing your subscription type, it might be better to ask in the My Account, Billing and Sign-in forum"

So could someone please tell me how to disable this irritating and irrational feature?

For MS Word and MS Excel

Thanks

Ian

Then maybe someone can tell me why this would be the default action....

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For home | Windows

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Jim G 134K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
2018-07-24T16:31:54+00:00

You can't disable this feature.

The reasoning behind the change of behavior from 2011 is not what Eli said.

The reasoning is that you should not be allowed to change something that was sent to you as an attachment. The attachment itself should always be what was sent. If you want to make modifications, you now have to save the changes elsewhere. It's to prevent fraud and misunderstandings by keeping all attachments exactly as they were sent.

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Anonymous
2018-07-23T04:30:11+00:00

Hi lan,

For the situation, if we open files through Outlook directly, the files will be read-only mode. However, it will quit read-only mode when we save it as to a local path from Outlook.

~~The reason of defaulted read-only mode is caused that the files only temporary files format in Outlook and only be for viewing temporarily.~~Considering format of the attachments in Outlook is .temp, it means the files are temporary files and only for viewing temporarily. So if you would like to make modifications on them, you have to save them as to a local path in proper format like .docx for saving these changes. If you have more thoughts about this situation, I encourage and suggest you go to UserVoice to vote for Remove the edit lock on read-only files or to post a new feedback.

Besides, if the files are also locked locally, you could try changing the settings of files by following steps below:

1.Open Finder and navigate to the file on which you want to change permissions. Right-click its icon, and select "Get Info" to enter the file's Info window.

2.Check if the selection "Locked" in General is enabled. If so, disable it and the files will quit Read-only mode.

Regards,

Eli

[Updated by Eli Qian MSFT,  07:40 AM, Jul 25 , 2018 (UTC)]

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  1. Anonymous
    2018-07-25T15:51:38+00:00

    You can't disable this feature.

    The reasoning behind the change of behavior from 2011 is not what Eli said.

    The reasoning is that you should not be allowed to change something that was sent to you as an attachment. The attachment itself should always be what was sent. If you want to make modifications, you now have to save the changes elsewhere. It's to prevent fraud and misunderstandings by keeping all attachments exactly as they were sent.

    Great to see Microsoft making these decisions for us...  If I send an attachment to myself I can't amend it without having to duplicate and save.  How idiotic.

    Fixing a problem that doesn't exist or if it exists, it is only for a tiny minority.  Personally it is one of the stupidest explanations for an un-needed feature I have ever come across.

    Thanks for taking the time to point out the insanity.

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  2. Anonymous
    2018-07-25T07:45:14+00:00

    Hi Jim,

    Thanks for your sharing. I have modified my post to make it more clear.

    Regards,

    Eli

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