Inconsistent behaviour for switching between View/Edit mode in Desktop app and the browser when opening Word document in Sharepoint

Question

In our organisation we prefer to save certain documents Read-only recommnded (via Save As ->More options-> Tools -> General options).

In the Office Desktop app this works perfectly: the user who opens the doument is always prompted with a choice to open the document read-only (as preferred) or not:

Recently we decided to store our documents on Sharepoint. Although Sharepoint is all about collaboration and saving changes automatically, we are still attached to this feature. What we encounter is that documents with the aforementioned attribute set to true (set via the Desktop app, and uploaded to Sharepoint) open Read-only when the document is opened in the Desktop app; there is no prompt and no way on the ribbon to change the Mode:

(To be more precise: sometimes, when opening a document in Sharepoint via the Desktop app, the prompt is shown. But for unknown reasons it is not shown for one user while it is still shown for another user)

The browser view also opens the document in Viewing mode, but it gives the possibility for changing it to Editing via de Mode menu:

Is this a bug or do we need to take some other configuration into account ? Please advise us on how we can collaborate on Sharepoint and still have a choice to view or edit a document in the Desktop app ( since that has more features and we are used to work with it).

Answer 1

Dear Murat Sahin,

Good day! Thank you for posting to Microsoft Community. We are happy to help you.

As per your description, it seems that you have set files to Read-only recommended (via Save As ->More options-> Tools -> General options) and uploaded to SharePoint, however, the opening behavior differs in Desktop app and browser when opening Word document in SharePoint.

If the understanding above is right, we've also done a quick test with Word in version 2111 and version 2301, and we cannot reproduce a similar situation on our side, Open as read-only prompts if we open file from SharePoint in desktop app, however, no option to change to Editing mode. Below attached are the screenshots of our test for your reference:

File located in local device open in Word desktop app:

File uploaded to SharePoint and open in Word Online in browser:

File uploaded to SharePoint and open in desktop app:

Click on yes, however, cannot edit, click on no, then can edit.

As you mentioned that," it is not shown for one user while it is still shown for another user, The browser view also opens the document in Viewing mode, but it gives the possibility of changing it to Editing via de Mode menu:", may I know if this happens on different devices?

If yes, please refer to below suggestions on that user's device and hope that can help:

1. Please try Online Repair Office to make sure everything gets fixed, please refer to Repair an Office application - Microsoft Support for detailed steps.
2. Please open the site with another browser in InPrivate mode to check the outcome.
3. Please open your Windows under clean boot, a "clean boot" starts Windows with a minimal set of drivers and startup programs, so that you can determine whether a background program is interfering with your game or program. How to perform a clean boot in Windows (microsoft.com)
4. If the suggestion above doesn’t work, please also try using a new user profile in Windows to check if it helps, this will help narrow down if this issue is related to old user profile. Create a local user or administrator account in Windows (microsoft.com)

If the issue persists, we do understand the inconvenience caused and apologize for it. We'd like to collect more information to help you further:

1. Does the issue happen when you open a specific file or different files?
2. Would you please also share your Office version by going to Word > File > Account and take a screenshot as shown below?

If this is not your scenario or any unclear, you can post back in your free time. We’re looking forward to your reply and will continue to help you all the time!

Thanks for your cooperation and understanding! We hope you stay safe and healthy always.

Sincerely,

Rhoda | Microsoft Community Moderator

Answer 2

Dear Rhoda,

Thanks for your quick answer and analysis. From your answer and the fact that you were not avble to reproduce the issue, I deduce that Microsoft does not expect this issue to occur.

However, for a proper reproduction I would advice you following additional steps:

1. Turn Track changes on
2. Change the document via de Desktop app in Sharepoint

3)Let another user open the document via Sharepoint in Edit mode and let him/her add some comments

4. Let the first user open the document again via Sharepoint / Desktop app
5. Maybe good to use the same version I am currently using (see screenshot below)

As I said, I don't see the issue all the times and as of now I don't have any clue to relate this issue to a chain of events that make any sense. I will see whether your suggestions will work for me and update this thread.

For now, I can share the product version:

Answer 3

Dear Murat Sahin,

Thanks for sharing the updates and confirming the scenario with us.

As per the screenshot shared, it seems that you are using Office in version 2208 under Semi-Annual Enterprise Channel.

If many of the users in your organization are encountering the similar situation randomly on different devices, since we cannot reproduce a similar situation on our side, to help you further investigate the issue, more resources need to be involved in to confirm if issue is with the version or tenant backend service.

Given this, we'd sincerely recommend you contact your Microsoft 365 admin, follow steps in this article to create a support ticket with Online Support. The support team over there has higher permission than us, they can remotely help check the situation on your side, involve more resource to collect logs, analyze from background and help you do troubleshoot. This would be a more efficient way in handling this case for you.

For reference: How do I find my Microsoft 365 admin?

If only one user is infected with this situation, please refer to the suggestions in the previous reply to check the outcome.

We’re looking forward to your reply and will continue to help you all the time!

Thanks for your cooperation and understanding! We hope you stay safe and healthy always.

Sincerely,

Rhoda | Microsoft Community Moderator

Answer 4

I have found the root cause of the issue. It was not related to the read-only recommended attribute.

The folders that the documents (showing the issue) were residing at on Sharepoint, had a shortcut to my personal OneDrive, with a link button.

So it was not a regular sync that shows the folder separately in the Windows Explorer.

The issue disappeared after removing the shortcut.