Sharepoint file opening read only in app but can be edited in browser

Question

Good morning,

I have the exact same issue as this thread here:

SharePoint file opening read only in desktop app but edit mode in - Microsoft Community

We also have check in/out which cannot be turned off and we need to keep the history/ID of the document etc, this thread ended with the support asking to send a copy of the file over and then it was locked.

This issue only happens with certain files we have in one folder, others behave completely fine.

Editing in browser wouldn't be an issue for the majority of time but I need to edit the slide master which is not available on the browser version.

What could be causing this and how can it be resolved?

Additionally to this, I would be happy to 'replace' the file (this is what we have been doing leading up to now on these files which will not allow edits in app, it allows it to keep it's ID number and allows us to make the changes). However one file which I am now trying to do this on gives the error of 'The operation on file 'file name' cannot be completed because the specified lock arguments are not valid'. This is a file I have 'replaced' about 7 times now in it's life, all completely fine, no errors about lock arguments.

Edit to add: if you go to my profile you'll see I actually asked this same question nearly 2 years ago, I received one response, replied and then received no further replies.

Answer 1

Hi Laurie,

Thanks for posting back and sorry for my late reply.

I didn't mean to not reply to you, I only received your Feb 10th reply notification email, but not the Feb 5th reply notification email. I think there is a problem with the community's notification system. As far as I know, some threads were affected, and the notification email may not have been sent.

Regarding Answer 5, if you delete the file and restore it, it will keep the original ID number. In this case, I recommend you delete and then restore the file.

Based on my testing, it works fine with the same library settings. Since you can edit the file in the web app, this means that this situation is not caused by permissions. I would like to know how you open the presentation in the app. Generally, you can click File> Open> select the SharePoint service and then open the presentation, or open it in the web app first, and then click "Editing" in the upper-right corner> Open in Desktop.

If your steps are correct, but the problem still occurs, I would like to know if you have synced this SharePoint library/folder to your device (so that you can see and open the SharePoint file from File Explorer). If you have synced the SharePoint library/folder, I suggest you right-click the file in File Explorer> Properties> under the General tab, make sure that the "Read-only" option unchecked.

In addition, I recommend you download, re-upload, and replace the presentation. See if the problem still occurs.

Go to the online location in the browser, download the presentation to local, create a new blank presentation, click Insert> the down arrow of "New Slide"> Reuse Slides> Browse> select the local presentation> Insert All> save the new presentation with the same name, go to the online location, and click "Upload". If you can replace the original presentation, check to see if the problem still occurs.

If the problem persists, then this is not normal. I have tested and searched a lot. Frustratingly, I didn't find any settings that may cause this behavior. In this case, I think it would be better to check your tenant environment remotely for further troubleshooting. I suggest raising a support ticket from the Microsft 365 admin center, where the related team will investigate the problem further by collecting the necessary background logs. You can contact your tenant admin or IT team and ask them to create a support ticket with Microsoft Support directly by following the steps from this link:  Get support - Microsoft 365 admin | Microsoft Learn

Sorry for the inconvenience that happened to you. Appreciate your understanding and patience.

Sincerely,

George | Microsoft Community Moderator

Answer 2

Hi Laurie,

Thanks for posting in the community. We are happy to help you.

I understand the inconvenience you are experiencing. Since we are communicating in the community, I am not able to check your environment directly. Therefore, I would like to suggest you gather more information for initial troubleshooting. You can share the results/information with us, which will help us narrow down the problem.

1. Per your description, I think you have checked the library settings (Settings> Library settings> More library settings> Versioning settings), and the "Content Approval" setting is set to "No". If not, please point it out and provide a full screenshot of the Version Settings page. You can upload the screenshot via "Insert Image".

![Image](https://learn-attachment.microsoft.com/api/attachments/ecf36dff-ad77-4bf5-9a1a-65aa5048e3f1?platform=QnA"2">

Answer 3

Hi George,

1. Content approval is set to yes, this is part of our process and has always been the case. Please let me know if this is something we need to turn off for further testing purposes and I'll have a conversation about potentially temporarily turning it off. Image of settings attached:

2. Format is .pptx, this is the same as the non problematic and they have all been made using the same original file as a template.
3. I do not see the file in use error and there is only a very small team who can edit these files, we know no one has it open/is working on it. I don't get the read only message where it comes across as a banner but I do get 'security warning' and 'blocked content'. I have opened another one of the files which does work/allow me to edit and it has these same warnings along with the read only banner.

The file title does however have 'Read-Only' across the top and when I hover over it the options are greyed out and I get the message saying I do not have permission to rename or move the file.

There is no check out button in info, this is also the same for the working file though. We always check in/out on the Sharepoint page.

I cannot edit the file when checking out first, this is how we always edit our files, it doesn't work for this one but works on the others.

4. I have tried clearing the cache, no effect unfortunately.
5. If I delete the file and restore, will it keep it's original ID number or will it be given a new one?
6. Just attaching the error now in case we need it further on:
   

Answer 4

George, please don't leave me hanging 👀 I don't want this to go quiet like the last time I asked

Answer 5

Hi George,

Thank you for getting back to me. So we tend to open as:

1. Go to the folder on sharepoint (on our browser)
2. Click the 3 dots > More > Check out

3. Then I just click the file, this opens it into the app automatically for me (I have a vague memory of setting it up to be the default for me but I may be thinking about something else).

If I open it in the browser using the 'Open >' option, then open into the app pressing the editing button then it still has the same issue.

I synced the file to my computer a moment ago to check that option and that box is already unchecked:

We have tried replacing the file in the past using a whole new presentation (rather than saving a copy of the presentation, then using that to replace the one on sharepoint) and that also did not change it.

But drumroll please.............🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁 deleting and restoring the file has worked!! It now allows me to edit in app, no questions asked, saves the update to sharepoint, let's me check it back in, WOO!!!

Thank you George for helping me solve this very old problem, for anyone who comes across this thread in future for the same issue, I can confirm as George said, deleting and restoring the file from the recycling bit will still have it keep it's same ID number.