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 back.

I'm glad to know you have resolved the problem. I think the file may have gotten stuck in the background, and deleting and restoring the file will reset the stuck state.

If you feel the information in my previous reply helpful to others in the community who are experiencing similar queries, you can also use the feedback tool below my previous reply to submit your feedback for me. This will make them get informed of the situation quickly.

Hope you having a nice day 😊.

Sincerely,

George | Microsoft Community Moderator

Answer 3

Hi Laurie, I have person that I'm working with that is having similar issues as you, where editing on the browser is fine but when the file is opened on the desktop app version (from the web version that was on SharePoint), she only has read access (even though she created file, uploaded the file, and is the owner of the SharePoint online directory and subdirectory in which the file was copied over to by means of drag and drop.

Just curious, 1) do you have a second copy of the same file with the same name that lives locally on your computer? Is your computer running on Windows or Mac?

Thanks, and hoping you have a solution that works for you, and I shall post if I find one as well.

Marie

Answer 4

Hi Marie,

Before I deleted and restored the file, we would save a copy of the file locally to our computer which would allow us to do our edits, then drag and drop the file onto sharepoint on our internet browser. We kept the same name, it would then give the prompt that there is a file with the same name and if we would like to replace or cancel, we would click replace.

The above method sufficed until we got the other error that wouldn't allow us to replace the file for whatever reason, so I recommend trying out deleting and restoring the file to see if that works for your colleague! Let me know if you have any other questions :)

Edited to add: oop sorry forgot to answer your question about Windows or Mac, we run on windows

Best regards,

Laurie

Answer 5

I have this issue. I can edit files in a browser, but not in excel app. I get a message saying file is read only in teh apps. I have full control and can edit in a browsers. This issue only happens on some files, not all files. This is across different libraries. I'm running Windows 11 fully patched. This issue has only occured in the first week of March 2025. I have removed OneDrive and reinstalled and remapped all libraries.