Excel files are opening as read only

Question

Hello everyone.

Excel files are opening as Read Only for multiple users, this is the same whether the files are opened from the local machine or a network share location. Opening other documents from the same location using Word and PowerPoint are fine. All users work from sessions on a Terminal Server.

The users are having to follow the below process when working on an Excel document.

• Open any Excel document
• Complete whatever changes are being made save the file with a new name
• Close the Excel document
• Delete the original file
• Rename the new file back to the original filename

So all users can Read, Write, Delete and Rename files regardless of where the file is opened from, files are being opened from File Explorer not from within the application.

I have ran Effective Access for all users on the various folder / file network locations and none have any access restrictions applied by local, share, and NTFS permissions or security group memberships.

The fact that all users don’t have this issue with Word or PowerPoint files leads me to believe this isn’t a permissions issue.

When Excel documents are opened there are no options to edit or open as read only, you just see at the top the file is read only.

Answer 1

Hi @Ceasar Chen_MSFT

Thank for your reply, so sorry I didn't get back to your post earlier.

I did find a resolution after further investigations:

• Creating new Excel documents, once saved and re-opened experience the same read only issue, this is locally and from a network share location.
• If the Excel files are opened from within the Excel application, they open fine, can be edited, saved and re-opened as normal. This is the same for files stored locally and from a network share.

As the issue reported happens from within terminal server sessions I have completed the same checks from the users desktop PC and there are no issue's with Excel files opening as read only, everything worked as expected.

One thing I did notice, when opening the Excel application on the terminal server session we received an error message regarding a missing add in dll file (SGXLADDIN.dll).

In the end the resolution was to remove the orphaned SGXLADDIN.dll file from Excel Add-ins.

Kindest Regards
Phill

Answer 2

Hi,@Phillip Andrew Hopkins

Based on the description of your problem, I have provided several methods to help you solve the problem:

1. The anti-virus software in the computer may protect the file, and the file can only be opened in read-only form. For specific solutions, you can check the anti-virus software in the computer and change the anti-virus software's settings for excel file protection.
   

2. Right-click to open the properties of the excel file and uncheck Read Only.
   

3. The file may be opened in protected view, you can check whether this setting is turned on, if it is turned on, you can turn it off. Here is an example screenshot:
   

4. Whether the excel files are stored with other office files, if they are stored in the same location, you can try to save them to OneDrive. 5.Open Excel in safe mode, please refer to this link on how to open safe mode:open-office-apps-in-safe-mode-on-a-windows-pc-dedf944a-5f4b-4afb-a453-528af4f7ac72 6. What is your Excel file format, try to change the file format to .xlsx, or .xls, or .csv 7.If the above steps are invalid, you can try to update and repair Office. Here's a link to help you better:why-did-my-file-open-read-only-3ab4b792-da50-4b38-8628-14c64e1f1d15

Best regards，

Ceasar Chen

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Answer 3

Solutions to Open and Edit Read-Only Excel Documents

Remove Read-only Attribute from Excel File Properties

• Right-click on the particular Excel (xls/xlsx) document and select 'Properties'.
• Uncheck the 'Read-only' attribute and then click the 'OK' button.

Now try to open the Excel document and check if the problem is fixed.

Adjust Antivirus Settings

A few antivirus programs block Excel files and other Office documents by opening those in 'read-only' mode. In such cases, try adjusting the antivirus settings to open the Excel files normally. This will allow you to edit, modify, and save the Excel workbook.

Renew Microsoft Office

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/how-to-revert-to-an-earlier-version-of-office-2bd5c457-a917-d57e-35a1-f709e3dda841

Repair MS Excel

You can repair the MS Office program to resolve such errors.

1. Open Control Panel and click Uninstall a Program link under Programs.
2. Choose Microsoft Office from the list and click the Change button.
3. Select Quick Repair and then click Repair to fix problems with MS Office and MS Excel.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/repairing-a-corrupted-workbook-7abfc44d-e9bf-4896-8899-bd10ef4d61ab

It will also restore any missing or damaged program files.

Check Permissions

The error message may also appear if you access an Excel workbook from a network or shared drive due to lack of write permission. Make sure you have read and write permissions assigned for the particular network drive.

Best Regards,
Suyash

Answer 4

Hi all, I had this problem and spent a month reading and trying suggested remedies. The solution ended up being ridiculously simple. Simply right click the file in question then select "open with" then "choose another app". in the resulting dialogue click the box "always use this app" and select "excel". Hope this helps others.