All excel files opening in read only mode in Windows 7

[bugger2011]

in windows 7, when i open any excel file from any folder (network & desktop both), it opens as read only..

but when i open the excel file by going to open option in the Menu Bar in MS Excel, it opens correctly.. but that takes hell lot of time everytime i wanna open a excel file..

can anyone suggest a way out..??

 

[richc46]

Go to the folders involved, right click, properties, untick the read only.

 

[bugger2011]

doesnt work..

 

[richnrockville]

Question? Were these excel files created in another version of Excel that what your using?
Or were they attachments to emails?

questions, Questions..

Rich

 

[bugger2011]

few of the files are of 2007 version whereas few of them are of 2003 version.
i have recd almost all files thru mails.. but i am having the same problem for the files created by me..!!

dont know wat xactly is the problem - but similar problem doesnt exist for word / powerpoint.. its only excel.. once i have opened any excel file & then i go to some folder and open excel file from there by double clicking it, then it opens in read-only mode.. but if i open the same file from the Open option in File Menu, then i dont have this problem..!! strange yet true..
but i cant keep on opening every excel file thru File->Open option.. it takes hell lot of time as the files are in different folders..!!

 

[Orbital Shark]

The only thing I can think of is that the 1's downloaded need to be 'Unblocked'. Right-click and select Properties and there should be an 'Unblock' button, just click it.

Also, when you're saving files they may have accidentally been set to save as read only. Try the following...

1, Open an Excel Spreadsheet
2, Click File > Save As
3, Click the Tools dropdown then General Options...

Check to see that the 'Read-Only Recommended' hasn't been selected by accident...

 

[bugger2011]

nope.. no luck

 

[Irene]

1. Which version of Outlook (Office) are you using?

2. Do you save the attachments to your hard drive before trying to edit?

 

[K10]

I also had the same problem, try disable file preview from Explorer, see attachment...

It seems for some reason the file is "locked" or something similar when preview is enabled, in any case disabling this feature solved the problem for me, no more Excel file opened in read-only mode.

 

[Irene]

Lots of information here:
Outlook 2010 & Read-Only Attachments
.
.

Solution - Edit Message Method

Video Tutorial

How to Edit Attachments in Outlook 2010
​

If you put the email message into Edit mode you can edit the attachment and save changes back to the original attachment on the email message. You need to remember to save the attachment when closing AND save changes to the email message as the copy in the securetemp folder will be deleted when you close Outlook.
If you add the Edit Message button to the QAT or Ribbon, its very easy to get into Edit mode. To add the command to the QAT (or ribbon):

1. Open a message
2. Go to File, Options, then choose either Customize Ribbon or Quick Access Toolbar
3. Select All Commands from the Choose command dropdown
4. Click in the list of commands then press E on your keyboard to jump down to the Edit commands.
5. Find Edit Message and double click on it or use the Add button to add it to the QAT or Ribbon.
6. Click OK to return to the message.

The next time you need to edit an attachment and save the changes back to the message, open the email message, click the Edit Message button then open the attachment.
Remember: you need to save and close the attachment then save and close the email message for the edits to be saved. If you don't want changes saved (such as when rotating images), close without saving.

Solution - Disable Attachment Preview

You can make many attachments readable if you disable Attachment Preview. With this disabled you will lose the ability to view attachments in the Reading pane or open messages - you will need to double click to open them in their application.
Go to File tab, Options, Trust Center:

1. Click the Trust Center Settings button
2. Select Attachment Handling
3. Add a check to the "Turn off attachment preview" option.

Note: this disables preview for all attachments. If you like the attachment preview feature, use the Edit message method.

Solution - Images viewed with Windows Photo Viewer

A workaround for those using Photo Viewer exists: in Photo viewer, click on File, Properties, General tab then clear the Read only check. Repeat for each image.

 

[attribute]

Initially I was only able to open Office documents in Read Only using Windows 7 Professional. Particularly annoying was that I could not even edit Access databases. With a bit of experimentation I discovered the following.

In Windows 7 Professional all drives and sub-folders except folders specific to your user account are initially protected in Read Only mode. Changing the file attributes does not work. This also applies Administrator users.

To correct this,
- log on in an account that has administrator privileges,
- in explorer right click the folder or drive you want to enable full access to,
- select Properties, select the Security tab, click the Edit button in that tab,
- highlight the user you wish to grant privileges,
- tick the desired boxes (Full Control grants full access),
- then click OK as necessary to apply the changes.

 

[aaroncavanaugh2]

Task manager - end Excel.exe on process tab

Hi,

Open Task Manager (Ctrl+Alt+Delete -> click task manager) -> processes tab -> click Excel.exe -> end process. Worked for me.

Thanks. God Bless.

Aaron

 

[TC0]

I just experienced this exact problem: Using Windows 7, all Excel files open in read-only mode when opened from the file system, but not when opened using File / Open from within Excel.

This happens for all Excel files, whether downloaded from the internet, opened from an email, or created locally; whether created by another user or created by me; whether saved into a restricted folder or an unrestricted folder; and whether or not saved with "Read-only recommended".

I believe all of the answers given so far, while helpful, address similar problems, but not this exact problem.

After long research, I discovered that the problem was an addin whose .xll file had been moved. When I told Excel to stop trying to load that addin, the problem went away.

My guess is that there is a bug in Excel, which causes it to go into read-only mode if it can't load an addin at launch. Given that this problem was first reported here in 2011, and I'm still experiencing it in 2018, this is apparently a long-standing bug that spans several versions of Excel.

 

[Ranger4]

Have you had a look in Options for setting up Excel. Look in Save & make sure Excel is set to Save to Computer by Default, then set the Default Location to C:\Users\xxxx\Documents, the xxxx being the users name or whatever name you use for the computer.

You can have various Folders in your Documents Library far saving Excel files that you require. I have also named the Default Location for storing Excel Templates as I use a lot of Excel Templates, which are marvellous for repeated use & date transfer.

As you have not mentioned which version of Excel you are using this website might help you locate Options for your version if needed.

Where is Excel Options in Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013 and 2016