Docs stored on server no longer prompting for "open as read only."

[Guest]

Hello.

In the past, if a Word document which resides on a small server was open on
one workstation, if a user on another workstation opened that same document,
the 2nd user would recieve a prompt stating that the document was already
open and asked if the 2nd user would like to open the document as read-only.
The prompt is no longer appearing after all workstations, but not the server,
were replaced with new hardware.

I don't want to make all documents strictly "read-only" as a file attribute,
but I can't find the setting that controls this behavior "globally" so to
speak.

When this was working, there were 4 workstations running Windows 95 and
Office 97. The hardware was replaced and Windows 2000 Professional SP4 was
installed along with a fresh install of Office 97. All workstations retained
the same computer names and belong to a workgroup. There were no changes
made on the server, which is (and was) running Windows 2000 Standard Server
SP4.

One final note: If I create a new Word 97 document and choose File -> Save
As - Options -> Read only recommended, then the behavior works as desired.
That is, the 2nd user to open the doc gets prompted. However, there's no way
we can go back and re-save all documents in this manner.

Can anyone think of a global setting that I'm missing that would have
changed this behavior?

Thanks in advance.

Steve

 

[John McGhie [MVP - Word and Word Macintosh]]

You're looking for "Enable lock files" and it's a Server parameter. Look it
up in the Microsoft Office Resource Kit:
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011417911033.aspx

Hello.

In the past, if a Word document which resides on a small server was open on
one workstation, if a user on another workstation opened that same document,
the 2nd user would recieve a prompt stating that the document was already
open and asked if the 2nd user would like to open the document as read-only.
The prompt is no longer appearing after all workstations, but not the server,
were replaced with new hardware.

I don't want to make all documents strictly "read-only" as a file attribute,
but I can't find the setting that controls this behavior "globally" so to
speak.

When this was working, there were 4 workstations running Windows 95 and
Office 97. The hardware was replaced and Windows 2000 Professional SP4 was
installed along with a fresh install of Office 97. All workstations retained
the same computer names and belong to a workgroup. There were no changes
made on the server, which is (and was) running Windows 2000 Standard Server
SP4.

One final note: If I create a new Word 97 document and choose File -> Save
As - Options -> Read only recommended, then the behavior works as desired.
That is, the 2nd user to open the doc gets prompted. However, there's no way
we can go back and re-save all documents in this manner.

Can anyone think of a global setting that I'm missing that would have
changed this behavior?

Thanks in advance.

Steve

--

Please reply to the newsgroup to maintain the thread. Please do not email
me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie <[email protected]>
Microsoft MVP, Word and Word for Macintosh. Consultant Technical Writer
Sydney, Australia +61 (0) 4 1209 1410

 

[Guest]

Hi John.

Thanks for the input. Unfortunately, a search on the site you referenced
using the string "enable lock files" yields no results. A search on "lock
files" yields only one result.

I also searched using these strings on TechNet and Google to no avail. Do
you happen to have a more specific link that would tell me where I could find
this setting?

Thanks again for your input.

Steve

You're looking for "Enable lock files" and it's a Server parameter. Look it
up in the Microsoft Office Resource Kit:
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011417911033.aspx

Hello.

In the past, if a Word document which resides on a small server was open on
one workstation, if a user on another workstation opened that same document,
the 2nd user would recieve a prompt stating that the document was already
open and asked if the 2nd user would like to open the document as read-only.
The prompt is no longer appearing after all workstations, but not the server,
were replaced with new hardware.

I don't want to make all documents strictly "read-only" as a file attribute,
but I can't find the setting that controls this behavior "globally" so to
speak.

When this was working, there were 4 workstations running Windows 95 and
Office 97. The hardware was replaced and Windows 2000 Professional SP4 was
installed along with a fresh install of Office 97. All workstations retained
the same computer names and belong to a workgroup. There were no changes
made on the server, which is (and was) running Windows 2000 Standard Server
SP4.

One final note: If I create a new Word 97 document and choose File -> Save
As - Options -> Read only recommended, then the behavior works as desired.
That is, the 2nd user to open the doc gets prompted. However, there's no way
we can go back and re-save all documents in this manner.

Can anyone think of a global setting that I'm missing that would have
changed this behavior?

Thanks in advance.

Steve

--

Please reply to the newsgroup to maintain the thread. Please do not email
me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie <[email protected]>
Microsoft MVP, Word and Word for Macintosh. Consultant Technical Writer
Sydney, Australia +61 (0) 4 1209 1410