Read Only

[Kelly]

Every time I burn a doc to a CD for my client it becomes
Read Only!

I was told to use CD-RW discs, and this would solve the
problem, but I'm still getting the same thing. I've
tried right clicking on the file name, choosing
Properties, and un-checking the Read Only status, but I
get an error message. I have copied the files into a new
folder, I've copied them with new file names. Nothing
helps.

Any suggestions are appreciated! I can't be the only
person out there with this problem!

Thanks!

 

[Jezebel]

Files on a CD are always ReadOnly. If you need it as a read-write, copy the
file to your hard disk and clear the readonly property (right-click in
Explorer, select properties). The issue with CD-RW disks is that when Word
opens a document it actually creates a copy of the file. This file gets read
and written continually while you are working on the document. You don't
want to be doing this with a CD, even a RW.

 

[Guest]

I have the same problem, not only with Word but with a screenplay program called Final Draft, which doesn't do what you describe Word as doing, i.e. read and write the file continually as I work. In any case, if the solution is to copy the file to my hard drive and work there, how can I use my CD-RW disk to back up new versions of my file as I continue to edit and add to it? And why can't I add new Word files to the CD-RW disk? When I try, I get error messages telling me the disk is full even though I know that there should be 576 MB left on it. One oddity is that when I explore the disk it tells me that there is something on it called "Non-Allocatable Space," a file which has 0 KB, but which nevertheless seems to take up the whole disk. Help, please.

 

[Jezebel]

1. Don't know anything about how FinalDraft works.

2. No idea how to get Word to back up to CD as you work. Your Word file,
while you're using it, is a work-in-progress. You can set Word to back-up
every x minutes, so presumably you could capture the backed-up file to CD;
but I don't know of any mechanism from within Word to do this.

3. No idea about your non-allocatable space. When you say you can't add new
Word files: can you add non-Word files?


As you observe, trying to get Word to operate interactively with a CD-RW
doesn't work. Presumably your aim is to guarantee the preservation of the
files you're working on. Using a CD is not a good approach: the failure rate
of CD writing is MUCH higher than the most PC activities.

I have the same problem, not only with Word but with a screenplay program

called Final Draft, which doesn't do what you describe Word as doing, i.e.
read and write the file continually as I work. In any case, if the solution
is to copy the file to my hard drive and work there, how can I use my CD-RW
disk to back up new versions of my file as I continue to edit and add to it?
And why can't I add new Word files to the CD-RW disk? When I try, I get
error messages telling me the disk is full even though I know that there
should be 576 MB left on it. One oddity is that when I explore the disk it
tells me that there is something on it called "Non-Allocatable Space," a
file which has 0 KB, but which nevertheless seems to take up the whole disk.
Help, please.

 

[Guest]

No, I can't add any files. I just tried, for instance, to save an Outlook Express email, and I got an error message reading "You do not have permission to save in this directory. See the administrator to obtain permission." But I am the administrator (and the only user of this computer). So, again, what gives?

And if CD-RWs are not a good approach to preserving and backing up files, what is one to do in a world in which floppy drives are being made obsolescent (presumably because CDs and DVDs are becoming the storage media of choice) and are not even included in, for instance, my IBM T40 Thinkpad (which is not an ultralite machine)?

 

[Jezebel]

CDs are an excellent way to back up files. Just don't try doing it on the
fly, while you are working in Word. Do the back-up normally after you've
finished editing.

Can't help you with the problem writing to it, though.

No, I can't add any files. I just tried, for instance, to save an Outlook

Express email, and I got an error message reading "You do not have
permission to save in this directory. See the administrator to obtain
permission." But I am the administrator (and the only user of this
computer). So, again, what gives?

And if CD-RWs are not a good approach to preserving and backing up files,

what is one to do in a world in which floppy drives are being made
obsolescent (presumably because CDs and DVDs are becoming the storage media
of choice) and are not even included in, for instance, my IBM T40 Thinkpad
(which is not an ultralite machine)?