How to disable "read-only" mode for files downloaded from Outlook using Mail?
Thread poster: Chunyi Chen
Chunyi Chen
Chunyi Chen
United States
Local time: 16:46
English to Chinese
Aug 2, 2016

Dear colleagues,

I am using the Outlook-Mail program that comes with Windows 10 to handle my Hotmail emails. I may have changed some settings some time ago, and now the email attachments (in most cases Word files) I download from Mail are in read-only mode when I open them in Word 2010. In order to work on the file, I would need to save each file in a different name. This is annoying and I wonder if any of you know where to change the setting(s) either in Mail or in Word so that
... See more
Dear colleagues,

I am using the Outlook-Mail program that comes with Windows 10 to handle my Hotmail emails. I may have changed some settings some time ago, and now the email attachments (in most cases Word files) I download from Mail are in read-only mode when I open them in Word 2010. In order to work on the file, I would need to save each file in a different name. This is annoying and I wonder if any of you know where to change the setting(s) either in Mail or in Word so that the files would not be opened in read-only mode?

I already changed the settings in Trust Center following the advice found on the Internet but it did not work.

Thank you!

Chunyi
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esperantisto
esperantisto  Identity Verified
Local time: 02:46
Member (2006)
English to Russian
+ ...
SITE LOCALIZER
Here Aug 2, 2016

The answer is right here.

[Edited at 2016-08-02 07:02 GMT]


 
Rolf Keller
Rolf Keller
Germany
Local time: 00:46
English to German
A nuisance or a nice feature? Aug 2, 2016

Chunyi Chen wrote:

the email attachments (in most cases Word files) I download from Mail are in read-only mode when I open them in Word 2010. In order to work on the file, I would need to save each file in a different name. This is annoying ...


IMHO incoming files should never be modified in any respect because they might be needed – later on – for reference.

In order to make sure that they are not modified (mistakenly or by a software bug), I set them to read-only to begin with, then rename them to _ORG, and finally create a copy named _WRK. Only then I open the copy in Word.


 
Maija Cirule
Maija Cirule  Identity Verified
Latvia
Local time: 01:46
German to English
+ ...
My 2 cents Aug 2, 2016

Chunyi Chen wrote:

Dear colleagues,

I am using the Outlook-Mail program that comes with Windows 10 to handle my Hotmail emails. I may have changed some settings some time ago, and now the email attachments (in most cases Word files) I download from Mail are in read-only mode when I open them in Word 2010. In order to work on the file, I would need to save each file in a different name. This is annoying and I wonder if any of you know where to change the setting(s) either in Mail or in Word so that the files would not be opened in read-only mode?

I already changed the settings in Trust Center following the advice found on the Internet but it did not work.

Thank you!

Chunyi


In Word (16) click on FILE > Save as and save under the same name. Nothing more needs to be done as file now is editable.


 
PAS
PAS  Identity Verified
Local time: 00:46
Polish to English
+ ...
Useful Aug 2, 2016

Let's bloat this thread into an endless throng of pointers, hints, helpful suggestions and other useful stuff.
This is something any windows user should know - it's like knowing which button to press to get the rear windshield wiper workin in your car

Right-click on the problem file in Windows Explorer. You'll get a list. "Properties" is at the bottom of that list. Left-click on that.
A nice window will ope
... See more
Let's bloat this thread into an endless throng of pointers, hints, helpful suggestions and other useful stuff.
This is something any windows user should know - it's like knowing which button to press to get the rear windshield wiper workin in your car

Right-click on the problem file in Windows Explorer. You'll get a list. "Properties" is at the bottom of that list. Left-click on that.
A nice window will open. At the bottom of that window you'll see "Attributes" with two check-boxes to the right of that: "Read-only" and "Hidden".
Uncheck "Read-only" and you're done. Obviously this works for any read-only file - not just those downloaded from Outlook.

Now, the corollary to this useful pointer is that you should never ever meddle with any file opened directly from Outlook (i.e. by clicking on the attachment).

First save the attachment, then work on it. That way you have the original, unmodified file as sent by the client in your inbox (which is not a good way to keep an archive of client files either, but that's a different story).

[Edited at 2016-08-02 11:06 GMT]
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Chunyi Chen
Chunyi Chen
United States
Local time: 16:46
English to Chinese
TOPIC STARTER
Thanks for the tip Aug 2, 2016

Hi PAS,

I know how to change a read-only file to editable file. I apologize for not writing up my question clearly. I was trying to find a way to download email attachments in Outlook-Mail (the email program that comes with Windows 10, which is different from MS Outlook program) to my local drive and be able to edit them upon opening the files from the local drive. I already tried the methods suggested found here and in other online sources but still haven't got this to work. ... See more
Hi PAS,

I know how to change a read-only file to editable file. I apologize for not writing up my question clearly. I was trying to find a way to download email attachments in Outlook-Mail (the email program that comes with Windows 10, which is different from MS Outlook program) to my local drive and be able to edit them upon opening the files from the local drive. I already tried the methods suggested found here and in other online sources but still haven't got this to work.
For those who use the Outlook-Mail program in Windows 10, they may have the same experience with me. Outlook-Mail is light-weighted and fast, but some of its features are not user-friendly.

Chunyi

PAS wrote:

Let's bloat this thread into an endless throng of pointers, hints, helpful suggestions and other useful stuff.
This is something any windows user should know - it's like knowing which button to press to get the rear windshield wiper workin in your car

Right-click on the problem file in Windows Explorer. You'll get a list. "Properties" is at the bottom of that list. Left-click on that.
A nice window will open. At the bottom of that window you'll see "Attributes" with two check-boxes to the right of that: "Read-only" and "Hidden".
Uncheck "Read-only" and you're done. Obviously this works for any read-only file - not just those downloaded from Outlook.

Now, the corollary to this useful pointer is that you should never ever meddle with any file opened directly from Outlook (i.e. by clicking on the attachment).

First save the attachment, then work on it. That way you have the original, unmodified file as sent by the client in your inbox (which is not a good way to keep an archive of client files either, but that's a different story).

[Edited at 2016-08-02 11:06 GMT]
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Chunyi Chen
Chunyi Chen
United States
Local time: 16:46
English to Chinese
TOPIC STARTER
It's a nuisance to me Aug 2, 2016

Hi Rolf,

I do not open a file directly from the email attachment. I save it in my computer and open it. What bothers me is even by doing so, the saved file is still in Read Only mode if I do it in Outlook-Mail. I would need either to resave the file (now in local drive) in a different name or to untick the read only option in properties as suggested by one colleague earlier. This to me is very inconvenient.
On the other hand, with MS Outlook, once an email attachment is sa
... See more
Hi Rolf,

I do not open a file directly from the email attachment. I save it in my computer and open it. What bothers me is even by doing so, the saved file is still in Read Only mode if I do it in Outlook-Mail. I would need either to resave the file (now in local drive) in a different name or to untick the read only option in properties as suggested by one colleague earlier. This to me is very inconvenient.
On the other hand, with MS Outlook, once an email attachment is saved to a local drive, this attachment can be opened in editable mode without further adjustment. For this reason, I am considering leaving Outlook-Mail for MS Outlook, but MS Outlook is heavy-weighted and usually takes much longer to sync email messages.

Anyway, I am still hoping to find a solution so that I can continue to use Outlook-Mail.

Chunyi

Rolf Keller wrote:

Chunyi Chen wrote:

the email attachments (in most cases Word files) I download from Mail are in read-only mode when I open them in Word 2010. In order to work on the file, I would need to save each file in a different name. This is annoying ...


IMHO incoming files should never be modified in any respect because they might be needed – later on – for reference.

In order to make sure that they are not modified (mistakenly or by a software bug), I set them to read-only to begin with, then rename them to _ORG, and finally create a copy named _WRK. Only then I open the copy in Word.
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PAS
PAS  Identity Verified
Local time: 00:46
Polish to English
+ ...
Read only Aug 3, 2016

OK, sorry for stating the obvious, then...

Best,
P.A.S.


 
esperantisto
esperantisto  Identity Verified
Local time: 02:46
Member (2006)
English to Russian
+ ...
SITE LOCALIZER
OpenOffice? Aug 3, 2016

Are those files really read-only or just forcing that nasty protected view?

In the latter case, maybe, you should try Apache OpenOffice or LibreOffice, they won’t care about that Microsoft’s stuff.

If the files are really saved as read-only, you can run a command from MS-DOS prompt such as:
... See more
Are those files really read-only or just forcing that nasty protected view?

In the latter case, maybe, you should try Apache OpenOffice or LibreOffice, they won’t care about that Microsoft’s stuff.

If the files are really saved as read-only, you can run a command from MS-DOS prompt such as:
Code:
attrib -r *.doc*


to remove the read-only attribute (in this particular case — from all .doc/.docx files in current directory). It would be feasible to write the above command to a .bat file (say, read.bat) and save it to a convenient place (say, to e:). Then simply call it from the directory where you have saved your attachments, such as:
Code:
e:\read.bat

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Lars Jelking
Lars Jelking  Identity Verified
Israel
Local time: 01:46
English to Swedish
+ ...
Microsoft's solution Aug 4, 2016

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/2383602

 
Chunyi Chen
Chunyi Chen
United States
Local time: 16:46
English to Chinese
TOPIC STARTER
The solution is for Outlook 2010 Aug 4, 2016

The solution provided in the link below is for Outlook 2010. I am looking for a solution that works for Outlook-Mail, the default email program in Win10 OS.

Chunyi



 


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How to disable "read-only" mode for files downloaded from Outlook using Mail?






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