WD: Troubleshooting Guide: File Locking in Master Documents

ID: Q114432

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Word for Windows, versions 6.0, 6.0a, 6.0c
Microsoft Word for the Macintosh, versions 6.0, 6.0.1
Microsoft Word for Windows 95, version 7.0

SYMPTOMS

This article contains guidelines you can use to troubleshoot the following file locking behaviors that may occur when you open a master document or its subdocuments in Word:

Scenario 1: Some subdocuments are locked, while others are unlocked.

Scenario 2: Word opens the file as read-only or the following error messages occur when you open a master document and then try to unlock or open a subdocument:

<Filename> is being used by <user name>. Do you want to make a copy?

Scenario 3: When you attempt to unlock a subdocument, the following error occurs and Word does not unlock the subdocument:

The operation cannot be completed because the subdocument has a different type of protection from the master document. Make the protection the same for the master document and the subdocuments.

Scenario 4: When you attempt to unlock a subdocument, you receive the following error message and Word does not unlock the document:

An unlocked subdocument already exists in another master document.

NOTE: Several of the workarounds below will require you to compare the information in the Name field as compared to the Author field. To locate these fields, use the procedure appropriate for your version of Word.

Word 7.x

Author Field:

To locate the Author field, click Properties on the File menu, and click the Summary tab.

Name Field:

To locate the Name field, click Options on the Tools menu, and click the User Info tab.

Word 6.x

Author Field

To locate the Author field, click Summary Info on the File menu.

Name Field:

To locate the Name field, click Options on the Tools menu, and click the User Info tab.

SCENARIO 1: SOME SUBDOCUMENTS LOCKED, OTHERS UNLOCKED

Cause

Word unlocks those subdocuments in which the Author field matches the Name field. Word locks those subdocuments in which the Author and Name fields do not match. These fields are case sensitive.

Workaround

If you are not the author of the subdocument, you must first unlock the subdocument before you can edit it. To unlock a subdocument, position the insertion point in the subdocument and click the Lock Document button on the Master Document toolbar.

If you want all the subdocuments to be unlocked when you open the master document, do one or both of the following:

Change the Author field in each subdocument to match the Name field.

Change the Name field so that it matches the Author field in each subdocument. (This workaround works only if the Author name is the same in all the subdocuments.)

SCENARIO 2: MASTER DOCUMENT OPENED AS READ-ONLY

Cause

This problem may occur for either of the following reasons:

Cause 1: Over a network, another user has the master document open for editing. Normal network file locking applies in this situation. When you attempt to open the file over a network, you will receive the following error message:

<Filename> is being used by <user name>. Do you want to make a copy?

When you click OK, it will open the master document as Read-Only. It may not indicate that the file is Read-only; however, if you make a change to the master document and try to save it, the following message will appear:

This file is in use by another application or user.

When you click OK, the Save As dialog box will appear where you could save the file out as a different name or press Cancel to make no changes.

If you try to make a change to a subdocument, you will note that the subdocuments are locked. When you click in one of the subdocuments and then click the Lock Document button on the Master Document toolbar, the following message appears:

The file cannot be opened with write privileges.

Clicking OK will take you back to the master document. You will not be able to open the subdocument.

Cause 2: If you are not the author of the master document, Word opens the document as read-only. You are not the author if the Author field does not match the Name field.

Workaround

If the file is being used over a network by another user, the other user must close the master document before you can open it as read-write.

If you are not the author of the master document, use either of the following workarounds.

Method 1: Temporarily Unlock the Master Document:

Position the insertion point in the master document and click the Lock Document button on the Master Document toolbar.

This will enable you to make changes to the master document and then to save the master document. Keep in mind that the subdocuments may still be locked. See "Scenario 1" in the "Symptoms" section of this article for information about subdocuments being locked.

The next time you open the master document, it will be Read-Only again.

Method 2: Permanently Unlock the Master Document:

To prevent the master document from being opened as read-only, in the master document, change the Name field so it matches the Author field. When you close and then reopen the master document, Word opens it as read-write.

SCENARIO 3: "DIFFERENT TYPE OF PROTECTION..." ERROR MESSAGE

In this scenario, you receive the following error message:

The operation cannot be completed because the subdocument has a different type of protection from the master document. Make the protection the same for the master document and the subdocuments.

Cause

You tried to unlock a subdocument whose document protection type or revision marking status is different from that of the master document. This error occurs if any of the following documentation protection or revision marking combinations exist:

The master document is unprotected and the subdocument is protected for revisions, annotations, or forms.

-or-

Revision marking is turned on in either the subdocument or the master document (not both).

-or-

Both the subdocument and master document are protected, but each one is protected for a different type, such as annotations, revisions, or forms.

Workaround

Change or remove document protection in the master document and open the subdocument by itself and change or remove document protection so the protection type matches that of the master document.

SCENARIO 4: "UNLOCKED DOCUMENT ALREADY EXISTS..." ERROR MESSAGE

In this scenario, you receive the following error message:

An unlocked subdocument already exists in another master document.

Cause

You inserted a subdocument twice in the same master document.

-or-

The subdocument you want to unlock is already unlocked in another open master document.

Workaround

A subdocument can be unlocked in only one master document at a time, so you must do one or both of the following before you can unlock your subdocument:

Close the other master document.

-or-

If the subdocument is inserted twice in the current master document, lock both instances of the subdocument, and then unlock the one you want to edit or simply delete the unlocked version of the subdocument.

REFERENCES

"Microsoft Word User's Guide," version 6.0, pages 539, 541, 543-544, 558, 561

Additional query words: troubleshooting tshooting guide security padlock reserving reserved password-protection password protected add symbol icon

Keywords : kb3rdparty kbfield kbmerge
Version : MACINTOSH:6.0,6.0.1; WINDOWS:6.0,6.0a,6.0c,7.0
Platform : MACINTOSH WINDOWS
Issue type : kbinfo