WD: Troubleshooting Guide: File Locking in Master Documents

ID: Q176313

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Word 97 for Windows
Microsoft Word 98 Macintosh Edition

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: Master Document Opened as Read-Only

When you open a master document and then try to unlock or open a subdocument, Word opens the file as read-only or the following error message is displayed:

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

Scenario 2: "Different Type of Protection..." Error Message

When you attempt to unlock a subdocument, the following error message is displayed 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 3: "Unlocked Document Already Exists..." Error Message

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.

SCENARIO 1: MASTER DOCUMENT OPENS AS READ-ONLY

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 (Word 97) or Save Current Document As (Word 98 Macintosh Edition) dialog box will appear where you could save the file out as a different name or just press Cancel to make no changes.

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

The file cannot be opened with write privileges.

If you try to make a change to a subdocument, you will note that the subdocuments will be locked. When you click into one of the subdocuments and then click the Lock Document button on the Master Document toolbar, one of the following will occur depending on the version of Word:

Word 97 for Windows:

The following message will appear:

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.

Word 98 Macintosh Edition:

The subdocuments are expanded and it unlocks the documents. You can open the subdocuments, make changes to them, save the changes, close the subdocument, and then close the master document without saving any changes and the changes to the subdocuments will be retained.

WORKAROUND

Over a network, the other user must close the master document before you can open it as read-write.

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.

Use either of the following workarounds. The first one will temporarily unlock the master document; the second one will permanently unlock the master document.

Workaround 1:

If you are not the author of the master document, you must first unlock the master document before you can edit it. To unlock a 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 for information about subdocuments being locked.

The next time you open the master document, it will be read-only again.

Workaround 2:

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.

To locate the Name and Author fields, use the procedure below that is appropriate for your version of Word.

Word 97 for Windows

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

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

Word 98 Macintosh Edition

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

To locate the Name field, click Preferences on the Tools menu, and then click the User Information tab.

SCENARIO 2: "DIFFERENT TYPE OF PROTECTION..." ERROR MESSAGE

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 is different from that of the master document. This error occurs if any of the following documentation protection combinations exist:

The master document is unprotected and the subdocument is protected for Tracked Changes, Comments, or Forms.

-or-

Tracked Changes while editing 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 Tracked Changes, Comments, or Forms.

Workaround

Change or remove the document protection in the master document and open the subdocument by itself and change or remove the document protection so the protection type matches that of the master document. To change the document protection, follow these steps:

On the Tools menu, click Protect Document.

Select whichever of the following protection types matches that of the master document:

Tracked Changes
Comments
Forms

Click OK.

SCENARIO 3: "UNLOCKED DOCUMENT ALREADY EXISTS..." ERROR MESSAGE

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.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article. We are researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.

MORE INFORMATION

For information about troubleshooting this problem in earlier versions of Word, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q114432 WD: Troubleshooting Guide: File Locking in Master Documents

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

Keywords : kbdta macword98 kblayout
Version : MACINTOSH:98; WINDOWS:97
Platform : MACINTOSH WINDOWS
Issue type : kbbug