Computer newbies forum: Converting Read Only files to editable ones

Once again, Grif, I fail to provide adequate informtion. Sorry about that.

Is there anything I can do in the Properties box on the 98 machine that will change the files to editable ones?

Thanks, grandpaw

When I go to Properties for the backup folder, I see that Read Only is unchecked and Archieve is checked. Given my propensity for doing the wrong thing, I'm leery about unchecking Archive and seeing what that does for me, if anything, without someone saying that won't blow up my computer.

If that is of no use, then I still don't know how to best convert the files to editable ones.

Thanks, grandpaw

Hi,
I am running on a XP system and have tried this several times and the files always go back to read only. The CD was formatted was not formatted as a read only cd but somehow it got changed to that. Now some of the files are read only and some are not.

Any ideas?

Hi,
Thanks for your reply to my note about undoing read only on cd's. I use cd's to store embroidery designs on rather than put them on the hard drive. I changed computers and the old system had Windows 98 and my new system has Xp. I was thining maybe it was my formatting software on the new system that was causing the problem.

Thanks for your help and I will move them to the hard drive and change the status there. Hopefully I can move them back to the cd and they will stay as R/W.

Thanks for your help.

...and are where are you saving the file to? You might describe the exact procedure you are taking to create the "read only" file. What is the file extension of the file in question.


I am not familiar with any program, (Notepad, Microsoft Word, Wordpad, etc.) that will save a document by default as "read only" UNLESS you're saving those files to a CD. If the documents are saved to your hard drive, they should be find.

Hope this helps.

Grif

AFTER you place the file on your computer desktop, RIGHT click on the file, choose "Properties", then UNCHECK the "Read Only" box, then click on "apply", then OK.

Unfortunately, you've chosen to post your question in a REALLY OLD thread, (over 4 years old), and you've posted nothing specific about your computer or the exact file type you're having problems with.. If the steps above don't fix the problem for you, please be sure to reply with your computer's operating system, and the specific file type you're referring to.. For example, if the file is an Adobe PDF file, then it won't be editable no matter what you do.. They are protected files and can't be edited without the appropriate permissions from the document creator.

Hope this helps.

Grif

Continued posts here will simply confuse folks. I'll delete any further responses to your topic that occur here.

Hope this helps.

Grif

Hello grandpaw,
Why don't you open a DOS command in Win 98 and when you're in the C prompt or in whichever directory in C type attr -r C:\backup\*.*. For example:

C:>attr -r c:\backup\*.*

This will cancel the read attribute of all files found in the C:\backup directory. They won't be Read-Only files anymore. Perhaps you could edit them thereafter.

I used Grif's suggestion and since it worked I didn't need to pursue Swisse's. But I thank both of you.

I add this because it so amazed me, though there is nothing that can be done about it.

I am finding that somehow the guy who reformatted and did the backup backed up to a point prior to what was in My Documents when I took the computer to him. His My Documents contains documents that I deleted, fails to contain some recent documents that I added, and contains old versions of other documents. I thought about killing him but I'm afraid the jury might think I acted imprudently. I knew from reading that somehow stuff that gets "deleted" is still somewhere on the hard drive, but I didn't know it was so easily accessible so as to confuse a conputer tech into thinking it was the current data.

For the more mature among you: The reason you no longer see Joe Btfsplt, the guy in Lil Abner who always had a dark cloud over him (see http://www.lil-abner.com/familyalbum2.html ), is that the dark cloud is now over me; or at least over my computer.

grandpawbtfsplt

Kees, the only possible explanation I can think of, from the standpoint of someone who rarely gets computer stuff right, is that I did my changing in Works and not in My Documents (though I sure thought I did deleting in My Documents), and somehow My Documents retained the old versions instead of the updated versions in Works. What floored me was when I opened up my will. The version in backup is one I had changed at least three times in Works. I have hard copies of my final will and of the version immediately preceding it and the one in the backup file is quite different, being an earlier version that I replaced. But there are a number of other documents that are different in the backup than what was in Works, some of which I also have in hard copy.

I don't know if it's a commentary on the guy at the shop for not doing it or me for not giving him more specific instructions than saving all of my data, or both, but he didn't back up favorites or Works Calendar, where I had some things scheduled for the future. His back up includes the icons which were on my desktop, which I didn't think would normally be included in a backup.

The reason I had the shop do it rather than myself is that I had been spending untold amounts of family and other productive time holed up trying to fix my computer, and I was just sick and tired of trying to fix things and then finding out I was just digging the hole deeper. So, I wanted someone to do it who could do it right.

I did reformat my computer a couple of years ago, and, as expected for me, ran into a number of glitches which reguired me to spend a considerable amount of time in telephone and email contact with the MS support people. That also played into my unfortunate decision to use the shop.

Going to a real expert would have been the right thing for me to do under the circumstances, but I happened to end up with an unreal expert. I wish there were a machine that could tell the difference. It's like picking out a doctor. Unless you're lucky enough to get a good and reliable reference, you're just throwing darts blindfolded and hoping for the best.

grandpaw

I've printed off your post. grandpaw

The answer here is quite simple. I reformat my hard drive frequently and have this problem also. On each folder and file that you want to edit, select the file, then right click and choose Properties. This will take you to the General tab, which is the default. At the bottom of the General tab across from Attributes, you will see a Read-Only box already checked. Remove the check mark, click Apply, then OK. You will then be able to edit or use the file as you wish.

So I copied the files back to the hard drive, moved the read only and moved back and they are still read only.

Moved where?