New User Word file with imbedded SSheet (readonly)

[Muzzta1]

Hi,
Hope this is simple. I need to use some word files that have a simple imbedded spread sheet. I can display the document and spreadsheet but when I try to edit the imbedded section it opens in readonly mode. Can I open it in edit mode? How?

Thanks

Muzza

[bobharvey]

Hmm.
This doesn't sound like the sort of function I have found in any office suite. Sounds like you might be better off using web pages rather than distributing documents.

But I have found two ways to nearly do it - you could even combine them. one depends on the sheet being a linked OLE object in the document, so it might get a bit hairy with very large sheets working out what you are going to display. Don't forget that you will have to distribute both files together (or have the spreadsheet on a server whose network address appears exactly the same for everyone opening it).

1. Create your spread sheet.
2. Create your document.
3. To insert the sheet, use insert-object-ole object. Select "create from file" and tick the "link to file" then select the file.

First protection method: mark the spreadsheet as read-only (in M$) or remove Write access (in *nix). When someone clicks into the spreadsheet, they will get a dialogue saying that it was opened read-only. They can still scroll around the sheet but cannot edit it. It will revert next time the document is loaded.

Second protection method:
Right-click on the embedded sheet and select "object". In the options tab there are three protection tick boxes. One of them will prevent people clicking into the object at all. (This technique will be the same if the object is truly embedded, not linked)

(Third protection method):
You could combine this with protecting the spreadsheet internally with its own tools. I didn't bother to test this, but it will be useful if you need a password

Snags:
With the second technique, they can turn it off just as easily as you can.
With the first technique, they can click into the sheet, scroll it out the way, and then print the document with a blank bit where the sheet should be. The sheet has to be distributed with or accessible to the document.

The first technique would work best if the sheet was in a shared location, owned by someone else, and with read-only access to your users (e.g. rw-r--r-- . I think that windows protections can be similarly set if sensible groups have been created). It looks more elegant if combined with the second technique - casual clicking will be ignored, and if they get into the control and turn off the protection, only then they will get told off by the dialogue box.

If this is a problem you think will be more widespread, you could submit an enhancement request on the qa project for passwords on the object properties. I can't see this taking off, however.

[foxcole]

[Muzzta1]

Sorry If I was a little misleading. The Doc is an invoice used for years in MS Office.
It has a very simple series of calculations and a couple of if functions.

I guess i could recreate it howeverIt seems to function perfectly apart from the imbedded spreadsheet being read only.

Muzza

[bobharvey]

Apologies for misreading the query.

When I double click in a fully-embedded spreadsheet in a document, the menus for the spreadsheet replace those for the document. That includes tools-protect document.

If that doens't help, then I'm stuck, I'm afraid