SoftMaker.com

I have installed SM 2008 on two laptops. One using WinXP SP2 and the other using Win7. SoftMaker works just fine on both machines with one exception. When I open documents using Win7 a warning screen pops up notifying me that the document is write protected and do I want to open it read-only. This does not happen with my XP machine. Needless to say this is extremely annoying. I have done a side by side comparison of the Options menu and both are identical. Why do I get the bothersome pop-up under Win7. Did I miss some hidden configuration? This could be a deal breaker for me and just push me back to Oo.org Please advise

Hello,

does the same message appear if you open that file with Open Office Writer? It seems to me that either the file or the whole folder is write protected. I tested TextMaker 2008 and 2010 under Windows 7 (64bit) many times and never received such a message with a tmd or doc file.

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Sven Leßmann
SoftMaker Software GmbH

I do not have Oo installed on this machine but if you give me a little while I will tell you and post my results. Thanks for your reply.

OK...very interesting. This is what I have discovered. I run a small home business. I receive many documents via email every day. I use Thunderbird 3 as my email program. When I receive a .doc file through Thunderbird, SoftMaker pops up with the message I have previously described...that the file is write protected and do I wish to continue in read-only mode. If I save that exact file to my desktop then open it, SM "says" nothing. It just happily opens the file.

I installed OpenOffice 3.1 and changed the default program for opening .doc files in Thunderbird to Oo. When I open a file through TB using Oo....no warning message. Just opens nicely. When I save that file to desktop and open with Oo...no warning message. So it appears that SM only warns me about write protected files if I open directly through Thunderbird.

Have I totally confused you? Is this a quirk with SM or Thunderbird? Frankly, I will not change email clients. I would like to hear from others who use Thunderbird 3 if they experience the same issue or am I just the lucky one.

???

Ok, the problem is that the file is write protected as long as it is an e-mail attachment. You need to download it to the hard disc in order to change/save the file.

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Sven Leßmann
SoftMaker Software GmbH

I understand that I would have to save to hard disc in order to save/change the file. What I want to do is just *READ* the file. After I read it then I can decide whether or not I want to save/change/or delete the email it came with. Other office suites (OpenOffice.org, Microsoft Office, etc.) all allow simply reading attachments directly from email without going through the hoops to save to disc then opening up just to read the file. This ability is lacking in SoftMaker 2008.

It should be no problem to open a textfile (doc, tmd or txt) with TextMaker directly from a mail without downloading the file. Please make sure that the filetype of the textfile is associated with TextMaker. I tried it here (Windows XP, SP3, Thunderbird and TextMaker) and I can open any doc or tmd file from a e-mail with just a double click to open it.

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Sven Leßmann
SoftMaker Software GmbH

I refer to my original posting. I *CAN* open SoftMaker files directly through Thunderbird. I *CAN* read them. My question as stated above is that a warning screen pops up notifying me that the file is write protected and do I want to continue. This only occurs using Win7. It does *not* occur under WinXP. And it only occurs using SoftMaker. When I open the same file/same email client/same machine using OpenOffice.org I do NOT receive any warning pop-up. When I open the same file/same email client/machine using WinXP - NO warning pop-up. I want to get rid of the pop-up! It is annoying and bothersome to see it and deal with it every time I want to simply read a file through my email client. SoftMaker is the only office suite that has this warning dialogue.

I think it must have something to do with the UAC (User account control) which doesn't exist under Windows XP but under Windows Vista and 7. I asked the developers for a solution and will answer you as soon as I have more information.

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Sven Leßmann
SoftMaker Software GmbH

Thank you so much. If the UAC is to blame then why doesn't all office suites show the warning pop-up? As far as I can tell it is only SoftMaker that does.