# PC Thinks My Files Are Proected!

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-thinks-my-files-are-proected/253050>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 1, 2004, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-thinks-my-files-are-proected/253050 "2004-07-01T14:30:31Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\
**Post date:** [July 1, 2004, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-thinks-my-files-are-proected/253050/1 "2004-07-01T14:30:31Z")

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Help! How can I “unprotect” word documents that PC thinks are protected!  
Is there an option somewhere I can reset, or de-select?!!!

- Jinx

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**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\
**Post date:** [July 1, 2004, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-thinks-my-files-are-proected/253050/2 "2004-07-01T15:19:38Z")

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(1) Use Windows Explorer to find the document.

(2) Once you’ve found the document in WE, right-click on the name of or thecicon for the document, then click on “Properties”.

(3) In “Attributes”, click on “Read-only” so that there isn’t an “x” next to it.

(4) Click on “OK”.

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**Author:** ![Rex\_Fenestrarum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rex_fenestrarum/32/7265_2.png) [@Rex\_Fenestrarum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rex_Fenestrarum)\
**Post date:** [July 1, 2004, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-thinks-my-files-are-proected/253050/3 "2004-07-01T15:47:14Z")

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Define “protected”… **Giles** is correct in what he says about “read-only” files, but if you are getting “access denied” messages, then it’s something else - usually permissions, but this could be caused by many different things. For example, if you have a laptop and logon to a domain account at work but the local machine account at home, your files might only have permissions set up for the domain account. Also, ownership could have screwed up somehow and this might be affecting things.

Could you elaborate?

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**Author:** ![Chunky\_Bum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Chunky\_Bum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chunky_Bum)\
**Post date:** [July 1, 2004, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-thinks-my-files-are-proected/253050/4 "2004-07-01T17:36:51Z")

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MS Word has a ‘Protect Document’ feature (for Tracked Changes, Comments, and Forms).

Open up the MS Word document. Click _Tools \> Unprotect Document_.

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**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\
**Post date:** [July 3, 2004, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-thinks-my-files-are-proected/253050/5 "2004-07-03T13:32:19Z")

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I shoul have mentioned this was a PC at work. Although it did not happen to all my files, it was a glitch within global settings that only my Administrator could correct. What a pain! Not sure why it happened and why it seemed to be selective to only certain files…but at least it’s fixed! Thanks, y’all! - Jinx