I’m sitting in class trying to type up a needed project, but every time I open a file and try to add to it, it won’t let me. It just keeps giving me the message in the subject line. I’m trying to open up a whole new empty file and copy and paste what I already have done into it, but it doesn’t let me even start. It just keeps giving me that same message.
What in the name of god does that mean and how do I fix it? Need Answer Fast. 
Usually this means the document is either protected or marked as final.
A quick way to check is to hover your mouse over the Paste button on the Home tab. If you get a popup that says “This command is currently disabled. This command is not available because the document is marked as final,” then your document is marked as final. If this is the case, click the Office button (the circle in the top left), and under Prepare, click “Mark as Final” to toggle it off.
To see if the document is protected, under the Review tab, click the Protect Document button. In the resulting menu, choose “Restrict Format and Editing”. This will pop up a new window. At the bottom, you’ll see a button labeled either “Stop Protection” or “Start Protection”. If it says “Stop Protection”, click it; you’ll have to have the password if it asks for one.
I think this error can also be caused by expired trial versions of Office 2007. If it’s none of the above, I got nothin’.
Do you share the PC with other people?
if so, maybe Someone changed the default New_Document template to lock the contents.
That’s it! Darnit! I don’t have another word processor!
Try Open Office, or Google Documents - both are about 99.9% compatible with Microsoft Office. Open Office you have to download and install, but Google Docs I believe lets you use it online.
have you ever heard of AbiWord? I’m downloading Open Office too, if Abiword is crap I can always take it off.
Thanks everyone.