Why do I have an uneditable file for Windows Phone 8.1?

[Sae1962]

Uneditable file for Windows Phone 8.1

Hello!

I have a Nokia Lumia 930 that runs under Windows Phone 8.1. On my desktop PC and my notebook at home, Windows 8.1 is running. I do not have Windows Excel at home & use the cloud application instead.

What I access frequently on my OneDrive are files where I write actions done on daily basis, like my accounting.

I started using mobile devices around 2000. The first device I used was a Philips Nino 300 that run under Windows CE. On that times, any application that needed more CPU power was unable to run on such platforms. Therefore, I had to write my daily notes in text files, synchronise the data, copy the text into the respective "real" data files (like an Microsoft Excel file) and check the calculations done properly. I think this time is now over, but maybe I am wrong.

The problem:
I run into problems with several files that have become read-only on the mobile device. It is still possible to edit them as usual over the OneDrive or with installed Microsoft software. Also, some of them can be edited with OpenOffice, which I've used rarely.

To show my problem, I created an Microsoft Excel files, but I do not know how to append them to a question here.

Thank you for your help!

 

[Muessig]

These files that you regularly edit through OneDrive are read-only through your mobile device only?

It might be worth try to reset your office, see if that helps. If you go to settings>applications>Office>Reset Office. Let us know if this helps.

 

[gpobernardo]

My experience with this kind of error was when I opened a file in my phone then tried to save and upload the changes to OneDrive, but due to network connection problems OneDrive doesn't terminate the connection and thus interprets that the file I have just saved is "still opened" in another session, making the file "read-only".
If this is your scenario, just open your OneDrive folder in any browser (not in your phone) with a stable connection, then make a copy of that file - preferably to another folder. Open that file (wait for it to load fully) and close it. Then finally "overwrite" the old file with the copy.

You may want to try this one along with Muessig's suggestion, and let us know if any of these works.

 

[Sae1962]

Hello!

Thank you for your reply! I cannot access the reset office option from my Nokia Lumia 930 under Windows Phone 8.1. When I click on the tile of office, I can move or shrink it. When I click under the apps on the icon, I have the option to add it to "Start". Inside office, there is no "Settings" option in the menu.

 

[Sae1962]

Hello!

Thank you for your reply! No, the problem occurs only after some special editing, like adding/deleting a new column with the Microsoft Web Excel. If there is a real expert on Excel files, I could somehow send the files to this person for a thorough check. The files have been created by just adding a column to a R/W Excel file of mine, and all of a sudden, they appear to be read-only on the phone only.

 

[gpobernardo]

Hello!

Thank you for your reply! No, the problem occurs only after some special editing, like adding/deleting a new column with the Microsoft Web Excel. If there is a real expert on Excel files, I could somehow send the files to this person for a thorough check. The files have been created by just adding a column to a R/W Excel file of mine, and all of a sudden, they appear to be read-only on the phone only.

It is still possible that the "read-only" bug is caused by an open loop connection to the server (or the one I just described in my post). Have your tried opening your excel file in your laptop browser, make a copy of that file (in another location), open that file, close that file and then transfer it to the original folder (over writing the old file)?