Emailing Word Templates so they open as Read-only | Word forum

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Fri 23 Feb 2018, 15:33 Delegate Yvonne said...

Yvonne has attended:
Word Advanced course

Emailing Word Templates so they open as Read-only

Hi

When sending someone a Word template I've created (where for a valid reason the user cannot access the network location where it is stored etc.) I am sending it as an attachment in its original .dotx format.

Why is it that unlike every other time when attempting to open a .dotx file where it forces you to open it as a new .docx format, sending it as an attachment allows users to open it in its original 2template" .dotx mode which we don't want.

It makes no difference whether or not I apply the Windows Explorer attribute of Read only to it either.

We don't have the ability or resource time to start looking at using VBA protection in the document itself.

Any ideas?
Thanks
Yvonne

Mon 26 Feb 2018, 14:09 Trainer Marius said...

RE: Emailing Word Templates so they open as Read-only

Hello Yvonne,

Thank you for your question. Just to be clear, is it a document the recipient needs to fill in / add to and send back or just to read? I need to understand the purpose of the template for context.

Kind regards
Marius Barnard
STL

Mon 26 Feb 2018, 14:19 Delegate Yvonne said...

RE: Emailing Word Templates so they open as Read-only

Hi Marius

No just a plain old document for them to look at - no control fields or macros in them.

Thanks
Yvonne

Mon 26 Feb 2018, 14:37 Trainer Marius said...

RE: Emailing Word Templates so they open as Read-only

Hi Yvonne,

The workaround I would suggest is to add a password using Review - Restrict Editing. I would recommend using 'Filling in forms' as your option. Even though there aren't form controls in your document, this option prevents any editing, including copy and paste. The document will effectively be read-only.

The protection keeps working even when sending the doc as an attachment.

I hope this helps.

Kind regards
Marius

Mon 26 Feb 2018, 14:40 Delegate Yvonne said...

RE: Emailing Word Templates so they open as Read-only

Hi Marius

I really don't want to have to add a password to any template I send out so unfortunately, that isn't an option.

I don't understand why it is doing it though which is just as frustrating - when a user has access to the folder containing the document, double-clicking simply defaults to NEW, but when sent by email using another Microsoft product, it changes the default to OPEN, which makes no sense.

Anyway, thanks for trying.
regards
Yvonne

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