Files locked & not able to be saved
These problems apply to all LibreOffice files on my laptop. I have a HP Spectre x360 laptop, with Microsoft Windows 10 Home version 10.0.119041, and LibreOffice version 6.4.5.2.
(1) When I open an existing LO file, I get a message, “The lock file could not be created by LibreOffice, due to missing permission to create a lock file on that file location or lack of disk space.” {Note: lack of disk space is not a problem for me.} It gives an option, ‘Open Read-Only’.
(2) On opening the file in read-only mode, it gives an option ‘Edit Document’. On clicking this, it gives a message “This document cannot be edited due to missing access rights. Do you want to edit a copy of the document?” It gives an option, ‘Open Copy’. On opening the Copy, it can be edited, but not saved: on trying to save, Windows gives a default filename of Untitled 1.odt — saving it with this name, and also with the original filename, or another filename, yields a message: “[filename] File not found. Check the filename and try again”.
(3) These attempts have been made on existing files whose default properties are not read-only.
(4) In Windows File Explorer, the default Attribute of all Folders in My Documents is ‘Read Only (Only applies to files in folder)’. {My File Explorer Folders contained files in different formats (LO, PDF, jpg, etc.).} If I try to remove this default attribute for all files in a Folder, by unticking the square, there is no consequence, i.e. when I go back to check the Attributes of the Folders all are Read-only. Still, again.
(5) Nevertheless, clicking on an individual file’s properties in File Explorer does not show it has having an attribute of Read-only (unless I had ticked that box when creating the file).
(6) I have found suggestions on the Web that say I would solve the problem by deleting a file with name .~lock.filename.odt# that is generated when I open an existing LO file. However, that action does not work. Not work. After deleting a lock file I go to the relevant applicable document, make some changes to it, and try to save it, only to get a message: “Error saving the document. Write error. The file could not be written.” ‘Okay’
(7) I am unable to create new LO files, because when I go to save a new file, with its own filename, LO tells me that a file with that filename cannot be found.
(8) I have deleted and reinstalled LO twice to see if it would self-heal. I have installed Apache OpenOffice and it gives me the same error messages (as above) as LO.
(9) Is there a solution for these problems within LO? Or — horror of horrors — will I have to instal Microsoft Office to do spreadsheeting and wordprocessing?
Note. In Windows Setttings/Windows Security, I have — currently and temporarily — turned off ‘Reputation-based protection’ on the basis that it protects my computer “from malicious or potentially unwanted apps, files, and websites” and might therefore be a culprit preventing LO from working. In turning off that feature, Windows warns me that device “may be vulnerbale” (to malicious or potentially unwaanred apps, files, and websites".
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