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Documents on CR-RW are Read Only
[The following is an email exchange posted the newsgroup so all may
benefit] [DA asked] Here's a possibly dumb question: you said "if the documents were on your CD then their file attributes have been set to read-only" - Is that always true? Duh. I was trying to make changes there, not realize I guess that the CDRW was for saving only? (the read-only box is grey-out) [Response] Primarily this depends on the application used to write the file. If it is direct-access then the read-only attribute should not be set. If you aren't then the files will be attributed as read-only. This is the way it *should* be but in some instances the files are still attributed as read-only. If a file is attributed as read-only on the CD then this attribute can not be changed on the media itself. You need to change the file attribute *after* it has been copied to your local or network drive. (Right-click the file, select Properties and clear the Read-only check box.) Also since you are using CDs for your files, here's a little background on CDs for you which may help you select the appropriate storage device for those important files: The difference between a CD-R and CD-RW is the medium. CD-R is "write once". CR-RW is write/read. The main difference between them is they use a different type of method to store the data and the medium is different as well. A CD-R uses a laser-sensitive dye which is actually "burned" by the laser. A CD-RW uses a thin layer of alloy. Examine the data surface of both a CD-R and CD-RW sometime and you'll see a visual difference. You can delete files off of both types of CDs, however if it is a CD-R the file space used by the file can not be recovered. Basically, when you delete a file from a CD-R a pointer is written to the file system which merely suppresses the file from your view. (IOW, a savvy computer geek can retrieve those files you *thought* were deleted). A CD-RW, otoh, file space can be reclaimed. Again a pointer is added to the file system to suppress the view of file but the space can be used later if needed. (And if the space hasn't been reclaimed the file can be undeleted.) Additionally, even though a CD-RW can be utilized directly for write and reading files it isn't a practice that is encouraged - especially for Office documents. This is due to the various temp files that are created in the same location as the source data. For a CD-R, once the temp file is deleted the file space can never be reclaimed since once a file is written it is permanently written. Personally I only use CD-Rs for saving data permanently. (I don't use CD-RWs since the media isn't as stable as a CD-R and files can become corrupt.) For files I need to store externally and modify, so I can carry them with me, I use a USB drive. It isn't read only memory and you can read/write to it as though it is another drive. Although, again, working directly off of removable media is discouraged. Files should be copied from the media and placed on your local drive. Then after they have been saved and closed copy them back to the drive. -- Please post all follow-up questions to the newsgroup. Requests for assistance by email can not be acknowledged. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Beth Melton Microsoft Office MVP Word FAQ: http://mvps.org/word TechTrax eZine: http://mousetrax.com/techtrax/ MVP FAQ site: http://mvps.org/ |
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