XL: Can't Access File Opened as Read-Only in Visual Basic

ID: Q108432

5.00 5.00c 7.00 7.00a WINDOWS kbusage

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Excel for Windows, versions 5.0, 5.0c
Microsoft Excel for Windows 95, versions 7.0, 7.0a

SUMMARY

A file opened as read-only through a Visual Basic macro will remain read-only to other applications until it is closed.

This is normal operation of Visual Basic. Visual Basic opens the file for input in compatibility mode; this prevents other users from opening the file in anything other than compatibility-input mode.

This functionality is different than the FOPEN function in Microsoft Excel version 4.0. The statement =FOPEN(filename,2) will allow read-only access while allowing full access to other applications.

Macro Example

Microsoft provides examples of Visual Basic procedures for illustration only, without warranty either expressed or implied, including but not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability and/or fitness for a particular purpose. This Visual Basic procedure is provided 'as is' and Microsoft does not guarantee that it can be used in all situations. Microsoft does not support modifications of this procedure to suit customer requirements for a particular purpose. Note that a line that is preceded by an apostrophe introduces a comment in the code--comments are provided to explain what the code is doing at a particular point in the procedure. Note also that an underscore character (_) indicates that code continues from one line to the next. You can type lines that contain this character as one logical line or you can divide the lines of code and include the line continuation character. For more information about Visual Basic for Applications programming style, see the "Programming Style in This Manual" section in the "Document Conventions" section of the "Visual Basic User's Guide."

The following code opens a file (C:\TEST.TXT) as read only and forces the file as read only to other applications until you close the file or quit Microsoft Excel:

   Sub Test()
      Dim FileNumber as Integer
      FileNumber = FreeFile()
      Open "c:\test.txt" For Input Access Read As #FileNumber
   End Sub

1. Open the file C:\TEST.TXT in a text editor (such as Write, which is

   located in the accessories group of Program Manager).

2. From the File menu, choose Save.

3. You will receive a message stating that the file is read-only and should

   be saved as a different name.

KBCategory: kbusage KBSubcategory:

Additional reference words: 5.00 7.00

Version           : 5.00 5.00c 7.00 7.00a
Platform          : WINDOWS

Last Reviewed: September 15, 1996