When a user just clicks on the link for the document it opens it as
read only. If yo hover over the link a drop down arrow appears and in
the list it shows Edit in Microsoft XXXX. This will open the document
in edit mode and allow the user to save the document in the same
location. If the document is being edited the user should check it
our first so others know that it is being worked on.

right click the excel file -> properties -> remove read only

Thanks for your input, but I think I made clear that the user 'check out a Excel
2003 file from a site' I didn't say he click on the link. Yes, my user and I are
aware of drop down arrow, but the think is that sharepoint  server is SPS 2003
(WSS 2.0) while my user's installed Excel version  in 2007 (on Vista) not 2003,
the one native for SPS 2003.

Original file on SharePoint site is an Excel 2003 file, but when it is to be
edited, Excel 2007 on client side open, edit and try to save the file, at this
moment give the user the read-only error. If the file is open on other client
where an Excel 2003 is installed absolutely no issues.

That's why I was wandering if I should blame the version difference on this
matter, or should I look somewhere else.

Thanks, but this is not helping either.

The file on SPS 2003, is an 2003 Excel (*.xls), if check out with Excel 2003 no
issues.

If checked out to be edited with Excel 2007, then, when try to save it back to
site, Excel 2007 try to save as 2007 version  (*.xlsx) file, at this moment give
the read only error message. If from Excel 2007 try to 'save as' and choose save
as type 'Excel 97-2003 Workbook' also no issues to be saved back to site, but
user will lose all Excel 2007 settings and formatting of spreadsheets which they
wouldn't want to do.

To apply your suggestion "right click the excel file -> properties -> remove
read only" I can apply this on two instances, first if I view document library
on 'explorer' view, but oblivious I don't want to do that, or, I can apply this
change to a local copy of the file, so before I try to save directly to
sharepoint site, first I have to save it locally, but if I save it locally for
sure it will not save it as read-only, I have nothing to do here.

Yes, I can just save from Excel 2007 directly to site as a new file, new file
name, which also makes no problems, no read-only error, but in this way file
versioning kept by sharepoint  will be broken.

Any other suggestions?

have you added that extension .xlsx to your sharepoint  file list? not sure if
that is the problem but worth a shot. also xls and xlsx are two totally
different files. you can save these files in the same folder on your hard drive
with the same name and it will save both without over writing. So SharePoint may
think its a different file due to the extension. Save it as a new document in
the library or list.

>have you added that extension .xlsx to your SharePoint file list? not sure if
>that is the problem but worth a shot.

As I know, you need to add a new file type only to the indexing service, if you
need that type of file to be indexed (content as well), i.e. if you add to a
document library a *.cpp file, which is basically a text file, you will need to
add this cpp extension to indexing service, but if you add to document library a
*.jpg file, you might not want to index this file, but document library will
accept to save it, save any kind of files, with no objections.

Other thing about file extensions that make problems, as I know, is when
SharePoint is not showing a proper icon associated with that extension, then you
manually need to adjust some xml file.

But neither of this 2 cases have any influence over a simple save of file to
document library.

Do you think to something else that I miss when you say to add extension?

>also xls and xlsx are two totally
>different files. you can save these files in the same folder on your hard
>drive with the same name and it will save both without over writing.

Yes, I know all of this, I just mention this in my previous e-mail.

> So
>SharePoint may think its a different file due to the extension. Save it as a
>new document in the library or list.

Yes, if we save it as a new document as I mentioned early again makes no
problems, but the version  history will be broken.

Funny thing is that, the file 'Paul.xls' is checked out, no problem, then
modified, clear the file have no read-only attributes, while in memory Excel
2007 change the file name to 'Paul.xlsx', then when to save back to SharePoint,
we got error that file 'Paul.xlsx' can't be saved because is this file is
Read-only, but at this moment there is no physical file saved anywhere, only the
in-memory one.

So if SharePoint detects that there is a new file 'Paul.xlsx' then it should
accept it as a new file and just save it as new. But it doesn’t.
If I go to 'save as' and change the name to 'Paul1.xlsx' then it is saved no
problem to document library.
If I try to save it first local, then upload, no issues.

I think this is the only solution to the issue, to save a second file, it is
fair and acceptable, but technically as I suspect from beginning I think problem
is caused by different versions SPS 2003 / Office 2007, but I was trying to find
out if something else might be the problem.