IN THIS TASK
IMPORTANT: This article contains information about modifying the registry. Before you
modify the registry, make sure to back it up and make sure that you understand how to restore
the registry if a problem occurs. For information about how to back up, restore, and edit the
registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
256986 Description of the Microsoft Windows Registry
SUMMARY
This article describes how to turn off multi-user editing, so that you cannot edit a document that is currently in use by another user.
Multi-user editing is a new feature in Microsoft Office XP. With multi-user editing, you can open a document that is locked for editing by another user, edit a local copy of the document, and then merge those changes into the original document.
back to the topTurn Off Multi-User Editing
You can turn off multi-user editing by adding a non-zero value to the
NoPromptToForkDocuments DWORD entry in the following Microsoft Windows registry key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\10.0\Word\Options
To do this, follow these steps.
WARNING: If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems that may
require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that you can solve
problems that result from using Registry Editor incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own
risk.
- Quit Microsoft Word 2002.
- Click Start, and then click Run. In the Open box, type Regedit, and then click OK.
- In Registry Editor, expand the following subkey:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\10.0\Word\Options
- On the Edit menu, point to New, and then click DWORD Value.
- In the New Value #1 box, type NoPromptToForkDocuments, and then press ENTER.
- Right-click the NoPromptToForkDocuments entry, and then click Modify on the shortcut menu that appears.
- In the Value data box, type 1, and then click OK.
- Quit Registry Editor.
When you now try to open a document that is in use, you receive a message similar to the following:
Filename.doc is locked for editing
by 'Username'
Open 'Read-Only' or, click 'Notify' to open read-only and receive
notification when the document is no longer in use.
When Multi-User Editing Is on
When multi-user editing is on, if you try to open a Microsoft Word document that is currently in use, you receive the following message:
File In Use
The
filename.doc is locked for editing by '
Username'.
Do you want to:
- Open a Read Only copy
- Create a local copy and merge your changes later
- Receive notification when the original copy is available
The second option in the preceding list means that you can edit a local copy of the document, and then merge those changes into the original document.
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