[LON-CAPA-users] Saving Excel file from IE
lon-capa-users@mail.lon-capa.org
lon-capa-users@mail.lon-capa.org
Thu, 11 Sep 2008 07:51:04 -0400
<div>When we do this, the student cannot save in any manner; not Save, or S=
ave As.<br><br>It is correct behavior that the Save operation fails; the do=
wnloaded file is marked as ReadOnly, so you can't do the Save (the file is =
a temporary file somewhere in the Temp Internet files). However, we cannot =
Save As to the local C: drive, or anywhere else.<br><br>Interesting that in=
your case, apparently you get the expected behavior that you can Save As t=
o the local disk. It sounds like something in our system admin is preventin=
g us from doing the Save As operation.<br><br>brew<br></div><font color=3D"=
#990099">-----lon-capa-users-admin@mail.lon-capa.org wrote: -----<br><br></=
font><blockquote style=3D"border-left: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding-righ=
t: 0px; padding-left: 5px; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 0px;">To: lon-ca=
pa-users@mail.lon-capa.org<br>From: "Ray Batchelor" <batchelo@sfu.ca>=
<br>Sent by: lon-capa-users-admin@mail.lon-capa.org<br>Date: 09/11/2008 05:=
01AM<br>Subject: Re: [LON-CAPA-users] Saving Excel file from IE<br><br><div=
dir=3D"ltr">Yes this sounds weird. I am also concerned to understand an ex=
planation of this behavior. I suspect this only happens when one cho=
oses "Save", as opposed to "Save as"? I'm not sure what happens in th=
e former case, but the opened file appears to have a version number [1] add=
ed to its name and when one tries to "Save", it says there is a "sharing vi=
olation". It is not clear to me exactly where it is trying to s=
ave this file, nor why it adds the version number, nor the reason for the s=
haring vilolation. However there is no such file to be found by searc=
hing on the local drive.<br><br>On the other hand, choosing to "Save as" al=
lows one to specify the directory and filename, and this works fine. =
<br><br>It might seem that until "Save as" has been used, there exists no l=
ocal file associated with the name, and so "Save" is pointing to some virtu=
al location which is tied up with the open xls process?<br><br>I woul=
d guess that this behaviour and semantics are peculiar to IE7 and that othe=
r browser downloads might behave in a more apparently straight-forward fash=
ion.<br><br>For example, clicking on the link in Firefox I get an option to=
Open the file but must specify which application to use. If I choose=
to open with Excel, then the file opens "Read only". Editing that an=
d trying to save, results in excel presenting the opportunity to rename the=
file about to be saved. I suppose this is because saving to the same=
file name results in the conflict with the "Read only" status of the opene=
d file. I suppose the "Read only" status is the browsers way of ensur=
ing that the initially downloaded file remains an authentic copy. <br><br>P=
resumably something similar is going on with IE, but microsoft messages alw=
ays seem to have been composed by mystics.<br><br>That's my 2-cents worth f=
or tonight. Maybe somebody more knowledgable can shed some light as t=
o how this can be made more transparent for students.<br><br><br><div class=
=3D"gmail=5Fquote">On Wed, Sep 10, 2008 at 7:04 PM, <span dir=3D"ltr"><=
<a href=3D"mailto:Robert=5FBrewington@er.monroe.edu">Robert=5FBrewington@er=
.monroe.edu</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class=3D"gmail=5Fquote" st=
yle=3D"border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex=
; padding-left: 1ex;"><font size=3D"2">I am having a strange problem, and m=
y IT department isn't having any success tracking this down. I'm hoping som=
eone out there may have some suggestions...<br><br>I have uploaded an Excel=
spreadsheet (97-2003 .xls format) to LonCapa (actually, about 50 of them).=
Within a LonCapa problem, I have a link that allows the student to downloa=
d the spreadsheet. <br><br>The students are running IE7. The spreadsheet do=
wnloads into IE; the student then modifies the spreadsheet just fine.<br><b=
r>The problem: when the student tries to save the spreadsheet to a local di=
sk, he gets an error that the file cannot be saved; they do not have suffic=
ient permission to save. This occurs regardless of whether they save to the=
local C: drive, a network drive, or a local removable USB thumb drive.<br>=
<br>As a workaround, the student is able to download the file to disk, then=
open it directly in Excel and save it. Unfortunately, it seems that high s=
chool students cannot learn to do this. They click on the link about 85% of=
the time, ignoring the Bold, RED font directions not to do that. :(<br><br=
>Some of them have found another way to mess it up - they successfully down=
load the file to disk, but then open it directly in IE instead of opening i=
t in Excel - apparently they expect all things to work within the browser. =
In this case, the same behavior occurs - the file cannot be saved.<br><br>T=
his sounds to me like some sort of security setting within IE, to try and a=
void malicious hacks by not letting Office files be saved when opened direc=
tly in IE. But, I can't find a setting in the IE options that sounds like i=
t controls this....<br><br>Hopefully someone can suggest a direction to try=
- this is weird.<br><br>Thanks,<br>brew<br><br></font><br>=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=
=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=
=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F
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lman/listinfo/lon-capa-users</a></blockquote></div><br><br clear=3D"all"><b=
r>-- <br>Raymond J. Batchelor, Ph.D.<br>Department of Chemistry<br>Simon Fr=
aser University<br>Burnaby, BC<br>Canada<br>V5A 1S8<br><br></div></blockquo=
te><br><BR>