[nfbcs] Unprotecting Office Documents

[Peter Donahue]

Hello everyone,

    The Braille Readers are Leaders Contest is under way once more. Today 
Mary attempted to enter information for several books she has all ready 
finished. When the log files came up in Word and Excel 2010 they were in 
protected mode and she was unable to enter the information. How does one 
unprotect such documents in Office 2010 so they can be used for their 
intended purpose?Why weren't they checked before they were posted so 
contestants would not have this trouble? We heard it happened to some folks 
last year and it happened to Mary today.

    To be sure the problem wasn't on our end we opened several of our own 
Word documents and Excel spreadsheets to see what would happen. They came up 
in edit mode without any problems.    Rebooting the computer did not cure 
the problem of the BRAL forms opening in protected mode. This is something 
our national office should have double checked before the logs were posted 
so no one would experience this situation again. Is there a command one can 
enter to unprotect such documents? A fix is definitely in order.

    While I'm at it let me also suggest adding another submission option for 
future contests. There are modules that allow one to log data and save it 
for later processing or submission. Since the NFB Web site is running in 
Drupal I'm sure there are modules that would allow one to keep an online log 
of the books they read for submission when the contest is over. I've seen 
some of these myself and found them to be quite usable with screen readers. 
This would have the advantage of being accessible from any computer and 
provide a book logging option for those who do not have MS Office but have 
an Internet connection. We would appreciate the current contest submission 
log problem being fixed and the use of an online logging module for future 
contests. All the best.

 Peter Donahue

 “No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper.”
Isaiah 54:17

 “While for our princes they prepare
In caverns deep a burning snare,
He shot from heaven a piercing ray,
And the dark treachery brought to day.”
Anonymous