'Read-Only' File Property

[BlackBox]

There is a senior member of our CAD community who is still stuck (mentally, and otherwise) in all things AutoCAD 2006 Land Desktop, and refuses to adopt the CAD Standards implimented last year when my company deployed 2009 (I know! ... Can you say 'employer's market?!')

Adding to the difficulty in working with this person, is that this person, via Windows Explorer, changes the properties of all project related drawings and files to 'Read-Only' so that nobody else can manipulate the drawings, without their expressed knowledge of whom did what, and when, etc. <- CAD Nazi

Is it possible, using Visual LISP (ActiveX), to identify a means of manipulating the 'Read-Only' property for a drawing?

I'm aware of vla-get-readonly, but desire to manipulate this property. Apropos also shows the vlax-vbreadonly function, but I cannot find documentation.

As always, thanks for your help in advance!

[rkmcswain]

So what is to stop someone from simply removing the read-only flag using Explorer?
IOW - why use AutoCAD to manipulate files?

More importantly, why is this person allowed to sabotage working files like this?

This screams "management problem" - not a technical problem...

[BlackBox]

So what is to stop someone from simply removing the read-only flag using Explorer?
IOW - why use AutoCAD to manipulate files?

Absolutely nothing.

Windows Explorer is how I presently have to do this. However, in doing so, you're now the owner of said files, having been the last person to modify their properties. Which is fine, it's just unnecessary, as we'd already be the owner of the file when we save the drawing (duh!).

As I only work with this person infrequently, I often *forget* that they do this, as I do the *right thing*(?), and work IAW the standards that have been implemented for the last year.

As to why do this from AutoCAD, I ask because when I do have to work with this person, it's usually at the request of my boss (one of the VP's) who usually gets handed a hard copy of something, and wants me to make a copy with some changes. So I open the drawing based upon the stamp information, only to see the 'Read-Only' alert.

I was only reminded of this today, as I had to email a client some information as illustrated in the example above. Hence the question posed in this thread.

More importantly, why is this person allowed to sabotage working files like this?

This screams "management problem" - not a technical problem...

Short answer... Ego. Shocking, I know.

Long answer (and from the horse's mouth)... This person setup 2006 enterprise wide (layer naming conventions, .arg, .cui, .lsp, directory structure, etc.), and then weren't promoted to Corporate CAD Manager (CCM), so everything the new CCM (external hire in 2007) did thereafter was somehow *wrong*. They've convinced their manager of this, and were basically given free rain to use whatever they wanted, i.e. 2006, as long as they were productive.

We're not talking about project revisions for projects that originated in 2006 (I myself hop back now and then), we're talking about projects that were created this week. Alas, I digress....

:: Back on topic ::

Again, if there's any suggestions, please let me know.

[alanjt]

Again, if there's any suggestions, please let me know.

Meet this guy in the parking lot, with a brick.

[BlackBox]

Meet this guy in the parking lot, with a brick.

LOL - That won't be necessary.

They suffer from what Mark Kiker described as being "Too Good For [His] Own Good" and he refuses to anything new (that he hasn't setup ).

Besides, at the rate they keep making other managers angry, oh, how did one of my managers state it... "their days are numbered!"

[alanjt]

When it shows you the "Read-Only" tag, just open the file's directory, remove the "Read-Only" property and do a SaveAs, using the same drawing name.

Straight out of my toolbox: opens directory of active drawing:

(defun C:DIRR nil (startapp "EXPLORER" (getvar 'dwgprefix)) (princ))

[BlackBox]

When it shows you the "Read-Only" tag, just open the file's directory, remove the "Read-Only" property and do a SaveAs, using the same drawing name.

Straight out of my toolbox: opens directory of active drawing:

(defun C:DIRR nil (startapp "EXPLORER" (getvar 'dwgprefix)) (princ))

Understood, thanks for the suggestion.

[BlackBox]

"No [Write Access] for YOU!" <- CAD Nazi

[alanjt]

"No [Write Access] for YOU!" <- CAD Nazi

"You want [write access]? Two dollars."

[BlackBox]

"You want [write access]? Two dollars."

That's hilarious!