From time to time you may want to publish a document, like meeting minutes, in read-only mode, so that the document is protected against any accidential changes. With OpenOffice.org you have several different special options to publish your document.
Set the "Open this document in read-only mode" option
This option protects the document against accidential changes by the reader. It is easy for anyone to remove the protection and change the contents.
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Choose Tools - Options - OpenOffice.org - Security.
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Enable Open this document in read-only mode.
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Click OK.
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Save the document.
This option is saved as an internal flag in the document file. When you or another user opens the document with the OpenOffice.org software, the document is in read-only mode. The text (read-only) is appended to the document name in the title bar. This also applies to copies of the document that you create by your system's file manager.
The user cannot edit the document, but the user can click the Edit File icon on the Standard toolbar. This resets the document into normal mode with full editing features. If the user saves the document, overwriting the original file, then the read-only flag is gone and the original contents might be changed.
Save the document as a template
This option protects the document against accidential changes by the reader. On normal opening the "protection" gets removed automatically and the user can change the contents, but only in a copy of the original template document. It is not easily possible to change the original file by accident.
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Choose File - Save as when you are ready to save the document as a template.
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Open the File type drop-down list and select ODF Text Document Template (.ott).
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Enter a name for the template file and click Save.
The text document template gets an extension of .ott. When a user opens the file in OpenOffice.org Writer, a copy of the document is created automatically with the name "Untitled N", where N is a number. The user can edit the contents and save the document as a normal text document with an extension of .odt. The template file remains unchanged on the disk.
Only when the user chooses to save as a template and to overwrite the original template file using the original name, then the original gets changed. This will not happen accidentially.
Set file permissions
This option can protect the document file against overwriting by all users or by users who do not belong to your group. It can even prohibit reading by users. The operating system cares for what is allowed and what is not.
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Save the document as a normal file.
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Open the file manager of your operating system, or a terminal or shell window, and set the file permissions.
A user with the right permissions can open the file for reading and/or writing. If the user can only read the file, the document shows (read-only) behind its name in the OpenOffice.org Writer title bar.
The user can click the Edit File icon. A dialog tells the user that the original file cannot be changed and offers to open a copy with the name "Untitled N" for editing. It is not possible for a user without write permissions to overwrite, delete or rename the original file. I haven't tested what happens after copying the file to other folders or other operating systems though.
Publish as PDF
This option creates a file that normally will open in a read-only software without editing capability. You can also publish your Writer document as HTML, and a web browser would open the document. But the PDF normally preserves the original layout better than an HTML file. A user needs special software to edit the PDF document's contents.
The reader of your document does not need a version of OpenOffice.org to read the contents.
What I like with PDF or HTML documents: I can browse through pages using the spacebar. This should really be possible in Writer, too, when the document is in read-only mode. May be some day in the future OOo gets a browse mode?
Signing a document
There is only one way to guarantee that the document's contents are still original and not changed by any other person. The author must digitally sign the document. This adds some additional information to the document file.
When OpenOffice.org opens a signed original document, it displays a green Signed icon on the Status bar. The user can edit the document, however, but any editing action would invalidate the signature. The green icon turns red immediately.
It might be possible to set a document to open in read-only mode and then to sign it. This would make it less likely that the reader accidentially invalidates the signature.
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Get a certificate for signing documents. The OpenOffice.org Help has all the necessary information: search for "certifications" or "signing documents".
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Choose File - Save to save your document as a file.
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Choose File - Digital Signatures and add your signature.
Save with a password
While "Publish as PDF" is well suited for a document to be published, the "Save with password" option is best to protect against publishing the document contents. OpenOffice.org uses a very strong password protection method, so a user will definitely need the correct password to open the document. If the password is chosen well (long enough, not a word from any dictionary of the world, etc), then it is almost impossible to see the contents without knowing the password.
You can save a document with a password. Check the option in the File-Save dialog. Then publish the document on your web space or hand out copies of the document to your audience. Give the password that is needed to open the document only to those users who are allowed to open the document. They can read and edit the document, and they can also choose to save the document with or without a password. And they can publish the password - so better choose a new password each time.
A password protection does not protect against deleting, renaming or copying the document using a system file manager. Copies will be protected by the same password as the original file.
Cnyptognaphic Methods
Thank you for reading so much text. Want some fun? Copy the text to OpenOffice.org Writer, then replace all letters "l" by the letter "n", for example. Read loud to your family or friends. The first one laughing must stand up on one leg and spell the word "cnyptognaphic".
Warning: This encrypted encoding from words to sound can permanently irritate persons or pets in the room.