Read only error when opening a Simply Accounting file

1 minute read time.

This week I wanted to touch-base on one of the more common issues we receive help requests regarding: the 'some files are read-only' error when opening a file in Simply Accounting.

If you're running on a Windows 7 or Vista machine, make sure that your data files are stored outside of the 'Program Files' area as the newer versions of Windows will interrupt normal flow of data stored in this location.  If your files are stored there then copy and paste both the 'companyname.sai' file and the companyname.saj' folder to a new folder at the top of the C: drive or anywhere you feel comfortable outside of the 'Program Files' area.

It's important to remember that the program no longer runs on the Microsoft Access database and that it's important to always open a file by opening Simply first, then choosing either the 'select an existing company' or 'last company worked on' option, or just choose the file you'd like to open in the Explore window if the 'splash screen' with opening options has been turned off.  Simply double-clicking on a file will not always engage the proper Windows access-rights and you may end up with a 'read only' error.

As with any issue opening a Simply Accounting file, it's always a good idea to test whether or not the 'Sample Company' is having problems opening as well (also shown in the 'splash screen' opening window options).  If the Sample Company is returning the same error upon opening, then the issue may be rooted in the Microsoft .net Frameworks installed on your computer and you may need to reinstall these components.

Another troubleshooting tip is to try logging in from multiple computers, if your office is networked, in order to ascertain whether it's only a problem for certain users/workstations or if it's only an issue when the second person, no matter which user/workstation is used, tried to open as this would indicate a separate cause.

It's always a good idea to check the sharing/permissions settings as well, even if these have not been changed deliberately, as certain Windows functions (such as attempting to open a data file using a shortcut to that data file) can automatically downgrade access rights to the shared file.

For a complete list of troubleshooting steps on this topic, our Knowledgebase article 23204 on 'Read Only Error Opening the Database On a Server' can be viewed here.