Why don't you want to use the built in capability for Read only
recommended. It doesn't require any password. The user can reject it.

Your reserved by message is a bit confusing. Are multiple people trying to
use the workbook at the same time?


--
Regards,
Tom Ogilvy



"Jay" wrote in message
...
I'm looking for transparent alternatives to the built-in procedures that
make
a workbook 'read-only.' Specifically, I'm looking for a way for a workbook
(that is not read-only) to make itself read-only each time it opens.

I'm searching for this solution because in my application, it is confusing
for users to see the "Password" dialog that states that "...the file is
reserved by... Enter a password for write access, etc....". The standard
approach to suppressing this dialog with application.displayalerts=false
does
not work when implemented in the WorkBook_Open event procedure of the
ThisWorkbook object.

Also, I've checked the File's ReadOnly attribute in Windows Explorer, but
when emailed to another user, this attribute gets cleared (unchecked)
---
Thanks for any advice you VBA RockStars can provide,
Jay