How do I unlock a file in Textedit?

pooper:

Try this:
1. Select document in Finder.
2. Get Info (command + i)
3. Expand the General header.
4. Look for the Locked box at bottom
5. Uncheck, if checked.

Please post back should you have further questions/comments.

Good luck.

cornlius

Pooper: A .cws file is a ClarisWorks or AppleWorks template: a file that, when you double-click it, causes the parent application (C'Wks or A'Wks) to create a new file that is an exact duplicate of the template file, except that it's unlocked and ready to have text entered into it. The template file is locked, not by using the "locked" checkbox, but by virtue of being a template instead of a document. A template is locked by definition, so you won't change it by mistake, and can use it over and over as the basis for many new documents.

Instead of saving all your documents as templates, save them as documents. In AppleWorks or ClarisWorks, this will result in their having .cwk instead of .cws as a filename extension. The necessary options can be found in the "Save" and/or "Save As..." dialog boxes in Appleworks or ClarisWorks — probably in a pull-down file format menu. I don't use those apps myself, so I'm not certain what those dialog boxes look like in them.

The issue of other people not being able to open the files you email to them is unrelated. Anyone who doesn't have AppleWorks or ClarisWorks will be unable to open files that are written in its native formats. If you trashed your copy of AppleWorks/ClarisWorks, you wouldn't be able to open them yourself. Files that you will want to share with people who don't have A'Wks/C'Wks should be saved in a universal file format such as RTF or plain text.