InDesign CS4 Files Open as Read-Only (Mac)

Question

Having a problem where InDesign CS4 files sometimes open as read-only versions. This happens when opened by double-clicking through Finder, force opening by dragging the file over the ID icon in the Dock, or when opened through ID (file > open). If it's relevant, the ID file contains links to InCopy files that have been made using the Assignments Panel. System is Mac OS X 10.6.2. Any help &/or insight is greatly appreciated!

Answer 1

I got a similar kind of problem / error trying to migrate an InDesign Server CS4 solution to another server with InDesign Server CS5.
Windows 2008 server.
I'll describe it, just in case it might give any clues.
Calling an InDesign server "open" script, trying to open an InDesign document, using a network path - although the file is on the same server - resulted in an error message:
System.Exception: 3598: Error from InDesign. Cannot save the document. No destination file supplied.
In the script there is a line, telling Indesign Server to call the save method, if the document is modified, which can be the case after opening a document from another environment, converting to CS5, and links that need relinking and other stuff that either InDesign takes care of, or that the script does.
No lock file ( .idlk ) was created on the server, but until I restarted the InDesign server instance, the file was opened as read-only when I opened it on my own computer (from the same network path on the server). I could then not save it from my own computer (the "Save As" dialogue appeared when I selected "Save" in the File menu).
After restarting the InDesign Service, the file was no longer locked (restarting the sevice automatically clears all open threads to the documents), and I could use and save the file without trouble, from my own computer.
Changing from Local Service to Administrator for running the InDesign service on the server, made the document open. Setting full permissions to the "Local Service" account, on the network share in question, also works, and that's the way I left it.
So my problem had to do with permissions on the network share. Since the service account was not allowed to do certain things, such as "modify" files... something went wrong.
Probably no lock file could be written either, due to permissions... then the open document and locking was handled by the operating system only(?), keeping the document read-only, and reporting other messages than the expected ones. It somehow seems that the document was neither open nor closed on the server (since InDesign Server has no user interface, I can only report what my method calls "saw").
Now - with the permissions of the service account changed - trying to open the document on my computer I get the correct message: "Cannot open the document [...]. You may not have permission or the document may be open already."
(When it was opened in a faulty state - with insufficient permissions - on the server, I could still open it on my computer, but as read-only, due to the missing lock file.)