Possible fix for Word2004 "Date Modified" issue

Question

I'm not sure if anyone else is still dealing with this problem - we discussed it a year ago here:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=7610823
But just in case there's someone else out there with the problem - I think I've found a fix (requiring OSX Server 10.5, tested on OSX Server 10.5.6)
The problem:
When you have a Word 2004 file (whatever.doc) stored on a server (10.4.0-10.5.6) then you have an annoying Date Modified issue. Whenever someone who is not the owner simply opens the file, the Date Modified date updates. When the owner of the file opens it, the date does not change. So by simply opening the document (and making no changes, and not re-saving it) you trigger an update of the Date Modified field.
More info can be found following the link above.
Well. I think I've found a work-around that's better then the current "Have everyone login as the same user" one.
In OSX Server, setup the permissions for the share with group as "read only" - so the POSIX permissions only give non-owners read-only access. (Everyone should also be RO or None)
Then you need to apply a Custom ACL. You want to give them Read & Write, but then edit the Write permissions to not allow Write Attributes and Write Extended Attributes.
So the ACL is:
[ ] Administration
[Y] Read
[-] Write
--[ ] Write Attributes
--[ ] Write Extended Attributes
--[Y] Create Files (Write Data)
--[Y] Create Folder (Append Data)
--[Y] Delete
--[Y] Delete Subfolders and Files
[Y] Inheritance
Obviously this means your users cannot write attributes - so for photos and other files where meta-data is critical, this is not a great idea. But for the vast majority of shares, this is fine - they can still "read and write" all the files and folders, but the Date Modified problem does not arise.
I'd be interested to see if this works for anyone else. Please let me know
Charles

Answer 1

Interesting and understood. I always tell people/clients that want to use dates either date created but definitely date modified to add that into the name of the file or call them revisions each time, ie:
lawsuitJamesrev2
or
lawsuitJames_5_1209
Reason being is depending on the backup system or worse yet disaster recovery you might not see or be able to see modified dates. IF the file is labeled as shown above it makes it easier. Again each person is different but from experience this works best as well as sorting. Also law firms I worked with have a number system since they needed to follow regulations on how to secure content. Again just ideas...hope you find an answer and pass it on