Q: When I start RTG Bills or RTG Timer I get an error message that says Error opening database followed by the name of the database (e.g., C:\Program Files\Rtgbills\Rtgbills.mdb), followed by a long message that says the database is opened exclusively by another user, or you need permission to view its data.

A: This message means that the program found the database but is unable to write information into it. There are several possible causes.

The message could mean exactly what it says, that another user has the database opened exclusively. This would be true if someone else is compacting the RTG Bills database when you try to run RTG Bills. During that process, no one else can use the database.

This error also occurs if you do not have permission to write to the network folder where the program is installed. Every user needs read and write permission in order to run RTG Bills or RTG Timer.

Finally, if you just restored the data from a backup on a CD, the files may be marked with the read-only attribute, which prevents you from writing to them. Right-click the database file, Rtgbills.mdb, and choose Properties. If the Read-only box is checked, that is the problem.

To remove the read-only attribute from all of the files in the RTG Bills folder, open the folder in Windows Explorer. Type Ctrl-A to select all files. Then right-click on any file and choose Properties. Uncheck the Read-only box and click OK.