Have you ever opened a document? Microsoft Word Only to discover that you don't have edit access? This usually happens when the file is in read-only format. Read-only format is enabled in Microsoft Word In two ways:
- By default, on your system as a safety precaution for files obtained from an online source.
- Manually by someone who has set their password.
When this happens, you need to remove the restriction before you can edit the document. There are several ways to remove read-only restrictions from a Microsoft Word document. This post will explain the first three in the steps below:
Enable editing for newly downloaded files
For files downloaded from email, shared drives, and other sources, Microsoft Word automatically opens these files in Protected View. Therefore, you can only view the contents of the document. However, you can't edit it unless you enable editing.
The steps below will show you how to enable editing for newly downloaded files:
Step 1: On your computer, go to File location which has been downloaded.
Step 2: Double-click the file to open it. Alternatively, you can right-click. File and select to open.
Step 3: When you start a Word document, look for a yellow banner at the top of the window. It tells you: Logo That the file is in Protected View , and you should stay in this view, unless you need to edit the document.
Step 4: Click “Enable editing” At the end of the logo.
Step 5: Click "save" To keep your settings.
After that, the document should no longer appear in read-only format and you can edit the contents of the document.
Disable protection for password-protected files
Users can view files in read-only mode, while files with editing restrictions can be enabled using password protection. If you have the file's password, here's what you can do to disable it.
Step 1: Click start menu , And type Microsoft Word , And press Enter to start Word document.
Step 2: Click Review tab On the bar at the top of the screen.
Step 3: Verify Different options and click Drop-down menu Under the protection option.
Step 4: Click Editing restriction.
Step 5: You should see a panel on the right. Microsoft Word windowGo to the bottom of the section and click on Stop protection.
Step 6: if done Set a password In advance to restrict editing, you will need to provide this password, then click "OK".
Step 7: Click "save" To keep your changes.
Step 8: try to Edit the document To see if what you did in the previous steps worked.
If you don't have the password for the document, you can try copying the contents of the document and pasting it into a new file.
Change file properties
The final method we'll discuss in this post is changing file properties. Read-only access can be enabled and disabled for a Word document from the file properties settings. If none of the methods discussed previously work, you may want to try the steps below to edit document properties.
Step 1: Locate Word document location on your computer using File Explorer.
Make sure the Word document is saved on your computer for the steps below to work. If the document is saved on an external drive, move it to a location on your computer.
Step 2: Right click File icon To open List of optionsIf you are using a Windows computer, select Properties. However, if you use Mac , click on Get Info.
Step 3: Go to Permissions Section In Windows, you'll find this next to Features.
Step 4: cancel check the box located next to Read only to disable the feature.
Step 5: Click "Application" until the changes become effective.
Step 6: Click OK button to save the changes.
Step 7: Double-click the document to open it. Alternatively, right-click the document and select to open.
Step 8: try to Edit the document To check if it works.
Site parts of a Microsoft Word document
Microsoft Word's read-only restriction ensures that all parts of a document are restricted from editing. However, if you want to lock parts of a document, you can use the Content Developer or Word's Restrict Editing feature. Using either of these features ensures that restrictions apply only to specific parts of your file.
