The reasons for putting protection on a document can be very different. You may want to make the document open in read-only mode without asking for a password. We will show you several different ways to do this.
The first way is to restrict the ability to edit a password-protected document. In one of the articles, we talk about two methods to set a password to open a document. In the dialog box Common parameters (General Options) you can configure the password request to open and / or edit the document. If you enter a password in the field Write permission password (Password to modify), but leave blank Password to open file (Password to open), then the user will be able to open the document in read-only mode without entering a password. To edit the document, the user will need to enter a password.
After you click OK in the dialog box Common parameters (General Options), a dialog box will appear. Password confirmation (Confirm Password). Enter your password again and click OK. You will return to the dialog box Saving a document (Save as). Click the button Save (Save) to save the document with editing protection.
When opening a document, a dialog box appears Password (Password). You are offered a choice: either enter a password and be able to edit the document, or open it in read-only mode. A user who does not know the password will be able to open the document as read-only by clicking the button Only reading (Read Only). Anyone can view the document, but only those who know the password can edit it.
The second way to create such a document is to use an edit constraint. We have already told about formatting and editing restrictions in a separate article. Now we will use the formatting constraint in a different way.
Open the document you want to make read-only and click the Reviewing (Review).
In section Protect (Protect) click Restrict editing (Restrict Editing).
Note: If the window size is not wide enough to display two buttons in a section Protect (Protect), then you need to press the button Protect (Protect) and select from the drop-down menu Restrict editing (Restrict Editing).
The corresponding panel will open on the right side of the Word window. In chapter Editing restrictions (Editing restictions) check the box next to the option Allow only the specified way to edit the document (Allow only this type of editing in the document).
Select from the drop down list below Entering data into form fields (Filling in forms).
Нажмите кнопку Yes, enable protection (Yes, Start Enforcing Protection) at the bottom of the panel.
In the dialog box Enable protection (Start Enforcing Protection) in the field New Password (Enter new password) enter the password. Then enter the same password in the field Password confirmation (Reenter password to confirm) and click OK.
To close the panel Restrict editing (Restrict Editing) press Х in the top right corner of the panel.
The next time this document opens in read-only mode.
To reopen the document in the usual mode, on the tab View (View) click Edit Document (Edit Document).
Now the document is shown in the usual view, but you still need to turn off the protection. To do this, open the tab again Reviewing (Review) and in the section Protect (Protect) click Restrict editing (Restrict Editing). At the bottom of the panel that opens, click Disable protection (Stop Protection).
In the Password (Password) dialog box Removal of protection (Unprotect Document) enter the password and click OK. Save the file again.
Another way to make a Word document read-only is to change the file attribute in Windows (not in Word). To do this, launch Windows Explorer and open the folder containing the file you want to make read-only. Select this file, right-click on it and in the context menu click Materials (Properties).
In the dialog box that opens, we are interested in the tab General (General). In chapter Attributes (Attributes) check the box for the parameter Only reading (Read-only). Squeeze it OK.
Now this file will open in read-only mode, as shown in the picture at the beginning of the article. However, this method does not guarantee that the document will be opened in read-only mode. Anyone can disable this setting in Windows Explorer as easily as you enable it.