Reference number: CH000748

Password protecting Microsoft Word and Excel documents.

Question:

Password protecting Microsoft Word and Excel documents.

Additional information:

• If you need to password protect more than just your Microsoft Word or Excel files, see document CH000705 for additional information about protecting other files and folders in Windows.

Answer:

Tip: Before password protecting any document, you may wish to create a backup of the non-password protected file in case you forget the password in the future.

Users who are creating a Microsoft Word or Microsoft Excel document that they wish to keep confidential or to only be viewed by people who should be viewing it may wish to enable a Microsoft Word or Excel password on the file to help protect the contents of the file. Below are the steps required for creating a Microsoft Word or Excel document with a password.

1. Open Microsoft Word or Microsoft Excel and the document you wish to password protect.
2. Click File
3. Click Save As
4. In the Save As window, click the Tools option in the upper right-hand side of the window.
5. From the Tools drop-down menu, select General Options
6. This will open a Save window that will allow you to specify a password used to open the file and/or modify the file.

Password to open - Entering a password for this option will make the file only readable to the users who know the password.

Password to modify - Entering a password for this option will allow users to view the file but only edit and save the file if they know the password. Keep in mind, however, that a user could easily open the file, copy the contents of the file to another file, and modify and create their own document.