How to Lock and Unlock a Word Document? This is the most frequently asked query by MS Office Word users. Many users need to lock Word document while others want to unlock word document. For different questions related to lock or unlock of the word document, we have come up with this technical essay that covers multiple queries asked by different users regarding how to lock and unlock word document. Let’s get started.
A Quick Glance regarding multiple users queries that this article answers:
- How to unlock a word document?
- How to unlock word document 2016?
- How to Lock word document?
- How to Lock and Unlock a word document?
- How to unlock Microsoft word 2016?
- How do I unlock a word document?
- How to unlock selection in a word?
- How to unrestrict a word document?
- How to quickly unlock word document?
Need to Lock and Unlock Word Document 2016, 2013, 2010
There are multiple files that are comprised of very crucial and delicate data or information; thus, such files need to be locked so that the content of such files doesn’t get copied, altered, or deleted. Microsoft Word offers the brilliant function of lock and unlock word files to keep your important data files. In the next segment of this post, we will be discussing the correct process of lock and unlock Microsoft Word 2016 and later versions file.
Also Read: Best Way to Recover Deleted Word Document 2016 for Free
DIY Approaches to Lock and Unlock a Word Document
Approach 1: How to Lock a Microsoft Word File?
A user can protect or lock a word document by adding a password to it. By following this, next time whenever when the user needs to open the same file, the MS Word will ask the user to enter the password to open the file. Follow the below-mentioned methods to know how it works:
The first method to Lock Word File:
- Select and open the document that you desire to lock and hit “Save as”. On the new screen that appears click on “Tools” from the left side of the dialog box.
- Now select “General Options” from the list and move to next step.
- By clicking General Options you will get fields:
- Password to Open
- Password to modify
- After that enter a password for “Password to Open” that users require to open Word document. And enter another password for “Password to Modify” that the user needs to alter or make changes in the Word document.
The second method to Lock an MS Word 2010 File:
- Launch Word File and navigate to the “Review” tab and click the “Restrict Editing” option.
- Now you will get two options after clicking Restrict Editing:
- Formatting Restrictions
- Editing Restrictions
- Select “Allow only this type of editing in this document’ and elect option ‘No Changes (Read-Only)’ from the list of options.
- Now point your cursor to the next part of the file and choose the area of the text that you don’t require to protect. The unselected part of the text will get protected.
- You can select Everyone option provided under Exceptional tab else leave the field as it is.
- In the end click, Yes, Start Enforcing Protection and you will see a dialog box on your screen as shown:
- Input a password of your choice and click OK. The selected part of the file will get locked or protected.
Approach 2: How to Unlock Word Document?
In the above part, we have discussed how to protect a word document. Now By reading this portion of the article, you will get to know how to unrestrict a Word document. Follow the curated steps to learn how to unlock selection in word.
- Double-click on Word file to open and enter the password to open it. Navigate to “Save as” from the MS Office button.
- Click option “Tools” from the dialog box displayed on your computer screen.
- Choose “Security Options” and eliminate the password fields. Hit OK to remove the password.
In case you have forgotten the password to edit the file then follow these steps to unlock an MS Word document:
- Copy your Word file content and create a new Word file
- Now paste the copied content in the new word file that you have created in the above step. After that Navigate to the Review tab.
- In the protection tab click “Restrict editing and formatting pane’ and Hit ‘Stop Protection’.
- Now your MS Word file is unrestricted.
Time to End
I hope now you can easily lock and unlock a word document with the above discussed DIY tricks. In case you are unable to work with your MS Word Doc or DOCX file then it may be possible that your word file is corrupt or damaged. So in that scenario, you can use DOC File Recovery Tool to recover maximum possible that from your corrupt .doc and .docx files. The software is capable to repair and recover word documents and saves them into the new document on your computer.
