The only thing they can do is add comments, which you can later review and act upon as desired. The only difference is that they cannot change anything in the document. With this type of protection turned on, people can still load and read the document.

Enter a password (twice) in the dialog box.

Select Anyone with the link as the share. Word displays the Start Enforcing Protection dialog box. How to password protect documents in SharePoint Online Select a document > Click on Share.

Click Yes, Start Enforcing Protection.

Using the drop-down list, choose Comments.

Word enables the drop-down list under the checkbox.

In the Editing Restrictions section of the pane, choose the Allow Only This Type of Editing in the Document check box.

Word displays the Restrict Formatting and Editing pane (Word 2010) or the Restrict Editing pane (Word 2013 or a later version.) If you are using Word 2010 or a later version click the Restrict Editing tool in the Protect group. Word displays the Protect Document pane at the right side of your document (Word 2007).

Click the Protect Document tool within the Protect group.

If this type of document protection appeals to you, follow these steps:

Locked Content Controls - (possible, but does not send the same kind of message as a password challenge)Įdit: And I should mentioned that this will ideally be a solution that does not involve macros.Word includes the ability to protect your document so that only you can make changes to it everyone else must add their changes by adding annotations or comments.

Master document - (not suitable, need everything in a single file).

This option will allow you to mark the document as final version and prevent users from editing the content. Therefore, we strongly recommend using Mark as Final option without any password.

Insert document as object - (not suitable, only shows first page) Mark as Final Passwords are case sensitive and there is no way to recover the password if you forget.

So my question:Īre there any clever workarounds that will enable part of a document to be protected while another part of the document can be edited with track changes?

The problem is that the ability to Track Changes is required in Section 3 AND the option to Track Changes is disabled while the document is protected for Filling in Forms. It allows users to add and edit text in Section 3. In MS Word 'Restrict Editing' > 'Filling in Forms' is applied to Sections 1 & 2 to prevent accidental changes - this works well.

Section 3: A place for documenting agreed variations Section 1: Fillable form with fields that users enter data into Like most structured documents, section-breaks are used to identify the various parts of the document: In MS Word there are options to protect documents, my (clients) document is a contract and so, for the most part, I'd like to protect it. Track Changes is Disabled when Restrict Editing is Turned On

How to edit protect word document