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How Do I Change My Microsoft Excel for Read Only

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How To Create A Read-Only File In Excel – And How To Remove It Too!

How To Create A Read-Only File In Excel And How To Remove Information technology Too!

Written past co-founder Kasper Langmann, Microsoft Function Specialist.

Sometimes nosotros may have an Excel workbook that would be sensitive to changes.

For instance, Jake, who reached out to us and asked:

I have an Excel file with some important functions. How tin I share this file with my clients without allowing them to brand changes to it?

Jake Kurtz

In this example, information technology will be necessary to protect the workbook from whatsoever changes intentional or otherwise by other users that have access to information technology.

Nosotros may still want to let a user to make changes and save those with a new filename or to a different location.

A keen way to ensure the integrity of such a workbook file would be to enable the 'read-simply recommendation'.

Kasper Langmann, Co-founder of Spreadsheeto

*This tutorial is for Excel 2019/Microsoft 365 (for Windows). Got a dissimilar version? No trouble, you tin still follow the verbal same steps.

What exercise yous desire to acquire?

How to create a 'READ-ONLY' file

Let's say we maintain a monthly report that nosotros make changes to as new information becomes available.

We now need to share the updated written report to users that need the new data and metrics.

However, we want to make sure that any changes made by other users do not get saved to the original file. Instead, these users volition exist forced to rename the file – or to save information technology to a different location.

Kasper Langmann, Co-founder of Spreadsheeto

We tin can exercise this by making sure other users can cull the pick of 'read-only' mode to decrease (but non eliminate) risk of the file beingness inverse.

The starting time step in how to make a file 'read only' is to enable the setting

1: Get to the 'File' tab and select 'Salve Equally'.

Save As menu
Browse

3: Click on the 'Tools' dropdown at the bottom of the 'Save As' dialog box.

Tools drop-down

4: Select 'Full general Options' from the listing.

5: Make sure the 'Read-simply recommended' box is checked in the 'General Options' dialog box and click 'OK'

Read-only checkbox

6: Select 'Salvage'.

It's that unproblematic.

At present every time the file is opened, the user will exist prompted to 'Open up every bit read-simply?'.

Open as read-only prompt?

Note: This method allows the pick of 'Yeah', 'No', or 'Cancel'

If the user clicks 'Yep' to the question to open up equally 'read-merely', no changes to the original file (name) tin can exist made.

This doesn't quite mean that nosotros cannot make changes to the open file.

For anyone wondering how to modify a 'read-merely' file, there actually is a flake of a workaround.

Annotation in the adjacent figure that if we endeavour to save a 'read-only' file that it prompts us to change the file name or location.

Change name or save location

So that's how to modify a 'read-only' file!

Nosotros simply rename the 'Salve Every bit' filename or relieve it to a dissimilar file location.

It's a pretty simple procedure to save a workbook as 'read-only' and information technology adds some extra command over the workbook.

Kasper Langmann, Co-founder of Spreadsheeto

Simply it's actually non protecting it from changes since each user that opens the workbook has the option not to open up in 'read-only'.

It's more of a reminder to everyone who might forget that "hey, don't mess this copy upwardly!".

Now that nosotros have covered the steps to make a workbook file 'read-simply' let's await at how we remove the 'read-only' option…

How to remove 'read-simply'

Allow's now turn to the task of how to remove 'read-only' recommendations from the file.

For example, say information technology'south to add new data and brand some calculations. This updates the metrics for the stakeholders that employ the written report.

We need to take a way to remove 'read-only' from our file in order to easily relieve the changes to the electric current filename.

Kasper Langmann, Co-founder of Spreadsheeto

Ane matter to note is that our workbook must not be open in 'read-only' fashion for us to be able to really relieve our changes after we remove 'read-only'.

Call up…

When we open a 'read-only recommended' file that it prompts us for a 'Yeah' or a 'No' to the question of whether nosotros would like to open as 'read-just' or not.

Nosotros need to click 'No' in order to exist able to save our changes.

1: When opening the file, select 'No' when prompted.

Read-Only prompt

ii: Click on 'File', and so 'Save As' and and then click on 'Scan'.

Browse

3: Click on 'Tools' at the bottom of the 'Save As' dialog box and select 'General Options'.

iv: Once the 'General Options' dialog box appears, uncheck the box next to 'Read-only recommended'.

Uncheck read-only recommended box

5: Then click 'OK' and the workbook is no longer in 'read-only' mode.

There are a couple of things to annotation well-nigh workbooks that are opened as 'read-merely'…

Kasper Langmann, Co-founder of Spreadsheeto

First, if we open a file in 'read-only' there is an indication at the tiptop of the file in the filename that the workbook is, in fact, 'read-only'.

Read-only indication in filename

Another matter to annotation is what will happen if we try and save changes to the aforementioned file that is in 'read-only' mode.

Cannot save as that name

As you saw before, the only way to save changes to a 'read-only' file is by renaming information technology or saving information technology to a different location.

Conclusion

And so, in that location it is. The basic steps to both enabling and disabling 'read-only' mode in Excel 2016.

It's a simple technique that can provide more control over the integrity of files without going to the extremes of things like password protection.

Furthermore, it still allows other users to make changes but ensures they can only practise and so by renaming the file or saving it to a different location than the original file.

Kasper Langmann, Co-founder of Spreadsheeto
Kasper Langmann 2021-07-02T08:56:34+00:00
Page load link

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Source: https://spreadsheeto.com/read-only/

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