Microsoft Windows Vista, 7, 8, and 10 users
- Select the file or folder you want to encrypt.
- Right-click the file or folder and select Properties.
- On the General tab, click the Advanced button.
- Check the box for the "Encrypt contents to secure data" option, then click OK on both windows.
Lock or unlock specific areas of a protected worksheet
- If the worksheet is protected, do the following:
- Select the whole worksheet by clicking the Select All button.
- On the Home tab, click the Format Cell Font popup launcher.
- In the Format Cells popup, in the Protection tab, uncheck the Locked box and then click OK.
Click "File," then "Info" and "Permissions." Click "Encrypt with Password." The password entry box opens. Delete the password in the box, leaving the box empty. Click "OK" to remove the password from the document. Click "Save" before exiting the document.
To set it up, open your Excel file and head to the File menu. You'll see the “Info” category by default. Click the “Protect Workbook” button and then choose “Encrypt with Password” from the dropdown menu. In the Encrypt Document window that opens, type your password and then click “OK.”
Password-protect a folder
- In Windows Explorer, navigate to the folder you want to password-protect. Right-click on the folder.
- Select Properties from the menu. On the dialog that appears, click the General tab.
- Click the Advanced button, then select Encrypt content to secure data.
- Double-click the the folder to ensure you can access it.
Protect an Excel file
- Select File > Info.
- Select the Protect Workbook box and choose Encrypt with Password.
- Enter a password in the Password box, and then select OK.
- Confirm the password in the Reenter Password box, and then select OK.
Microsoft Office password protection is a security feature to protect Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) documents with a user-provided password. As of Office 2007, this uses modern encryption; earlier versions used weaker systems and are not considered secure.
Here's what you need to do to encrypt your Office files with Office's own encryption tool:
- Open the Office file you want to encrypt with a proper Office application.
- Go to File Tab.
- Under Info, click on Protect the document.
- Choose Encrypt with password.
- Enter your password and press Enter, and then, re-enter your password.
You look at the entropy of the file. If the entropy is high, then it's likely encrypted. You can use tools like binwalk to determine the entropy. A consistent, high entropy indicates that the file is likely encrypted.
Go into Word Options there's a check box under Start up options: Open e-mail attachments and other uneditable files in reading view. Uncheck the box and click OK. If the file is opened while this lock is in place, it will open in read-only mode. The problem is worse with larger files over slower network connections.
Excel 2016 users select “More options…“. Choose “Tools” > “General Options” at the bottom of the window. Select the check-box for “Read-only recommended“, then select “OK“. Select “Save“.
To share a workbook:
- Click the File tab to access Backstage view, then click Share.
- The Share pane will appear.
- On the Share pane, if your document is saved to OneDrive, click the Share with People button.
- Excel will return to Normal view and open the Share panel on the right side of the window.
In some cases file corruption can make a spreadsheet Read Only. If a spreadsheet is Read Only and cannot be edited, even after checking all settings and ensuring the file is in a location you can save and modify files, saving the file under a new name may remove the Read Only restriction.
Base a new workbook on an existing workbook
- Click the File tab.
- Click New.
- Under Templates, click New from existing.
- In the New from Existing Workbook dialog box, browse to the drive, folder, or Internet location that contains the workbook that you want to open.
- Click the workbook, and then click Create New.
