# How to make an Excel file read-only

Excel spreadsheets often contain **sensitive information** such as numbers, formulas and calculations. An accidental click in the wrong field or an incorrect entry can quickly mess up an entire table. When you make an Excel file read-only, the file’s contents cannot be manipulated or accidentally edited.

## Quick guide on how to make an Excel document read-only

1. Open the Excel table that you want to activate the read-only feature for.
2. In the **Save as** dialog box, click on **Tools** > **General Options**.
3. In the window that pops open, you can enter a password in the field **Password to modify**.
4. Click on **OK**.

Note Excel read-only should not be confused with [encrypting Excel files with a password](https://www.ionos.co.uk/digitalguide/online-marketing/online-sales/password-protect-excel/). Encrypted Excel files offer **additional password protection** in order to prevent unauthorised access to files.

## Why should you make an Excel document read-only?

Complex Excel spreadsheets usually contain a lot of important data, which is linked together through cell references and formulas. By making an Excel file read-only, you can **prevent unwanted changes to the data in your spreadsheet.**

Adding read-only password protection to an Excel file gives you the power to determine if changes can be made to your Excel table and who (via the password) can make them. If you want to **enable editing again**, all you have to do is [remove Excel read-only](https://www.ionos.co.uk/digitalguide/online-marketing/online-sales/remove-excel-read-only/). The process for doing so is similar to removing the read-only feature for individual Excel worksheets or [unlocking a Word document for editing](https://www.ionos.co.uk/digitalguide/online-marketing/online-sales/unlock-word-document/).

Tip Want all of your Office applications including Excel to be up to date? No problem! With [Microsoft 365](https://www.ionos.co.uk/office-solutions/microsoft-office "Microsoft 365 with setup service from IONOS") from IONOS, you get the complete Microsoft Office service with additional storage space for up to five devices per user!

## Step-by-step instructions on how to make an Excel file read-only

Making an Excel document read-only is quick and simple. Just follow the steps below to activate this feature.

Note The instructions provided in this article can be used for the Microsoft 365 edition of Excel as well as for all Excel versions from 2016 onwards.

**Step 1**: Open the Excel file you want to make read-only. Go to the **File** tab and select **Save As** from the menu on the left. Click on **More Options** to open the **Save As** dialog box.

[![Image: Excel Save As menu](https://www.ionos.co.uk/digitalguide/fileadmin/_processed_/5/0/csm_excel-save-as_245708fd82.webp "Excel Save As menu")](https://www.ionos.co.uk/digitalguide/fileadmin/DigitalGuide/Screenshots_2023/excel-save-as.png) Save As menu in Excel **Step 2**: In the **Save As** window, click the **Tools** button to the left of the **Save** button. A small context menu will open. Select the item **General Options**.

[![Image: Excel for Windows: Tools button in the Save As dialog box](https://www.ionos.co.uk/digitalguide/fileadmin/_processed_/d/f/csm_excel-save-as-tools_3cca80ebe0.webp "Excel for Windows: Tools button in the Save As dialog box")](https://www.ionos.co.uk/digitalguide/fileadmin/DigitalGuide/Screenshots_2023/excel-save-as-tools.png) Excel for Windows: Tools button in the Save As dialog box **Step 3**: Enter the password of your choice in the **Password to modify** field. This can be any word or combination of keys. It doesn’t need to meet any specific criteria. Check the box next to **Read-only recommended** to inform other users that the file has been set to read-only when they open it. Keep in mind that you’ll need the password to make changes to your Excel file in the future, so make sure to keep it somewhere safe.

[![Image: Excel: General Options under Tools](https://www.ionos.co.uk/digitalguide/fileadmin/_processed_/3/f/csm_excel-set-password-to-modify_7fe717b97d.webp "Excel: General Options under Tools")](https://www.ionos.co.uk/digitalguide/fileadmin/DigitalGuide/Screenshots_2023/excel-set-password-to-modify.png) Excel: General Options under Tools **Step 4**: Excel will prompt you to re-enter your password (**Confirm Password**). Repeating a password ensures that you haven’t made a mistake in the previous entry. Click **OK** to close the window.

[![Image: Excel: Confirm password entry for editing](https://www.ionos.co.uk/digitalguide/fileadmin/_processed_/c/0/csm_excel-reenter-password_93adc3c00a.webp "Excel: Confirm password entry for editing")](https://www.ionos.co.uk/digitalguide/fileadmin/DigitalGuide/Screenshots_2023/excel-reenter-password.png) Excel: Confirm password entry for editing **Step 5**: Click **Save** to activate read-only in Excel.

Tip You can make working in Excel easier by using [Excel shortcuts](https://www.ionos.co.uk/digitalguide/online-marketing/web-analytics/excel-shortcuts/).

## How to make an Excel sheet read-only (without a password)

If you want to add a note to your Excel spreadsheet that **recommends the read-only mode** to users but doesn’t require a password, simply follow steps 1 to 3 above. When you get to the **General Options** dialog box, don’t write anything next to **Password to modify**. Instead, just add a checkmark next to **Read-only recommended** and users will receive a notification when opening the file.

[![Image: Excel notification “Read only recommended”](https://www.ionos.co.uk/digitalguide/fileadmin/_processed_/2/6/csm_excel-open-read-only-hint_fd59b1fe51.webp "Excel notification “Read only recommended”")](https://www.ionos.co.uk/digitalguide/fileadmin/DigitalGuide/Screenshots_2023/excel-open-read-only-hint.png) Excel notification recommending read-only mode ## How to open a read-only Excel file with a password

When you open a read-only Excel file, the program may prompt you to **enter a password**. The following dialog window will pop up:

[![Image: Excel: Password query for read-only file](https://www.ionos.co.uk/digitalguide/fileadmin/_processed_/7/c/csm_excel-enter-password_3d05b241f7.webp "Excel: Password query for read-only file")](https://www.ionos.co.uk/digitalguide/fileadmin/DigitalGuide/Screenshots_2023/excel-enter-password.png) Excel: Password prompt for read-only file You’ve now got two options:

1. **You know the password:** Enter the password and click **OK**. If **Read-only recommended** has been activated, a second dialog window will appear where you can choose to open the file in read-only mode or not. If you click **Yes**, the file will open in read-only mode. You’ll need to re-enter the password if you want to make changes to the document. If you click on **No**, the file will open in standard editing mode, and you can modify the file as you normally would. You’ll also be able to save it without having to enter another password.
2. **You don’t know the password:** Leave the **Password** field empty and click on **Read Only**. You can now view the file in read-only mode but won’t be able to modify it.

Note Having trouble starting Excel? Our Digital Guide article provides tip on what you can do when [Excel isn’t working](https://www.ionos.co.uk/digitalguide/online-marketing/online-sales/excel-is-not-responding/).

If you want to learn more about other topics in the world of Excel, check out the following articles:

- [How to create a table in Excel](https://www.ionos.co.uk/digitalguide/online-marketing/online-sales/creating-an-excel-table/)
- [Free Microsoft Excel alternatives](https://www.ionos.co.uk/digitalguide/online-marketing/online-sales/free-microsoft-excel-alternatives/)
- [Excel macros](https://www.ionos.co.uk/digitalguide/online-marketing/online-sales/excel-macros-the-useful-scripts/)
- [How to enable Excel macros](https://www.ionos.co.uk/digitalguide/online-marketing/online-sales/enabling-macros-in-excel/)
- [How to open Excel .xlsx files](https://www.ionos.co.uk/digitalguide/online-marketing/online-sales/excel-opening-xlsx-files/)


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