There are various reasons as to why people restrict their documents from being edited. Maybe you yourself made the document read-only but you forgot it, or maybe someone has it locked to ensure no unauthorized users can modify the contents of it.
If you find yourself needing to edit a document that is in read-only mode, there are various methods you can use to make the change and have the document be accessible again. ..
Our YouTube channel has a video that goes over the fixes listed in this article.
Remove Read Only From Word By Disabling Edit Restrictions
We’ll start by disabling the Word’s built-in feature that lets users restrict their documents from being modified. If you or someone has enabled this option for your current document, it is why you can’t edit it.
If you have the option to disable a feature on your computer, disabling it should fix the issue.
When you do this, a new window will open up that will allow you to set some basic security measures for your document. Open your document in the Microsoft Word program. When it opens, find the tab that says Developer and click on it. You’ll find several options to choose from on the following screen. Look towards to the Protect area at the top and click on the option that says Restrict Editing. When you do this, a new window will open up that will allow you to set some basic security measures for your document. ..
A new pane will appear on the right-hand side. There’s a button at the bottom of this pane saying Stop Protection. Click on the button to remove read only from this document.
If you have a password set up to restrict editing, you’ll need to enter it on the box shown on your screen. Then click on OK to unlock the document. ..
Your document is now in read-only mode, but you can still modify its contents as you wish.
Turn Off The Trust Center Options To Remove Word Opening In Read Only
Word’s Trust Center feature can be disabled on your computer and that should fix the read only issue you’re facing with your document.
In the options menu, you’ll find a setting called “Word Options.” Click on it to open the Word Options dialog box. In the dialog box, you’ll find three tabs: The Tabbed Window tab, the Text tab, and the Styles tab. The Tabbed Window tab is where you set up your default text formatting. The Text tab is where you set up your default text formatting. The Styles tab is where you set up your default style settings. The first thing you want to do in the Tabbed Window tab is set up your text alignment. You can choose between left-justified and right-justified text. If you leave this setting alone, Word will use left-justified text for all documents that are created in this mode, and right-justified text for all documents that are created in this mode but with a different alignment setting (e.g., center justified). If you change this setting, however, you must also change it for each document that uses this mode; if you don’t do so, Word will use left-justified text for all documents that are created in this mode and right-justified text for all documents that are created in this mode but with a different alignment setting (e.g., center justified). The next thing to do in the Tabbed Window tab is set up your word spacing. You can choose between normal and wide word spacing. If you leave this setting alone, Word will use normal word spacing for all documents that are created in this mode; if you change it, however,you must also change it for each document that uses this mode; if you don’t do so, Word will use normal word spacing for all documents that are created in this mode but with a different spacing setting (e.g., wide). The last thing to do in the Tabbed Window tab is set up your line breaks. You can choose
In the Trust Center settings menu, you’ll find a button saying Trust Center Settings. Click on it to open the settings menu.
If you want to open your documents in the protected view, you’ll need to untick the boxes on the right-hand side of your screen and click on OK.
Edit your document in the program and you should be able to change its content.
Fix The Word Opening In Read Only For Email Attachments
Word has a number of features to protect you from various threats that are spread via email attachments. One of these features opens your email attachments in the read-only mode so it can’t affect your computer negatively.
This may be the reason why your documents always open in the read-only mode. Turning this option off should fix the issue for you.
Click on the Advanced tab and then click on the Content type button. In the Content type field, select “Text”. Now, in the Formatting section, click on the New button and then enter a new text format. For example, if you want to use a boldface font, enter “boldface” in the Formatting section. Now, click on OK to save your changes.
If you’re not already in the left sidebar, click on General in the left sidebar. Then on the right-hand side, scroll down and find the option that says Open e-mail attachments and other uneditable files in reading view. untick the box for the option and click on OK to save the changes.
The Word files you’ve received as email attachments should now open in the regular mode that lets you edit them however you want.
Disable The Preview Pane In File Explorer
The Preview pane in Explorer sometimes locks up your files and prevents you from editing them.
A quick solution to that is to simply turn off the pane.
Open this PC from your desktop.Click on the View tab at the very top of your screen.Select the option that says Preview pane in the Panes section. It’ll disable the pane if it was enabled before.
You can now try opening your file in the program to see if it fixed the issue.
Toggle An Option In The Properties To Remove Read Only From Word
One way to fix read only mode in Word is to change an attribute for your file.
In the properties window, click on the General tab. In the General tab, click on the View tab. In the View tab, click on the Zoom In button. In the Zoom In button, change the magnification to 100%.
This is a read-only tick-mark that will only be active if you click on OK.
The properties of the file have been changed to read-only, preventing anyone from editing it.
If you open the file in Word, you can edit it. ..
Extract The File Before Opening It In MS Word
If you’re trying to edit a Word file that’s inside an archived format such as RAR or ZIP, you’ll want to first extract the file from it before editing it. Directly opening the file from an archive sometimes prevents you from editing it. ..
Extracting the archive will extract all of the files and folders to your desktop.
Open the document in Word and you can make changes. ..
