Password Protected Documents

You may require a password be provided before someone else opens or modifies your document.  If you don't want to be responsible for remembering the password, you can mark the file as "read only" instead.

• With the document open and visible, on the Tools menu, click Options.
• Click the Security tab.
• Do one of the following:
   
  • To require a password to open the document, in the Password to open box, type a password and then click OK. In the Reenter password to open box, type the password again, and then click OK.
  • To require a password to make changes to the document, in the Password to modify box, type a password and then click OK. In the Reenter password to modify box, type the password again, and then click OK.
     
• To test the password, close and reopen the document.

Caution   Be sure to remember your password. Password security measures help prevent others from opening or modifying a password-protected document if they do not know its accompanying password. Here are some helpful tips on passwords:

• Passwords should be at least eight characters in length. They should consist of a combination of letters, numbers, and symbols, and they should not consist of any words that can be found in a dictionary.
• Passwords are case-sensitive. In other words, the password p7a4y6&y is not the same as the password P7a4y6&Y.
• You should choose passwords that are easy for you to remember but that are not easy enough for someone else to guess them.
• It is not recommended that you record a password, but if you must do so, store the password in a secure place.

If you do not want to require a password to open or change a document but you do want to suggest that others open it only to read and not modify it, you can select the Read-only recommended check box on the Security tab. Users will see the following message when the document is opened:

<File name> should be opened as read-only unless changes to it need to be saved. Open as read-only?

If the user clicks Yes (the default choice), the document opens but its contents cannot be changed. If the user clicks No, the document opens and its contents can be changed.