How to Make an Excel Spreadsheet Read-Only

Have you ever needed to share an Excel file with others, but didn't want them to be able to edit it? In this tutorial, we'll show you how to make an Excel spreadsheet read-only without a password. This means that anyone who opens your file will only be able to view its contents and not modify it in any way.

To begin, open your Excel file as you normally would. Once it's open, go to the 'File' menu and select 'Save As.' In the Save As dialog box, click on the 'Tools' option at the bottom right corner of the dialog box.

In the Tools section, you'll find an option called 'General Options.' Clicking on this will open a new dialog box with several options. Look for the 'Password to modify' field and leave it blank. This means that no password is required to open the file, but anyone who tries to edit it will be prompted for a password.

Next, look for the 'Password to open' field. You can leave this one blank as well, since we don't want to require a password to simply open the file. However, if you do need to protect your file from being opened without permission, you can enter a password here.

Once you've made these selections, click 'OK' to save your changes. Your Excel file is now read-only and cannot be edited by anyone who opens it.

To test this, try opening the file again and selecting 'Yes' when prompted to open it in read-only mode. You should see that the file is now protected from being edited.

That's all there is to it! By following these simple steps, you can make an Excel spreadsheet read-only without requiring a password. This is a great way to share sensitive information with others while still maintaining control over who can modify it.

Related Article: All Excel Files Opening as Read-Only (6 Solutions)

How to make an excel spreadsheet read only