Making a file Permanently Read-Only

  • Thread starter Thread starter Jay
  • Start date Start date
J

Jay

How do you make a file to be Permanently Read-Only (Word in particular, but
I would be curious to know how to do it for any file)? I need to
distribute a file to employees but I don't want them tampering with it.
 
If you want the Word file to be read-only, why distribute the Word file?
Instead, purchase Adobe Acrobat and distribute a protected PDF file.

Making a file read-only is application specific, so there's no general
answer for all other file types.
 
Hmm....ok. I'll think about getting adobe and doing that. In the meantime,
how could I make word file permanently read only? I noticed that when you
right click on the word file and go to properties you can click the
'read-only' box, but I assume it is as easy to turn off as it would be to
turn on. I need to make the word file read-only, permanently.
 
Jay:

File . . . Save As
Click the Tools dropdown
Select Security Options
Check Read-Only Recommended
Type a Password to Modify (you will be prompted to retype
it)

As for PDF files:

https://createpdf.adobe.com

You can go here to create PDFs online (first 5 are free)
if you don't want to invest in Adobe Acrobat. In Adobe
you would set the Security options for modification as
well.

Gene
 
Awesome thanks.


Gene said:
Jay:

File . . . Save As
Click the Tools dropdown
Select Security Options
Check Read-Only Recommended
Type a Password to Modify (you will be prompted to retype
it)

As for PDF files:

https://createpdf.adobe.com

You can go here to create PDFs online (first 5 are free)
if you don't want to invest in Adobe Acrobat. In Adobe
you would set the Security options for modification as
well.

Gene
Click to expand...
 
It's a function of the file system.
With FAT32, there's no way to protect the file.
With NTFS, perhaps, but I only use NTFS on my external drives used for
backup, so haven't looked into it.

Depending on the version of Word you are using, you might be able to make
the Word doc "read-only" using Tools |Protect Document, but if the doc is
moved to an earlier version of Word, the security might not be enforced.
I've never followed up on this as I usually use PDF for distribution.
 
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