Word 2003 – Protect Your Documents

Excel has long allowed uses to protect a spreadsheet from changes. When complex spreadsheets were created for use by inexperienced users, the spreadsheet creator could be assured that the end user could not destroy the protected formulas. Word 2003 now offers document protection to help you protect your work from accidental changes.

Word 2003 provides a new task pane for setting both Formatting and Editing restrictions to a document. You can protect the document so that other users have limited capabilities to change formats or content.

To protect a document, choose Tools/ Protect Document. This opens the Protect Document task pane. To limit changes to formatting, check Limit Formatting to a selection of styles. Then click on Settings to enable or disable styles for other users.

To limit editing of content, check “Allow only this type of editing” in the document, and choose the level of protection you desire. You can make exceptions for certain individuals or for selected parts of the document under Exceptions. To turn on protection, click on “Yes, Start Enforcing Protection.” You may enter a password at this point if you would like. (REMEMBER: if you assign a password and you forget the password, your document will be forever locked!)