You can restrict access to documents by using password protection features for Word and Excel. Review these features with users who send sensitive documents outside the organization or who want to manage document content in a collaborative environment.
Here are some considerations for improving security in Word or Excel documents by using passwords.
A user can require other users to enter a password to open or modify a document. A user who does not have permission to modify a document can save the document only by using a different file name.
Passwords are case-sensitive, so users must type a password exactly as it was created by the document owner.
Users can protect specific elements in a sheet, protect an entire sheet, or protect an entire workbook. They can also use passwords to restrict access to an entire workbook or to restrict users to read-only access to a workbook.
Note Users should store Excel workbooks and sheets in locations that are available only to authorized users. Hidden or locked data is not encrypted in a workbook. Given sufficient time and knowledge, any user can obtain and modify any data in any workbook he or she has access to. To help prevent this, and to help protect confidential information, store workbooks and sheets in secure locations.
When users prepare a document for review by using the Track Changes feature in Word, they can specify that others can change the document only by inserting comments, or by inserting comments and tracked changes with revision marks. For added security, users can assign a password to ensure that reviewers do not remove this type of protection.
 | Configure password protection in Word |
| Configure password protection in Excel |
