Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Office 365. If you are using an earlier version (Word 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Word, click here: Opening a Document as Read-Only.
There may be times when you want to open a file as read-only. This means you will not be able to save any changes to the file you are loading. You can use Save As (press F12) in order to save the document to a different filename, however. Opening a file as read-only is self-insurance so you don't inadvertently mess up your file.
To open a document as read-only, follow these steps:
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (9894) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Office 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Opening a Document as Read-Only.
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2020-03-14 13:49:02
Allan
As written, this procedure doesn't work in Windows 7.
2020-03-13 09:45:45
Henry Noble
@John - Your tip works in Windows 10.
It works from the Desktop (which is a special Explorer window) as well as from within Explorer itself.
In addition, right-click now offers "Open in Protected View" for both Excel and Word. Protected View blocks editing and saving, so there is no chance the file will be altered.
2015-05-05 06:38:35
John
Extending the above tip, you can also open a Word document read only directly from Windows Explorer (this is based on a Windows 7 desktop machine).
Starting from Windows Explorer:
- Hold the Shift key down and Right-click on a Word document (*)
- from the context menu select "Open as Read-Only"
(*) also works with Excel documents and presumably other Microsoft Office documents
2015-05-02 19:06:04
Art Osgatharp
Jim - I have Windows 8.1 and this works for me as written, but the instructions do assume that you are in Word when you press Ctrl-O.
2015-05-02 13:29:22
Jim
As written, this procedure doesn't work in Windows 8.1.
Got a version of Word that uses the ribbon interface (Word 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the menu interface.
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Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Office 365. If you are using an earlier version (Word 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Word, click here: 
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