Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. 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.

Opening a Document as Read-Only

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated November 27, 2024)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021

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 once you start Word:

Press Ctrl+O. Word displays the Open dialog box. (In Word 2013 you'll need to click Computer | Browse after pressing Ctrl+O. In later versions of Word, click on Browse after pressing Ctrl+O).
Locate the file you want to open and then click once on the file name.
Click on the down-arrow at the right side of the Open button. Word displays the different ways you can open the file.
Choose Open Read-Only from the drop-down menu.

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 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Opening a Document as Read-Only.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. Learn more about Allen...

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What is 3 + 9?

2021-08-24 20:19:16

Sammuel

I can't seem to do this on a document saved on One Drive. I can do this on documents saved to my PC or server, but on One Drive the arrow beside the "Open" button does NOT open the drop-down menu.

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